Marieke / Field Report

Notes on progression so far:

I have recently identified a problem and a contradiction in my work: Using a method like infrared (scientific objective method) to portray the unconscious. But I do think that this struggle / potential impossibility could make an interesting research question. What does this unconscious mean to me?

The first thing that comes up are memories and experiences that make up the mind, which the brain organises. I am interested in this in a scientific sense but at the same time also from the perspective of empathy; it is a concern that is with me all the time.

I could call it the part of our existence that is not physical. In the past people would have used the word spiritual. This is also connected to atomistic philosophy which states the interconnectedness of people and things.

I keep contradicting myself in my research but I am okay with constructing sort of an thesis followed by an antithesis.

Primary emotions that we are not aware of mainly in relation to fear is also an important motivation for my interest in the unconscious.

Whether I am dissolving or destructing images or capturing them in infrared, there is an underlying theme of decay, vulnerability, exposure and destruction in relation to the process and the subject. When an image becomes actually red like in my digital infrared images, there is a fleshy way of exposing the environment, as if the skin has been exposed, (the image is the body). While experimenting directly with the image of a face or body means you do something to it, this makes the connection less static. Infrared is of course in its history closely tied to war, migration, security and violence. It is a way to detect the stranger and enemy.

Ironically I was at first-hand attracted to infrared because I felt it would bring me closer to the subject (people). Because I would be able to look at them in a different exposed state. When I did the infrared photography I could not even see my subject through the viewfinder because of the dark filter. This was the case with both the analogue and digital camera. So a lot of the documentation is connected to chance. This is a very different experience to the traditional approach of finding 'the enemy' with infrared techniques.

Artists like Francis Bacon and Richard Mosse are equally important to me even if they might seem quite different in their approach; both speak of violence and decay. During the Image Analysis people saw the underlying violence in my photo. This has happened before in the past with my work and I don’t always notice it myself.

The emotion of fear might be deeply engrained in my work and this might be why I am so attracted to infrared techniques. It is a feeling that is prominent, so people notice these motives of damage and fear. This can make the viewer uncomfortable and create a push-pull effect. They look away and look back again.

Because of my choice to work with infrared techniques I have to deal quite a lot with physics and science. Before I only considered the poetic parts of photography but I learned to appreciate this other part now.

Image Analysis, Richard Mosse in Black and White

- Black and White
- High contrast
- Eyes look in distance he's seen a lot
- Gun
- Military
- Maria with baby
- Leaves are like backdrop
- Pose so perfect composed
- Is he posing or did the photographer find them like this?
- Not sure if the background was manipulated into the picture
- Sad
- Baby is huge contrast to soldier
- Baby seems at peace with eyes closed
- Soldier is protecting
- They sit on a rock
- Nature setting
- I think the man is not old
- Defeat
- Why is he wearing his gun while holding a baby in a setting like this?
- Danger
- Small moment of rest
- The connection between soldier and baby is protective, moves me.
- Partially moves me because the soldier must have been through so much, what awaits the baby?
- Leaves seem so light, artificial
- Soldier is dark, baby is lighter (lighting)
- Sharp shadows
- Documentation
- He is a real soldier
- Stone where they sit on has composed angles
- Congo
- Contrast between real and posed
- Timeless
- Baby still naive soldier opposite
- Baby has light clothes like a blank canvas
- Wrinkles and texture in both of their clothes
- What has the soldier seen and experienced?
- Soldier doesn't seem to have been protected at all except with gun and army wear, but that is just a defense against violence and war never protected in the 1st place.
- Grief
- Leaves seem like a collage.
- Clear layers in picture because of backdrop
- He holds the baby gentle
- Man is covered in shadows, baby in light
- Gun is only thing with no soft organic shape
- Gun has hard texture
- Gun is the only thing with angled shapes and completely dark/black

Dutch Article about Richard Mosse war documentation

Infrared Photography

- Infrared photography falls under the near infrared spectrum.
- Wavelengths are 700 nm to 900 nm.

Nanometer: Nanometers are used to measure the smallest things, usually those the size of an atom or molecule. This term is used in the context of miniature computing devices such as integrated circuits (IC) and transistors embedded within a processor.

- Infrared light lies between the visible and microwave portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Infrared light has a range of wavelengths, just like visible light has wavelengths that range from red light to violet. Near infrared light is closest in wavelength to visible light and far infrared is closer to the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The longer, far infrared wavelengths are about the size of a pin head and the shorter, near infrared ones are the size of cells, or are microscopic.

Electromagnetic spectrum: The range of frequencies (the spectrum) of electromagnetic radiation and their respective wavelengths and photon energies.

Focusing infrared

- Manual focus SIR lenses have a red dot, line or diamond, often with a red R called the infrared index mark, this is used for proper infrared focus; many autofocus lenses no longer have this mark.

- When a SLR camera is fitted with a filter that is opaque to visible light, the reflex system becomes useless for both framing and focusing, one must compose the picture without the filter and then attach the filter.

- A sharp infrared picture can be done with a tripod, a narrow aperture (like f/8) and a slow shutter speed without focus compensation, however wider apertures like f/2.0 can produce sharp photos only if the lens is refocused to the infrared index mark, and only if this index mark is the correct one for the filter and film in use. It should be noted that diffraction effects inside a camera are greater at infrared wavelengths so that stopping down the lens too far may actually reduce sharpness.

Diffraction: Is a physics concept. Diffraction occurs when waves bend around small obstacles, or when waves spread out after they pass through small openings. Diffraction occurs with all waves, including sound waves, water waves, and electro magnetic waves such as light that the eye can see. Diffraction also occurs with matter such as electrons.

Apochromat(ic) lens (APO): Is a photographic or other lens that has better correction of chromatic and spherical aberration than the much more common achromat lenses.

- APO lenses do not have an infrared index mark, they do not need to be refocused for the infrared spectrum because they are already optically corrected into the near-infrared spectrum.

Catadioptric lens: Mirror optical lens that has refraction and reflection combined into one optical system, normally obtained by using dioptrics (lenses) and catoptrics (curved mirrors).

- Catadioptric lenses often don't require this adjustment because their mirror containing elements do not suffer from chromatic aberration and so the overall aberration is comparably less. These lenses do of course still contain lenses, and these still have a dispersive property.

- Zoom lenses may scatter more light through their more complicated optical systems than prime lenses, that is lenses of fixed focal length; for example an infrared photo taken with a 50 mm prime lens may look more contrasty than the same image taken at 50 mm with a 28-80 zoom.

- Some lens manufacturers such as Leica never put IR index mark on their lenses. The reason is that any index mark is only valid for one particular IR filter and film combination, and may lead to user error. Even when using lenses with index marks, focus testing is advisable as there may be a large difference between the index mark and the subject plane.

Film cameras

- Many conventional cameras can be used for infrared photography, where infrared is taken to mean light of a wavelength only slightly longer than of visible light. Photography of longer wavelengths is normally termed thermography and requires a special equipment.

- Some cameras of the 1990s that used 35 mm film have infrared sprocket-hole sensors that can fog infrared film. Other film cameras are not completely opaque to infrared light.

Black and White Infrared film

- Black and White infared negative films are sensitive to wavelengths in the 700 to 900 nm near infared spectrum, and most also have a sensitivity to blue light wavelengths.

- The notable halation effect or glow often seen in the highlights of infared photographs is an artifact of Kodak High Speed Infrared (HIE) black and white negative film and not an artifact of infrared light. The glow or blooming is caused by the absence of an anti-haliation layer on the back side of Kodak HIE film, this results in a scattering or blooming around the highlights that would usually be absorbed by the
anti-halation layer in conventional films.

- The intent of filters in black and white infared photography is to block blue wavelengths and allow infrared to pass through. Without filters, infrared negative films look much like conventional negative films because the blue sensitivity lowers the contrast and effectively counteracts the infrared look of the film.

- Some photographers use orange or red filters to allow slight amounts of blue wavelengths to reach the film, and thus lower the contrast. Very dark-red filters (29) block out almost all blue, and visibly opaque (70, 89B, 87c, 72) filters block out all blue and also visible red wavelengths, resulting in a more pure-infrared photo with a more pronounced contrast.

- Certain infrared-sensitive films must only be loaded and unloaded in total darkness. Infrared black and white films require special development times but development is usually achieved with standard black and white film developers and chemicals (like D-76).

- Arguably the greatest obstacle to infrared film photography has been the increasing difficulty of obtaining infrared-sensitive film. Efke's IR820 film has become the only IR film on the market with good sensitivity beyond 750 nm, the Rollei film does extend beyond 750 nm but IR sensitivity falls off very rapidly. (from my own experience you have to cool the film in the fridge but not store it too long, and after exposure develop it preferably immediately otherwise the infrared wears off.)

Color infrared film

- Color infrared transparency films have three sensitized layers that, because of the way the dyes are coupled to these layers, reproduce infrared as red, red as green, and green as blue. All three layers are sensitive to blue so the film must be used with a yellow filter, since this will block blue light but allow the remaining colors to reach the film.

- The health of foliage can be determined by the relative strengths of green and infrared light reflected; this shows in color infrared as a shift from red (healthy) towards magenta (unhealthy). Kodak manufactured a color transparency film that could be developed in standard E-6 chemistry, but more accurate results were obtained by using the AR-5 process. In general, color infrared does not need to be refocused to the infrared index mark on the lens.

- Since 2011, all formats of color infrared film have been discontinued. Specifically, Aerochrome 1443 and S0-743.

- There is no currently available digital camera that will directly produce the same results as Kodak color infrared film although the equivalent images can be produced by taking two exposures, one infrared and the other full-color, and combining in post-production. A yellow (minus-blue) filter can also be used, which provides a single image that can also be post-processed to emulate the Ektachrome look.

- The color images produced by digital still cameras using infrared-pass filters are not equivalent to those produced on color infrared film. The colors result from varying amounts of infrared passing through the color filters on the photo sites, further amended by the Bayer filtering. While this makes such images unsuitable for the kind of applications for which the film was used, such as remote sensing of plant health, the resulting color tonality has proved popular artistically.

- Color digital infrared, as part of full spectrum photography is gaining popularity. The ease of creating a softly colored photo with infrared characteristics has found interest among hobbyists and professionals.

- In 2008, Los Angeles photographer, Dean Bennici started cutting and hand rolling Aerochrome color infrared film. All aerochrome medium and large format which exists today come directly from his lab. The trend in infrared photography continues to gain momentum with the success of photographer Richard Mosse and multiple users all around the world.

Digital cameras

- Digital camera sensors are inherently sensitive to infrared light, which would interfere with the normal photography by confusing the autofocus calculations or softening the image (because infrared is focused differently from visible light), or oversaturating the red channel.

- Also, some clothing is transparent in the infrared, leading to unintended (at least to manufacturer) uses of video cameras. Thus, to improve image quality and protect privacy, many digital cameras employ infrared blockers.

- Depending on the subject matter, infrared photography may not be practical with these cameras because the exposure times become overly long, often in the range of 30 seconds, creating noise and motion blur in the final image. However, for some subject matter the long exposure does not matter or the motion blur effects actually add to the image. Some lenses will also show a 'hot spot' in the centre of the image as their coatings are optimised for visible light and not IR.

- An alternative method of DSLR infrared photography is to remove the infrared blocker in front of the sensor and replace it with a filter that removes visible light.

- This filter is behind the mirror, so the camera can be used normally - handheld, normal shutter speeds, normal composition through the viewfinder, and focus, all work like a normal camera. Metering works but is not always accurate because of the difference between visible and infrared refraction. When the IR blocker is removed, many lenses which did display a hotspot cease to do so, and become perfectly usable for infrared photography.

- Additionally, because the red, green and blue micro-filters remain and have transmissions not only in their respective color but also in the infrared, enhanced infrared color may be recored.

- Since the Bayers filters in most digital cameras absorb a significant fraction of the infrared light, these cameras are sometimes not very sensitive as infrared cameras and can sometimes produce false colors in the images. An alternative approach is to use a Foveon X3 sensor, which does not have absorptive filters on it; The Sigma SD10 DSLR has a removable IR blocking filter and dust protector, which can be simply omitted or replaced by a deep red or complete visible light blocking filter. The Sigma SD14 has an IR/UV blocking filter that can be removed/installed without tools. The result is a very sensitive digital IR camera.

- While it is common to use a filter that block almost all visible light, the wavelength sensitivity of a digital camera without internal infrared blocking is such that a variety of artistic results can be obtained with more conventional filtration. For example, a very dark neutral density filter can be used (such as the Hoya ND400) which passes a very small amount of visible light compared to the near-infrared allows through.

- Wider filtration permits an SLR viewfinder to be used and also passes more varied color information to the sensor without necessarily reducing the Wood effect. Wider filtration is however likely to reduce other infrared artefacts such as haze penetration and darkened skies. This technique mirrors the methods used by infared film photographers where black and white infrared film was often used with a deep red filter rather than a visually opaque one.

- Another common technique with near-infrared filters is to swap blue and red channels in software (Adobe Photoshop) which retains much of the characteristic 'white foliage' while rendering skies a glorious blue.

- Fuji have produced digital cameras for use in forensic criminology and medicine which have no infrared blocking filter. The first camera, designated the S3 PRO UVIR, also had extended ultraviolet sensitivity (digital sensors are usually less sensitive to UV than IR). Ordinary lenses usually work well for IR. In 2007 Fuji introduced a new version of this camera called the IS pro, also able to take Nikon lenses. Fuji had earlier introduced a non-SLR infrared camera: the IS-1 unlike the S3 it does not offer UV sensitivity. Fujifilm restricts the sale of these cameras to professional users with their EULA specifically prohibiting unethical photographic conduct.

Source: Infrared photography

Analysis Night Vision still from own video recording(s)

- Alien
- Green / Cyan
- Dark
- Monochromatic
- Eyes light up
- Artificial
- Teeth and nails shiny
- Feeling herself
- Hair light
- Skin smooth / airbrushed
- Moment with herself
- Sensual (is that because of the way she touches herself)
- Night vision creates distance to subject
- Night vision alters perception of flesh and blood human
- Dead because of eyes
- Timeless?
- Movements could be seducing but this is lessened by night vision, breaks the connection?
- Looks at you but also past you because of empty eyes
- Movements could be a conversation with herself
- Spot/light is on her
- She becomes an object of research
- Or a hunted animal (could be because of what I've read so far)
- She outruns my camera with fast movements hence the blurriness
- The night vision also makes her less visible in a way / hides her
- She is protected of eroticism
- Would people find her scary like this?
- Movements border between sensual and aggression
- Night vision is barrier that is contradicting since night vision is associated with hunting
- Not sure if she seems either super comfortable with herself or opposite: she is struggling with her body
- There is direct communication between herself and body
- Thought night vision would be exposing but it's the contrary she's more hidden
- Flexible
- Supernatural
- I have associations with horror because of night vision use in movies
- I don't recognize my friend her identity is different now
- There's beauty in it (or aesthetic I really don't know what the right word is)
- Maybe it says see me and also please don't see me; blurry and night vision in contrast with movements
- Distancing
- Intimate
- Night vision used to be able to look through clothes in the past
- It's all very contradictive?
- Gentle
- Gritty

Difference between Sexuality and Eroticism Did I even analyse my image right???

Night Vision and Thermal Imaging

Can you actually see in the dark? Yes with the proper Night Vision equipment you can see a person standing over 200 yards (183 m) away on a moonless, cloudy night. Night Vision can work in two different ways, depending on the technology used.

• Image enhancement - This works by collecting the tiny amounts of light, including the lower portion of the infrared light spectrum, that are present but may be imperceptible to our eyes, and amplifying it to the point that we can easily observe the image.

• Thermal Imaging - This technology operates by capturing the upper portion of the infrared light spectrum, which is emitted as heat by objects instead of simply reflected as light. Hotter objects, such as warm bodies emit more of this light than cooler objects, like trees or buildings.

In order to understand night vision, it is important to understand something about light. The amount of energy in a light wave is related to its wavelength; Shorter wavelengths have higher energy. Of visible light, violet has the most energy, and red has the least. Just next to the visible light spectrum is the infrared spectrum.

Infrared light can be split into three categories:

• Near-infrared (Near-IR) - Closest to visible light, Near-IR has wavelengths that range from 0.7 to 1.3 microns, or 700 billionths to 1.300 billionths of a meter.
• Mid-infrared (Mid-IR) - Mid-IR has wavelengths ranging from 1.3 to 3 microns. Both Near-IR and Mid-IR are used by a variety of electronic devices, including remote controls.
• Thermal-infrared (Thermal-IR) - Occupying the largest part of the infrared spectrum, thermal-IR has wavelengths ranging from 3 microns to over 30 microns.

The key difference between Thermal-IR and the other two is that Thermal-IR is emitted by an object instead of reflected off it. Infrared light is emitted by an object because of what is happening at the atomic level.

Atoms

Atoms are constantly in motion. They continuously vibrate, move and rotate. Even the atoms that make up the chairs that we sit in are moving around. Solids are actually in motion! Atoms can be in different states of excitation. In other words, they can have different energies. If we apply a lot of energy to an atom, it can leave what is called the ground-state energy level and move to an excited level. The level of excitation depends on the amount of energy applied to atom via heat, light or electricity.

An atom consists of a nucleus (containing the protons and neutrons) and an electron cloud. Think of the electrons in this cloud as circling the nucleus in many different orbits. Although more modern views of the atom do not depict discrete orbits for the electrons, it can be useful to think of these orbits as the different energy levels of the atom. In other words, if we apply some heat to an atom, we might expect that some of the electrons in the lower energy orbitals would transition to higher energy orbitals, moving farther from the nucleus.

Once an electron moves to a higher-energy orbit, it eventually wants to return to the ground state. When it does, it releases energy as a photon: a particle of light. You see atoms releasing energy as photons all the time. For example, when the heating element in a toaster turns bright red, the red color is caused by atoms excited by heat, releasing red photons. An excited electron has more energy than a relaxed electron, and just as the electron absorbed some amount of energy to reach this excited level, it can release this energy to return to the ground state. This emitted energy is in the form of photons (light energy). The photon emitted has a very specific wavelength (color) that depends on the state of the electron's energy when the photon is released.

Anything that is alive uses energy, and so do many inanimate items such as engines and rockets. Energy consumption generates heat. In turn, heat causes the atoms in an object to fire off photons in the thermal-infrared spectrum. The hotter the object, the shorter the wavelength of the infrared photon it releases. An object that is very hot will even begin to emit photons in the visible spectrum, glowing red and then moving up through orange, yellow, blue and eventually white.

In night vision, thermal imaging takes advantage of this infrared emission.

Thermal Imaging

Here's how thermal imaging works:

1. A special lens focuses the infrared light emitted by all of the objects in view.

2. The focused light is scanned by a phased array of infrared detector elements. The detector elements create a very detailed temperature pattern called a thermogram. It only takes about one-thirtieth of a second for the detector array to obtain the temperature information to make the termogram. This information is obtained from several thousand points in the field of view of the detector array.

3. The thermogram created by the detector elements is translated into electric impulses.

4. The impulses are sent to a signal-processing unit, a circuit board with a dedicated chip that translates the information from the elements into data for display.

5. The signal-processing unit sends the information to the display, where it appears as various colors depending on the intensity of the infrared emission. The combination of all the impulses from all of the elements creates the image.

Types of Thermal Imaging Devices

Most thermal-imaging devices scan at a rate of 30 times per second. They can sense temperatures ranging from -4 degrees Fahrenheit (-20 degrees Celsius) to 3,600 F (2,000 C), and can normally detect changes in temperature of about 0.4 F (0.2 C).

There are two common types of thermal-imaging devices:

• Un-cooled - This is the most common type of thermal-imaging device. The infrared-detector elements are contained in a unit that operates at room temperature. This type of system is completely quiet, activates immediately and has the battery built right in.
• Cryogenically cooled - More expensive and more susceptible to damage from rugged use, these systems have the elements sealed inside a container that cools them below 32 F (zero C). The advantage of such a system is the incredible resolution and sensitivity that result from cooling the elements. Cryogenically-cooled systems can see a difference as small as 0.2 F (0.1 C) from more than 1,000 ft (300 m) away, which is enough to tell if a person is holding a gun at that distance.

While thermal imaging is great for detecting people or working in near-absolute darkness, most night-vision equipment uses image-enhancement technology.

Image Enhancement

Image-enhancement technology is what most people think of when you talk about night vision. In fact, image-enhancement systems are normally called night-vision devices (NVDs). NVDs rely on a special tube, called an image-intensifier tube, to collect and amplify infrared and visible light.

The image-intensifier tube changes photons to electrons and back again.

Here's how image enhancement works:

1. A conventional lens, called the objective lens, captures ambient light and some near-infrared light.

2. The gathered light is sent to the image-intensifier tube. In most NVDs, the power supply for the image-intensifier tube receives power from two N-Cell or two 'AA' batteries. The tube outputs a high voltage, about 5,000 volts, to the image-tube components.

3. The image-intensifier tube has a photocathode, which is used to convert the photons of light energy into electrons.

4. As the electrons pass through the tube, similar electrons are released from atoms in the tube, multiplying the original number of electrons by a factor of thousands through the use of a microchannel plate (MCP) in the tube. An MCP is a tiny glass disc that has millions of microscopic holes (microchannels) in it, made using fiber-optic technology. The MCP is contained in a vacuum and has metal electrodes on either side of the disc. Each channel is about 45 times longer than it is wide, and it works as an electron multiplier. When the electrons from the photo cathode hit the first electron of the MCP, they are accelerated into the glass microchannels by the 5,000-V bursts being sent between the electrode pair. As electrons pass through the microchannels, they cause thousands of other electrons to be released in each channel using a process called cascaded secondary emission. Basically, the original electrons collide with the side of the channel, exciting atoms and causing other electrons to be released. These new electrons also collide with other atoms, creating a chain reaction that results in thousands electrons leaving the channel where only a few entered. An interesting fact is that the microchannels in the MCP are created at a slight angle (about 5-degrees to 8-degree bias) to encourage electron collisions and reduce both ion and direct-light feedback from the phosphors on the output side.

5. At the end of the image-intensifier tube, the electrons hit a screen coated with phosphors. These electrons maintain their position in relation to the channel they passed through, which provides a perfect image since the electrons stay in the same alignment as the original photons. The energy of the electrons causes the phosphors to reach an excited stage and release photons. These phosphors create the green image on the screen that has come to characterize night vision.

6. The green phosphor image is viewed through another lens, called the ocular lens, which allows you to magnify and focus the image. The NVD may be connected to an electronic display, such as a monitor, or the image may be viewed directly through the ocular lens.

Phosphor: A luminescent substance that emits light when excited by radiation (such as electrons) and is used especially in fluorescent lamps and cathode-ray tubes.

Generations

NVDs have been around for more than 40 years. They are categorized by generation. Each substantial change in NVD technology establishes a new generation.

• Generation 0 - The original night-vision system created by the United States Army and used in World War II and the Korean War, these NVDs use active infrared. This means that a projection unit, called an IR illuminator, is attached to the NVD. The unit projects a beam of near-infrared light, similar to the beam of a normal flashlight. Invisible to the naked eye, this beam reflects off objects and bounces back to the lens of the NVD. These systems use an anode in conjunction with the cathode to accelerate the electrons. The problem with that approach is that the acceleration of the electrons distorts the image and greatly decreases the life of the tube. Another major problem with this technology in its original military use was that it was quickly duplicated by hostile nations, which allowed enemy soldiers to use their own NVDs to see the infrared beam projected by the device.
• Generation 1 - The next generation of NVDs moved away from active infrared, using passive infrared instead. Once dubbed Starlight by the U.S. army, these NVDs use ambient light provided by the moon and stars to augment the normal amounts of reflected infrared in the environment. This means that they did not require a source of projected infrared light. This also means that they do not work very well on cloudless or moonless nights. Generation-1 NVDs use the same image-intensifier tube technology as Generation-0, with both cathode and anode, so image distortion and short tube life are still a problem.
• Generation 2 - Major improvements in image-intensifier tubes resulted in Generation-2 NVDs. They offer improved resolution and performance over Generation-1 devices, and are considerably more reliable. The biggest gain in Generation-2 is the ability to see in extremely low light conditions, such as a moonless light. This increased sensitivity is due to the addition of the microchannel plate to the image-intensifier tube. Since the MCP actually increases the number of electrons instead of just accelerating the original ones, the images are significantly less distorted and brighter than earlier-generation NVDs.
• Generation 3 - Generation 3 is currently used by the U.S. military. While there are no substantial changes in the underlying technology from Generation-2, these NVDs have even better resolution and sensitivity. This is because the photo cathode is made using galium arsenide, which is very efficient at converting photons to electrons. Additionaly, the MCP is coated with an ion barrier, which dramatically increases the life of the tube.
• Generation 4 - What is generally known as Generation 4 or filmless and gated technology shows significant overall improvement in both low- and high-level light environments. The removal of the ion barrier from the MCP that was added in Generation-3 technology reduces the background noise and thereby enhances the signal to noise ratio. Removing the ion film actually allows more electrons to reach the amplification stage so that the images are significantly less distorted and brighter. The addition of an automatic gated power supply system allows the photocathode voltage to switch on and off rapidly, thereby enabling the NVD to respond to a fluctuation in lightning conditions in an instant. This capability is a critical advance in NVD systems, in that it allows the NVD user to quickly move from high-light to low-light (or from low-light to high-light) environments without any halting effects. For example, consider the ubiquitous movie scene where an agent using night vision goggles is 'sightless' when someone turns on a light nearby. With the new, gated power feature, the change in lighting wouldn't have the same impact; the new improved NVD would respond immediately to the lightning change.

Many of the so-called 'bargain' night-vision scopes use Generation-0 or Generation-1 technology and may be dissapointing if you expect the sensitivity of the devices used by professionals. Generation-2, Generation-3 and Generation-4 NVDs are typically expensive to purchase, but they will last if properly cared for. Also, any NVD can benefit from the use of an IR Illuminator in very dark areas where there is almost no ambient light to collect.

Every single image-intensifier tube put through rigorous tests to see if it meets the requirements set forth by the military. Tubes that do are classified as MILSPEC. Tubes that fail to meet military requirements in even a single category are classified as COMSPEC.

Night Vision Equipment and Applications

Night-vision equipment can be split into three broad categories:

• Scopes - Normally handheld or mounted on a weapon, scopes are monocular (one eye-piece). Since scopes are handheld, not worn like goggles, they are good for when you want to get a better look at a specific object and then return to normal viewing conditions.
• Goggles - While goggles can be handheld, they are most often worn on the head. Goggles are binocular (two eye-pieces) and may have a single lens or stereo lens, depending on the model. Goggles are excellent for constant viewing, such as moving around in a dark building.
• Cameras - Cameras with night-vision technology can send the image to a monitor for display or to a VCR for recording. When night-vision capability is desired in a permanent location, such as on a building or as part of the equipment in a helicopter, cameras are used. Many of the newer camcorders have night vision built right in.

Applications

Common applications for night vision include:

• Military
• Law enforcement
• Hunting
• Wildlife observation
• Surveillance
• Security
• Navigation
• Hidden-object detection
• Entertainment

The original purpose of night vision was to locate enemy targets at night. It is still used extensively by the military for that purpose, as well as for navigation, surveillance and targeting. Police and security often use both thermal-imaging and image-enhancement technology, particularly for surveillance. Hunters and nature enthusiasts use NVDs to maneuver through the woods at night.

Detectives and private investigators use night vision to watch people they are assigned to track. Many businesses have permanently-mounted cameras equipped with night vision to monitor the surroundings.

A really amazing ability of thermal imaging is that it reveals whether an area has been disturbed - it can show that the ground has been dug up to bury something, even if there is no obvious sign to the naked eye. Law enforcement has used this to discover items that have been hidden by criminals, including money, drugs and bodies. Also recent changes to areas such as walls can be seen using thermal imaging, which has provided important clues in several cases.

Source: Night Vision & Thermal Imaging

Best Science Docu ever

Electromagnetic Spectrum

The shorter the waves the sharper the image will be.
For example; With infrared (long waves) the skin appears smooth while with ultraviolet (short waves) the skin shows everything, even hidden sun damage.

X-Ray

X-Rays; Are a very energetic form of electromagnetic radiation that can be used to take images of the human body.

X-rays are types of electromagnetic radiation probably most well-known for their ability to see through a person's skin and reveal images of the bones beneath it. Advances in technology have led to more powerful and focused X-ray beams as well as ever greater applications of these light waves, from imaging teensy biological cells and structural components of materials like cement to killing cancer cells.

X-rays are rougly classified into soft X-rays and hard X-rays. Soft X-rays have relatively short wavelengths of about 10 nanometers (a nanometer is one-billionth of a meter), and so they fall in the range of the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum between ultraviolet (UV) light and gamma-rays. Hard X-rays have wavelengths of about 100 picometers (a picometer is one-trillionth of a meter). These electromagnetic waves occupy the same region of the EM spectrum as gamma-rays. The only difference between them is their source: X-rays are produced by accelerating electrons, whereas gamma-rays are produced by atomic nuclei in one of four nuclear reactions.

History of X-rays

X-rays were discovered in 1895 by Wilhelm Conrad Röentgen, a professor at Würzburg University in Germany. According to the Nondestructive Resource Center's History of Radiography, Röentgen noticed crystals near a high-voltage cathode-ray tube exhibiting a fluorescent glow, even when he shielded them with dark paper. Some form of energy was being produced by the tube that was penetrating the paper and causing the crystals to glow. Röentgen called the unknown energy X-radiation. Experiments showed that this radiation could penetrate soft tissues but not bone, and would produce shadow images on photographic plates.

For this discovery, Röentgen was awarded with the very first Nobel Prize in physics, in 1901.

X-ray sources and effects

X-rays can be produced on Earth by sending a high-energy beam of electrons smashing into an atom like copper or gallium, according to Kelly Gaffney, director of the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource. When the beam hits the atom, the electrons in the inner shell, called the s-shell get jostled, and sometimes flung out of their orbit. Without that electron, or electrons, the atom becomes unstable, and so for the atom to relax or go back to equilibrium, Gaffney said, an electron in the so-called 1p shell drops in to fill the gap. The result? An X-ray gets released.

The problem with that is the fluorescence [or X-ray light given off] goes in all directions, Gaffney told Live Science. They aren't directional and not focusable. It's not a very easy way to make a high-energy, bright source of X-rays.

Enter a synchrotron, a type of particle accelerator that accelerates charged particles like electrons inside a closed, circular path. Basic physics suggests that any time you accelerate a charged particle, it gives off light. The type of light depends on the energy of the electrons (or other charged particles) and the magnetic field that pushes them around the circle, Gaffney said.

Since the synchrotron electrons are pushed to near the speed of light, they give off enormous amounts of energy, particularly X-ray energy. And not just any X-rays, but a very powerful beam of focused X-ray light.

Synchrotron radiation was seen for the first time at General Electric in the United States in 1947, according to the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. This radiation was considered a nuisance because it caused the particles to lose energy, but it was later recognized in the 1960s as light with exceptional properties that overcame the shortcomings of X-ray tubes. One interesting feature of synchrotron radiation is that it is polarized; that is, the electric and magnetic fields of the photons all oscillate in the same direction, which can be either linear or circular.

Because the electrons are relativistic [or moving at near light-speed], when they give off light, it ends up being focused in the forward direction, Gaffney said. This means you get not just the right color of light X-rays and not just a lot of them because you have a lot of electrons stored, they're also preferentially emitted in the forward direction.

X-ray imaging

Due to their ability to penetrate certain materials, X-rays are used for several nondestructive evaluation and testing applications, particularly for identifying flaws or cracks in structural components. According to the NDT Resource Center, Radiation is directed through a part and onto [a] film or other detector. The resulting shadowgraph shows the internal features and whether the part is sound. This is the same technique used in doctors' and dentists' offices to create X-ray images of bones and teeth, respectively.

X-rays are also essential for transportation security inspections of cargo, luggage and passengers. Electronic imaging detectors allow for real-time visualization of the content of packages and other passenger items.

The original use of X-rays was for imaging bones, which were easily distinguishable from soft tissues on the film that was available at that time. However, more accurate focusing systems and more sensitive detection methods, such as improved photographic films and electronic imaging sensors, have made it possible to distinguish increasingly fine detail and subtle differences in tissue density, while using much lower exposure levels.

Additionaly, computed tomography (CT) combines multiple X-ray images into a 3D model of a region of interest.

Similar to CT, synchrotron tomography can reveal three-dimensional images of interior structures of objects like engineering components, according to the Hemholtz Center for Materials and Energy.

X-ray Therapy

Radiation therapy uses high-energy radiation to kill cancer cells by damaging their DNA. Since the treatment can also damage normal cells, the National Cancer Institute recommends that treatment be carefully planned to minimize side effects.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, so-called ionizing radiation from X-rays zaps a focused area with enough energy to completely strip electrons from atoms and molecules, thus altering their properties. In sufficient doses, this can damage or destroy cells. While this cell damage can cause cancer, it can also be used to fight it. By directing X-rays at cancerous tumors, it can demolish those abnormal cells.

X-ray astronomy

According to Robert Patterson, a professor of astronomy at Missouri State University, celestial sources of X-rays include close binary systems containing black holes or neutron stars. In these systems, the more massive and compact stellar remnant can strip material from its companion star to form a disk of extremely hot X-ray-emitting gas as it spirals inward. Additionally, supermassive black holes at the centers of spiral galaxies can emit X-rays as they absorb stars and gas clouds that fall within their gravitational reach.

X-ray telescopes use low-angle reflections to focus these high-energy photons (light) that would otherwise pass through normal telescope mirrors. Because Earth's atmosphere blocks most X-rays, observations are typically conducted using high-altitude balloons or orbiting telescopes.

Important Link: https://www.livescience.com/37267-how-to-see-inside-the-mind.html

Could humans see infrared: https://io9.gizmodo.com/under-the-right-conditions-humans-can-see-infrared-1665448040

Dreams;

Psychical objects that you encounter in your daily life, can trigger neurons to fire even though those brain waves don't ever reach your conscious mind. While sleeping, those neurons may spring into life and you start to weave together a dream that brings back elements of your past. Little fragments of memories can become the basis for experiences we remember in the morning as vividly as if they had actually occurred.

Anticipate; To imagine or expect that something will happen.

Expectation; A belief about what might happen in the future.

EYE ANALYSIS

Night vision original edit; original night vision

By changing the night vision colour I’m basically questioning my own research.

Is the night vision relevant? Is it dispensable? Does it add something?

The black and white experiments are important, because they help me decide with what and how I want to communicate. This does not mean that I dislike the night vision, in contrary I like the experiments where the image is distorted / black and white but where the effects of the night vision are still visible. I do feel that my research to the electromagnetic spectrum is important for my practice, but I need an opening for the disruption of my images. Otherwise it will become too restrictive instead of it giving me a direction.

As long as I know what I’m doing technique wise (the experimenting with light that is beyond the visible spectrum). I think that it is interesting to manipulate this recorded light. After all the research I’m pretty aware of the physics side so it’s not random experimentation.

Moving image Experimentations:

Subtract; darkened black and white the night vision is still very noticeable: black and white

Solarisation; I came up with this by inverting the image partially, I already did experiments like this with analogue photography. Maybe it’s not that related to the electromagnetic spectrum. It does work with the reversal of light which makes something that was unseen in the image now seen. I do have to say it’s not my favourite, it looks too much like a Man Ray photograph came to life: solarisation

Drk; This one might seem quite different from the original night vision but I didn’t do that much to it. I just put it in black and white and lowered the cyan tones while raising the green tones. Since night vision works with phosphor (which makes the image cyan / green) I thought it would be interesting to break these tones: drk

Negativ; I won’t use this, I made a black and white negative just to see how it would look with silhouettes: negativ

Obviously if I pick one of these options for the video I will still have to figure out how to represent it the best way possible. These were still experiments so the edit /colour is not to its full potential yet.

Edit wise I tried to experiment with the feeling of anticipation / expectation and create a disordered rhythm. I’m still working on this, so the edit is not where I want it to be yet.

The dancer in the video is my friend who I have collaborated with before. We did this again, and I ended up deciding I want to use these recordings for the EYE project. Her movements work pretty well with a nonlinear edit / storyline (my video is not really narrative so not sure how to call it). There is a distinctive theme in how she moves which gives me the possibility to disrupt while keeping a sense of recognisability.

I also did one experiment with double exposure, which I don’t like it reminds me of a perfume commercial: perfume commercial

I would also like to share a little analysis about my subject matter:

In my most recent work I focused mainly on the electromagnetic light spectrum, but I noticed an important aspect in my (previous) work that I felt shouldn’t be left unnoticed. Even though I’m not sure what to do with this observation yet.

The observation is that the images that I record quite often have an erotic edge (I don’t just mean sexuality with this). When I make these images my own (through manipulation, editing etc..) these images become disrupted. They often become more hidden, plastered, damaged, hollow, fleshy and sometimes just plain uglier.

I felt uncomfortable when I first noticed this so I figured it’s probably important.

Like an electromagnetic spectrum diagram which shows the shortest to longest wavelength (frequencies), maybe I also have a diagram in my head that goes from alive (erotic, connect) to death (emptiness, disconnect).

I’m probably getting ahead of myself and maybe I should just leave this for a while, since I don’t know if I found the right words to describe it all yet. Few examples, old work: old work

Key Notes Tutorial David

- Intimacy Masturbation
- Acting
- Artificial
- Subtitles
- Reversed Choreo
- Voice over
- Pulling it further to the artificial

EYE Update for Tina + Link

I want to focus on the artificial side of the recordings.
The nightvision gives an artificial effect on the skin, nails, eyes etc.
This artificiality is also noticeable in her movements you can see that she is acting (dramatization).
Based on this it could be interesting to add some sort of subtitles which describe her movements like: Up up, down, look at me.
This would make it a reversed choreography.

Effect wise I will have to check if I will mix the experiments up or pick one.
In the edit I will probably focus on the close ups (face) since those appeal to me the most.
Combined with slow motions but also interruptions with unexpected cuts.

For the sound I might use either a voice-over (which gives the directions) or I was thinking about using Ableton to make a soundscape (but not entirely sure yet what the sound will be)

Link: The Girl Chewing Gum

Synopsis + Logline exercises Steve

Possible Logline:

Obstructed choreo

Possible synopsis:

Left, right, up, down, slower, faster, touch your face, turn your back, look at me, look away, open your mouth, close it, use your fingers, no both hands and don’t forget you’re in a close up.

ActionHorror

Logline

I AM GOD.

Synopsis

Captured. Alienated. Fighting with being an alienated alien. WHO IS THE INVADER HERE? What would you do.. Who is the watcher and who is the predator? A sociopathic journalist discovers a new species and decides to capture it in the sealed dark. Unknowing of the harrowing consequences of being submerged in a nest where there are no rules but violence.

New York Times; A horrifying look at the current state of privacy
Nominated for 5 Oscars and winner of every category at Cannes

SciFiRomcom

Logline

What if your soulmate was lurking in the dark and you were just not aware of this? A peculiar love journey where the exotic is a beam of light in the darkness of reality.

Synopsis

An alluring creature is found in the dark underground by a journalist. He can only see her by recording with a special camera and falls totally in love while doing so. While questioning what / who she is?

DavidLynchean

Logline

Lit eyes. A face. Fragments of expression.

Synopsis

Light, a perception that becomes questioned by the dark. It is not visible but It is there. Or was It not there? Was It only real because It was recorded? This It is not in the physical realm anymore. What was the ‘’It’’? There was a face. No words. No sound. Nothing. The face is gone. It comes back with Its reality in the dark.

Meeting Steve

Hi Marieke

Make a record of the whole process
A seductive image within a degraded form = how will someone receive it.

Make a record of the whole process.

Make a rapid prototype which addresses the issue of: a seductive image within a degraded form
What are the minimum conditions to make a work on this issue.

John Tagg= the burden of representation.

The invention of hysteria = Didi Hubermann

Notes Francesca Woodman - Fondation Cartier

Convulsive beauty

IFFR

At the Iffr film festival I have seen A LOT. But here I will only discuss the fils that I am sure I will never forget.

White Noise by Antoine d'Agata: This film was 4,5 hours of pure misery and I loved it. There were quite a lot of walk outs which I completely understand. It's a tough watch, so tough that in my case I could not look away. The film shows life through a dark and agonized lens. Monologues of prostitutes from different part of the world are the leading narration in the film. But all this comes after a depressing found footage compilation full of violence (mainly related to kapitalism). The sound of the entire film is filled with white noise that mixes in moans and I was never sure if these moans came either from pleasure or pain. The sound disturbed me. The visual part of the film is filled with sex, drugs, automutilation, violence as its main themes but these are alternated with images of nature or rest (sleep).

The artist himself immerses himself in the worlds of the prostitutes. He does drugs with them has sex with them and from what I heard in the monologues gains their trust. I do have to say I am still not sure if this borders on exploitation or if he genuinely cares about these woman. Is he a hypocrite because he can leave the pain and is in that sense privileged? Or is that not the case since he travels from one place filled with pain to another place that is just as painful.

Quotations from the monologues that struck me:

It's not about saying yes it's about not saying no
If I had the choice I would never have sex, I hate sex.
I hate men.
I am a diamond that is not found yet, but I am here waiting for someone to see me.
You betrayed me you were here for 6 months and you just leave nothing ever fulfills you.
We are not that different you and me.
I have a lot of diagnoses under my belt.
I really want love and to be loved in my life, even while I have never felt what its like.
We just sleep when we don't have to work if you take time to think you will just realize you want to die.
My ex-husband burned me when I leaved him, he said no one would ever love me again. He was wrong they did, I just didn't love them.
Woman are seen as the source of life; we are a portal to death, people who want to come close to death visit us.

These women all have so much wisdom and experience of life. It broke my heart because all of this is rooted in pain, but I couldn't help but feel that they know and lived a truth that most of us are protected from.

Video Home Project by Guusje America

I don't want to explain this film out of respect for the artist.
So instead I will share her website biography here: http://guusjeamerica.com/about/

Notes tutorial David

- Male / Female Gaze
- Death 24x per second by Laura Mulvey
- Power Structure
- Video goes from acted seduction to an almost rape scenario
- Keep filming this concept with these subtitles could be done in many ways
- This is a work that opens a dialogue/discussion, it keeps you active and thinking while viewing
- A work that is not just a nice image to look at (my problem in the past)
- Read feminist film theories especially related to the male gaze
- Can we even escape the male gaze since it is so engrained in history? Or just show that it exists like in my video?
- This is not a product this is a research

After tutorial with Ine note to self:

Ik moet blijven klooien is niet erg.

Note Tracy Emin Talk

She often doesn't incorporate faces in her drawings. Because it doesn't matter who the woman is. It's about a woman's journey not just one journey.

Symposium Female Perspective; Amstelveen

Mary F. Calvert

Photojournalism on male rape in the military

- The living dead - Insomnia, afraid to sleep, nightmares - Robbed of manhood - Alcoholism - Ptsd - Fear of sleeping in bed because rape happened in a bed

During her talk it felt like my heart crumbled, I remember that I said in my motivation letter that still images had never made me cry before and that an image needs to move in order for me to have a strong emotional reaction like sadness.

I was wrong because during Mary's talk not only did I have to try really hard not to burst into tears but I also had goosebumps, a fast heartbeat and nausea.

An image of an old veteran with a tear run down his face, followed by an image of him visiting the graves of deceased veterans with his veteran dog devastated me.

Artist to remember after tutorial

• Gillian Wearing
• Nan Goldin

IT FOLLOWS:

Analysis 1

Analysis 2

Analysis 3

Analysis 4

Analysis 5

Tutorial Barend

3 Points to focus on:

• Reflections-mirrors in Cinema
• Camera as an active character
• Genre conventions Horror

Mirrors cinema / youtube

Research gate / Mirror shots

Essay / Mirrors cinema

Taste of cinema / Mirrors cinema history

Tutorial Javi

Ben Russell / Badlands

Psychological Horror

Beginners guide Psychological Horror

Wiki / Psychological Horror

Note to self

If I record myself and then study myself, isn't that in a way the same function that a mirror has?

Links

Ten Ways of Making a Great Horror Film

Basic Tips and Concepts / Horror Film

3 Reasons Why Today's Horror Films Are Just Not Scary Anymore

Maybe I should watch more Hitchcock movies

The "Hitchcockian" style includes the use of camera movement to mimic a person's gaze, thereby turning viewers into voyeurs, and framing shots to maximise anxiety and fear. The film critic Robin Wood wrote that the meaning of a Hitchcock film "is there in the method, in the progression from shot to shot. A Hitchcock film is an organism, with the whole implied in every detail and every detail related to the whole."

Antoine d'Agata - Night Shot

Korean Horror - Difference between Despair / Fear

Dumb Modern Horror

Psychological Horror Breakdown

psychological-horror-part-one

the-subjectivity-of-horror-part-two-the-fall-of-psychological-horror

the-subjectivity-of-horror-part-three-the-return-of-psychological-horror

Films / Series I should see:

• Man Bites Dog
• Funny Games
• Psycho
• A Tale of Two Sisters
• True Detective (Season 1)
• Don't Look Now
• The Wailing
• Ari Aster's Shorts
• BoJack Horseman
• Rosemary's Baby
• Jacob's Ladder
• Dogtooth +
• Gerald's Game +-
• Under the Skin
• Reservoir Dogs ++ (stylized violence)
• True Romance

Old Introduction to research

(Cringe)

Introduction to Research