Group blog post - „How pictures are developed“

Each day photo laboratories receives many rolls of film for development. To process each exposure it is first turned into a negative image and then into a positive one. That positive image is what is known as a photograph. First, a scanner takes the envelopes which contain the film and sorts them into bins, according to what size the final picture should have and according to how many copies need to be made of each picture. Then, a machine extracts the film rolls from the metal capsules in total darkness. Exposing the film to light would ruin the photo because the film is sensitive to all of the visible wavelengths of light and photons emitted from the light source change the chemical nature of the particles the film is made of. The envelopes from the bins are then transferred into bundles so they can later be reunited with the right pictures and negatives. From the inside of the machine a blade cuts open the metal capsules. The machine unravels and lines up films as long as sixty meters. A sticker is being placed on the films in order to identify each film with a barcode. Once the machine measures the assembled strip, which gets wrapped onto a wheel inside a metal box. Developing the exposures requires four chemical baths in complete darkness. In the first chemical bath, sulfates make the image appear as a negative. The second chemical bath includes acetic acid to hold the effects of the sulfates. The last two baths preserve the image and rinse away any chemical traces. To print pictures the negatives are loaded into yet another machine which contains light sensitive paper. All it takes is a flash to transfer the image. A sensor instantly adjusts the intensity to correct any improper exposure by the photographer. To develop the prints the paper now goes through four chemical baths similar to those used for the negatives before.

One chemical bath reveals the image and another chemical bath stops that process. Two more chemical baths preserve the image and rinse off the chemicals. This time, however, the paper goes into an oven to dry for two minutes at seventy degrees Celsius. Then, a technician marks the pictures that are too bright, too dim or out of focus and removes them from redeveloping. Next, a machine unwinds the strip, scans the barcodes and cuts out the pictures that belong together. It also cuts the negatives into numbered strips of four. Once this is done, the photos and negatives are slipped into an envelope. The computer shows just what to include in each envelope and a machine provides the film’s original package which is also included in the envelope. Now the owner can sit back and enjoy his/her pictures.

Description of the ‘Napalm Girl’

The photo ‘Napalm Girl’ was taken by Huynh Cong Ut during the Vietnamese War in 1972 in Trang Bang. The black-and-white photograph shows five children running along a road followed by five soldiers. They are hurrying along a deserted road, as though driven by shuddering fear. Behind them there is a thick cloud of black smoke. In the foreground, on the left side of the road, there is a boy who is wearing a plain white shirt and black shorts and has his mouth opened, crying in utter despair. His eyes stare in disbelief. Behind him there is an about four-year-old boy wearing nothing but a long-sleeved, white button-down shirt. He is turning his head back to the soldiers and to the huge cloud of smoke in the background that seems to be coming closer and closer. In the middle of the road is a nine-year-old naked girl, the ‘Napalm Girl’, who is screaming and running toward the camera in what seems to be agony. Her outstretched arms and her wailing face set the tone of the picture. She cries as if her heart has been wrenched out of her little body. Like the cold breath of a grave, her face seems to cut every person’s soul. On the right hand side of the road a small boy who seems to be bewildered, not knowing what is happening, and a desperate girl - possibly brother and sister - run hand in hand. They are the only fully clothed children in the picture, missing nothing but their shoes. Whereas the scared and desperate children all seem to run for their lives, the four soldiers leisurely walk behind them. They are dressed in their uniforms, helmets and carrying firearms. Their facial expressions are not really discernible, as they are situated too far back in the picture. Another person is visible in the very back of the picture, right in front of the thick, massive cloud of smoke which makes it impossible to see what could be behind it. Both sides of the road are surrounded by grass and some bushes.

A day in the life of....

Blog post late because added to G+ (MK ok)

Last year in Palm Beach, I bought a big, vanilla white handbag, which I have always carried in public. The bag is relative big and I tend to carry large-ish handbags. I am pretty average sized, but I tend to carry large bags, because I carry a lot with me. I like to be prepared for every eventuality, and thus it is totally suited for lugging such as a a bottle of water, my lunch or snacks, wallet, keys, a mini umbrella, aspirin, a novel, pens, aspirin and all the other necessities of life. Golden hardware, tote handles with chain insets and rings the outside of the handbag. Creamy white jacquard satin logo lining the inside of the bag and snap top secures compartmentalized interior. Inside the pocket I has scrawled my initials "H.B." in red lipstick. At the bottom of the purse is a golden key, which reminds me of my mum warned me never to go out without a key in case I came home and nobody is at home. I carry a lot off stuff. I just hate the thought of leaving the house, then finding myself needing something and buying it just for the day when I have already got heaps at home. What a waste of money.