An Exhibition of Scientific Photography

The touring schedule for 2012

The exhibition was displayed from the 1st - 29th September 2011 at The Royal Photographic Society, Fenton House, Bath BA2 3AH as part of The Society's monthly programme of Exhibitons.

A full colour catalogue of the exhibition can be purchased from our online shop for £6.50 (cost includes p&p).

For further details, and enquires about showing the exhibition, contact Lesley Goode, Exhibitions Manager 01225 325720 lesley@rps.org

The art aspect of photography is well propagated and covered by the number of exhibitions that display visual art such as documentary, landscape, portraiture, travel, creative and architectural photography. However, it is not often that we see an exhibition of scientific photography. To the best of my knowledge, The Society’s last exhibition of scientific and applied photography was in London in 1974. The public at large is well aware of the art aspects of photography, but not so well informed about the important role that it plays in scientific disciplines. This perhaps is understandable, given that most scientific imagery remains within the specialist scientific arena in the form of material for assessment, evaluation, diagnosis, measurements, publications and research documentation. The scientific disciplines in which photography plays an important role include medicine, forensic sciences, engineering fundamental research, archaeology, oceanography, natural history, astronomy, aviation, microscopy and endoscopy and many more. It is hoped that this exhibition will serve as a showcase for the vast range of applications of photography within modern-day science.

No number of words can express or indicate the information that a photograph can. Therefore, scientists have always needed to communicate their discoveries by pictorial documentation in the form of photographs. In fact, the application of photography to science is almost as old as photography itself. As early as 1872, Eadweard Muybridge, a British-born photographer, used photography to study and analyse motion in horses. The old adage is that necessity is the mother of invention and this has resulted in scientists discovering new and better methods of recording images. By using invisible radiation, new techniques and methods of photography have arisen. This has happened, for example, through sophisticated scientific instruments such as fibre optics, endoscopes, microscopes, telescopes, stereo microscopes and ophthalmoscopes.

There are a number of scientific applications of photography such as micro and macro-photography, Ultraviolet (UV) and Infrared (IR) photography, time lapse and high speed, electron microscopy, thermography, fluorescein angiography, retinal photography, phase contrast microscopy, schlieren photography, stress analysis and the list goes on. With the accelerated development of digital imaging systems, the application of such imaging techniques has opened up more doors for researchers, scientists and scientific photographers. Gone are the days when we were restricted to 1000 ISO emulsion sensitivity. Today, DSLR cameras with full frame sensors have the ability to process images that reduce noise in low light conditions. We have CCD sensors, sensitive to much higher ISO sensitivities which can yield usable images.

We used to say that, ’if you can see it, it can be photographed’ and now we say, ‘even if you cannot see it, we most likely can photograph it’. Imaging scientists are now well equipped with the knowledge and appropriate hardware to pictorially document every step of their discoveries in almost all branches of science. The authenticity of such images is of paramount importance. For the images displayed in this exhibition, no manipulation through Adobe Photoshop or other digital or non-digital process was allowed, so there are no changes which deviate from the factual presentation of any scientific image.

To study and discover new fields, scientists need new tools. Analogue photography has evolved into digital imaging systems which are highly sophisticated, with high specifications and the capability of yielding excellent results for diagnosis, evaluation, measurements, assessment and investigations. Scientists also need such imagery for pictorial documentation, communication, presentations and publications.
Sophisticated imaging technologies and techniques have been in the forefront of jurisprudence to investigate crimes and present pictorial documentation as evidence to solve crimes.

Remote controlled cameras can go where humans cannot and can transmit images to provide vital information. For example, cameras in space can transmit information to scientists to determine landing sites for space crafts. Cameras can also be sent down very narrow tunnels to identify land mines or to find human beings buried in rubble after an earthquake. Tiny pill-sized cameras, in the form of capsules, can be swallowed by patients and travel through the gastrointestinal tract, transmitting images until it is passed out of the body causing no harm. This system is based on miniature electronics and Complementary Metal Oxide Silicone (CMOS) technology which allows the capsule to transmit high-quality video images with much lower power consumption than with charged coupled devices (CCD). This is a real breakthrough for diagnostic imaging.

My thanks go to all the contributors, sponsors and all those who have supported me and the exhibition. I hope you will enjoy looking at these wonderful scientific images as much as I have enjoyed curating this exhibition.

Afzal Ansary ASIS FRPS
Exhibition Co-Ordinator
International Images for Science Exhibition 2011

Selected photographers:
    Anders Persson                                     Jim Oramas
    Andrew Syred & Cheryl Power                Karin Hing
    Angela Chappell                                    Kenneth Libbrecht
    Babak Tafreshi                                      Kent Wood
    Baxter Kim                                           Lennart Nilsson
    Bjørn Rørslett                                       Martin Oeggerli
    Charles Hedgcock                                 Nicole Ottawa & Oliver Meckes
    Christopher Guerin                               Norm Barker
    David Spears FRPS                               Paul Andrews
    Dee Breger                                          Phred Petersen
    Francis Ring FRPS                                Richard Kirby
    Freya Mowat                                        Spike Walker
    Hans U. Danzebrink                              Steve Gschmeissner
    Harald Kleine                                       Ted Kinsman
    Heather Angel HonFRPS                        Thomas Deerinck
    Heiti Paves                                          Viktor Sykora
    Hugh Turvey                                       Volker Brinkmann

The Society would like to thank the following organisations for sponsoring the exhibition:

The British Institute of Professional Photography
Science Photo Library
The Wellcome Trust
Creativity Backgrounds
Towergate Camerasure
Loxley Colour Lab
Paul Graham Imaging Specialists