Old vs New: A Glance at HowDigitisation is Preserving History

7/29/2019 Old vs New: A Glance at HowDigitisation is Preserving History

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Old vs New:A Glance at How

Digitisation isPreserving History

By Trevor Ffrench


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Old vs New: A Glance at

How Digitisation isPreserving History

Except for the pinhole camera information provided by the Eastman

Kodak Company, which is licensed as follows:

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Austra-

lia License

All work here-in licensed under:

Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Australia License

This document was created using Adobe InDesign

CS6, Adobe Flash CS6, Adobe Photoshop CS6

Copyright 2013, Trevor Ffrench

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able o Contents

Digitisation and Convergence at a Glance .........4

Digitisation, Preserving History ..........................5 A brie history o bendigo ..................................................................6

Photographic Narrative .........................................7

Geelong Waterront Carousel ...............................8

How to make and use a pinhole camera ..............9 Te Box ...............................................................................................9

Te Pinhole .........................................................................................9Pinhole Awl .......................................................................................10Te Shutter and Viewfnder .............................................................10Loading a can or Box Pinhole Camera ............................................11

Exposure ............................................................................................12Processing and Printing ....................................................................12

Reerences................................................................13

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Digitisation and Conver-

gence at a Glance

Convergence and Digitisation have had a major impact on the world and theway we interact with it. One area is learning.

Studying has become easier than ever with cloud type applications. The cloud

is a virtual space to save the work in. Apple have iCloud, Springpad have

Notebooks. These are often fully customisable spaces which allow a student

to save work, notes, references, links, even images in the virtual space. By

saving these items in a virtual off-site space a student can have access to the

work from any computer, tablet, or even smart phone.

I am using Springpad for this very book to record my notes, and gather photos

together. as well as create to do lists. I can work from home or even in a cafe.

The cloud is a great example of convergence media which is where multiple

platforms come together under several applications for use. Springpad for

example takes the role of note taker, organiser, photo album, bookmarker and

a whole host of other uses. But best of all, because these facilities are located

within a web browser, I dont have to carry a USB stick with me, or interface

my mobile phone with my computer or set up any more networks than I need.

The only network connection needed is to the internet, which is more that eas-

ily attained by using either a free network from a coffee shop or even from my

home or work connection. The only limitation now is governed by the usagepolicies of the network I am using.

The technologies I have used for this book are my mobilie phone (which has a

camera), with which I have taken some photographs, as well as made use of

a phone app version of Springpad. Also I have made use of my Notebook for

portability, as well as a desktop computer. Without convergence and digiti-

sation I would have had to rely on pen and paper writing, libraries for source

material and waiting several days to a week for photograph development.

Digitisation and Convergence have made my interacting with the world more

immediate and easier.

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One area where digitisation can be seen is in the preservation of history.

Photographs taken and stored in archives can help us understand how theworld has changed. Here is some images showing changes to the city of

Bendigo, Victoria, Australia. The images on the left side were taken be-

tween 1920 and 1955, The corresponding images on the right side were

taken in 2013 from similar angles (except for the last one which is more of

an example of how the city has changed as a whole)

Digitisation, Preserving

History

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Image 1a & 1b

Image 2a & 2b


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Preserving History (Continued)

A very brief history of Bendigo.

Gold rst found nearby in 1851, and within 4 years the city of bendigo went from aheavily wooded forest, with a thriving creek system to the wasteland seen in the im-

age 4b. But gold was the key to this citys survival. By 1860 the city buildings (such

as the one pictured in 4b). The mining industry never left and there is still signi-

cant deposits of gold in veins even under the city centre.

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Image 3a & 3b

Image 4a & 4b


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Can photographs tell a story? Photographs have been used for cen-

turies to tell stories. In the case of these photos one could query,

what is the point? What does the artist want to convey? What hap-pened? Why did it happen.

Photographic Narrative


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Now just over 120 years old, the Geelong Waterfront Carousel has

been in recent repair and for just the last 12 years. When uncov-

ered, the horses and parts were in disrepair but serviceable, so it

has been lovingly restored and is now a bustling tourist attrac-tion in the Victorian port city of Geelong, South West of Melbourne.

The simple story these photographs tell is that of resto-

ration, from discovery to renewal. The photographs were tak-

en by my wife and myself while on holiday in October 2012.

Geelong Waterfront Carousel

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Te distance o the flm rom the pinhole and the diameter othe pinhole will determine the angle o view and sharpness oyour fnal image. For a camera with the pinhole 3 to 6 inchesrom the flm, youll get the best results i the pinhole is about1/75 inch in diameter. You can make a hole this size by pushinga No. 10 sewing needle through the paper or metal to a pointhalway up the needle shank. Te pinhole should as circular aspossible.

How to make and use a

pinhole camera*

A pinhole camera is a small, light-tight can or box with a black interior anda tiny hole in the center of one end. By using common household materials,

you can make a camera that will produce pictures.

The BoxWhen you make a pinhole camera for roll or sheet

lm, use a small can or box as the camera body. You

can use anything that has a tight-tting top - a clean

paint can, a vegetable shortening can, a 2-pound cof-

fee can, a shoebox, or even a cylindrical oatmeal box.

To make the can light-tight, paint the inside with dull

black paint or line it with black paper to prevent light

reections. If the can you use has a plastic lid, paint

the lid black.

Be sure to paint it inside and out; then before us-

ing it, check to make sure no paint has chipped off.

Chipped or peeling paint on the lid will allow light to

enter the camera and ruin your pictures.

The Pinhole

The lm will be attached to the inside of the lid so you will need to make

the pinhole in the bottom end of the can. You can make the actual pinhole

in the can itself, but its much easier to make it in a separate piece of heavy

black paper or thin metal and fasten this piece over a larger hole cut in the

center of the bottom end of the can. Heavy-duty aluminum foil, a piece of

aluminum cut from a soda can or the backing paper from Kodak 120 size

roll lm is good for this purpose.

A pinhole camera

made using an

empty can


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The Shutter and Viewfnder

The shutter for the camera can be a ap of opaque dark paper hingedwith a piece of tape. Use a small piece of tape to hold the shutter

closed before and after you take a picture.

A viewnder for a pinhole camera, while not necessary, can be made

of 2 pieces of cardboard or wire. The front frame of the viewnder

should be same shape and slightly smaller than the lm and located

directly above the pinhole at the front of the camera. The rear frame

is a sighting peephole directly above the lid of the can and aligned

with the center of the front frame.

When you aim your camera at subjects closer than 5 feet, positionthe subject low in the viewnder to allow for parallax--the difference

between the view you see through the viewnder and the image re-

corded on the lm. This effect is caused by the separation between

the viewnder and the pinhole.

IP: Youll get a smoother hole i you rotate the needle as you push it through. I

youre using aluminum oil or paper, sandwich it between two lightweight cardswhile you make the pinhole. Tis will help you make a smoother, rounder hole.

If you are using a piece of aluminum from a soda can, place it on a

hard surface and make a small hole in the aluminum with an awl or

an ice pick. Dont press too hard==the tip should just barely break

through the surface. See illustration. Enlarge and smooth it by push-

ing a No. 10 needle into it from the indented side. You can smooth

any rough edges with very ne sandpaper.

Pinhole AwlYou should now make a hole 1/4 inch or more in diameter in the

center of the bottom end of the camera body and tape your pinhole in

position over the center of the hole.

You can check your pinhole to make sure its perfectly round by

looking through the back of the camera. To see if the image is clearly

visible, aim the camera toward a printed page to determine if you can

see the letters clearly.

Pinhole Cameras (continued)

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Loading a Can or Box Pinhole Camera

You can load the camera either with lm or fast photographic paper. Your choiceof lm or paper may depend in part on the exposure times. Paper, because it

is less sensitive to light than lm, will probably require an exposure of about 2

minutes for sunlit subjects. Film may require only 1 or 2 seconds for subjects in

sunlight.

Paper is easier to handle since you can load it into the camera under a safelight.

If you dont have a safelight, you can work by the light of a ashlight covered

with several thicknesses of red cellophane paper placed 6 to 8 feet away. Most

lm, on the other hand, must be handled in total darkness.

If you use lm, you can cut up a roll of KODAK TRI-X Pan Film or KODAKT-MAX 400 Profesional Film, 120 size, into 2 3/8-inch squares or 2 3/8 x 3 1/2-

inch pieces. This must be done in total darkness, of course. At night a closet will

probably be dark enough if lights in adjoining rooms are turned off. Sheet lm,

such as KODAK Tri-X Pan Professional Film, is easier to use because its at.

A camera made from a 2-pound coffee can will take a 2 1/4 x 3 1/4-inch piece

of lm or photographic paper. You can use a 3 1/4 x 4 1/4-inch piece if about

1/2 inch is clipped from each corner of the lm or paper. A camera made from a

1-gallon paint can will take a 4 x 5-inch piece of lm or paper.

When you have the size of paper or lm you need, tape it rmly to the inside of

the end of your camera opposite the pinhole. The emulsion should face the pin-

hole. The emulsion side of photographic paper is the shiny side. The emulsion

on roll lm is on the inside of the curl. Sheet lm is identied by notches cut

into one of the shorter sides. When you hold the lm in a vertical position with

the notches in the top edge toward the right side, the emulsion is facing you. An-

other way to determine the emulsion side of either paper or lm is to touch both

sides with a moistened nger. The emulsion side will feel slightly tacky. Test

near the edge to avoid a ngerprint in the center of the picture. You will need to

tape down the four corners if you use cut-up roll lm or paper. Taping two diag-

onal corners will work for sheet lm. Close the camera, making sure the shutteris closed.

Its a good idea to practice with an exposed piece of lm or paper before trying

the load the camera for your actual picture taking.

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Exposure

To get clear, sharp pictures, your camera must remain very still while

the shutter is open. Use plenty of tape or a lump of modeling clay to holdyour camera still. Lift the black paper to uncover the pinhole and keep the

pinhole uncovered for the recommended time. Cover the pinhole with the

black paper between exposures.

The following table gives approximate exposure recommendations for a

pinhole camera. Its a good idea to make three exposures of different dura-

tions for each scene to improve the likelihood youll get a good picture.

KODAK Film Bright Sun Cloudy Bright

RI-X Pan, -MAX 400, or ROYAL PanFilm 4141 (ESAR Tick Base) 1 or 2 seconds 4 to 8 seconds

-MAX 100 Film 2 to 4 seconds 8 to 16 seconds

Processing and Printing

Process and print lm negatives in the usual way. Dry the paper negative

and make a contact print from it in the normal way, with the emulsion

(picture) side of the paper negative toward the emulsion (shiny) side of the

printing paper.

Kodak, Royal, T-Max, and Tri-X are trademarks of the Eastman Ko-

dak Company

* Permission to use this page is given by Eastman Kodak Company.

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References

Apple Inc (2013). Apple - iCloud - Your content, on all your devices, Re-

treived from: http://www.apple.com/icloud

City of Greater Geelong (2012). Carousel, Retrieved from http://www.

geelongaustralia.com.au/ct/service/article/item/8cb648bed8b5a72.aspx

Eastman Kodak Company (2012). How to make and use a Pinhole Cam-

era, Retreived from: http://www.kodak.com/ek/US/en/Pinhole_Cam-

era.htm

Eastman Kodak Company (2012). Copyright Information, Retreived

from : http://www.kodak.com/US/en/corp/copyrightNotice.shtml

Mackay, G. (2000). History of Bendigo, Lerk & McClure, Bendigo. Origi-

nally published 1891, by Fergusson & Mitchell Ltd, Melbourne

Spring Partners (2012). Springpad, Retreived from http://springpad.

com/about.html

van Dijck, J. (2008). Digital photography: communication, identity,

memory, Visual Communication, 7(1), 57-76

Photographs which were not taken by myself, were used with permission

by the National Library of Australia.

Puddling for Gold (1861). Retreived from: http://trove.nla.gov.au/ver-

sion/181960982

Rosalind Park (circa 1920-1954). Retrieved from: http://trove.nla.gov.

au/work/9601049

Charing Cross (1938) Retrieved from: http://handle.slv.vic.gov.

au/10381/33263

A Bendigo Hotel (1936) Retrieved from: http://images.slsa.sa.gov.au/mp-

cimg/68250/B68243_283.htm

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