Assignment 1: Scientific Imaging and Digital Technologies

Assignment Overview

“In the field of scientific photography, experiments with chemicals and light, both by photographers and scientists, led to a renewed interest in abstract imagery in the 1950s” (Scientific Photography lecture). Since then, new technologies have allowed us to witness the world in ways early photographers only dreamed about.

Assignment Description

In this assignment, you will discuss technological advances, equipment, and process innovations that altered the method of recording, viewing, and sharing imagery and make predictions about the future of image creation. Choose one of the following scientific processes that use photographic methods or imagery to research:

• X-ray
• Ultrasound
• Photomicrography
• Ophthalmic photography
• Infrared satellite imagery
• High-speed imagery
• Aerial photography
• Astrophotography
• Any other scientific process approved by your instructor

In a Microsoft Word document, create a report (750 words minimum); support your statements with appropriate references whenever necessary. Follow current MLA guidelines for writing style, grammar, spelling, and citation of sources.

Assignment Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Select a topic from the list of scientific processes.
2. Make notes in your own words while researching. Keep track of quotations and sources so that you can reference the information later.
3. Compose a written paper (750 words minimum) that discusses all the topics listed below.
   1. Trace the development of the process, including seminal dates, technological advances, and innovative equipment inventions. Explain the process of capturing photographs and how the photographs are used for scientific purposes.
   2. Identify at least one key innovator of the process and his or her involvement in photography. Give details about the innovator’s background, answering the following:
      1. What is the innovator’s nationality?
      2. What are his or her places and dates of birth and death?
      3. What media (black and white, color, moving image, etc.) did the innovator primarily work in?
      4. What are the titles of some of his or her famous pieces?
      5. Who was the intended audience for the photographs?
      6. Where were the photographs published?
      7. What was the impact of the innovator on the genre?
   3. Describe how the process is used today to collect, analyze, record, and share data.
   4. Discuss the future of scientific and digital imaging. Where will the future take us? What will we be able to record that is currently out of our capabilities?
   5. Embed at least three visual examples of the process in your paper. Use the describe, interpret, and evaluate method to analyze the three images you chose.
4. Add a works-cited page to your Microsoft Word document that lists all the sources you used in your research. Follow MLA conventions.