AIR 1 © Will Wilson
BIOCOMM 2023 was an exciting and dynamic conference with a program full of educational workshops and presentations. The diversity of our presentations left you feeling amazed at the variety of scientific and medical imaging that our colleagues are utilizing. Many took advantage of our in-person conference to attend hands-on workshops. This made a nice change from the online experiences we have had for the past few years.
Directly following BIOCOMM 2023 there was a post-conference workshop. Colleagues continued the networking in a more relaxed and informal atmosphere, while still continuing to reap the educational benefits of photography in the field.
| Tuesday, May 16 |
First collected in 1890 and 1897, the Rock horned lizard (Phrynosoma ditmarsi) was lost to science for 73 years. Extensive detective work on the part of a diverse group of scientists led to its "rediscovery" m 1970. Since that time, the lizard continued to confound biologists that set out to learn more about this elusive reptile. Reports of sightings and photographs of Ditmars homed lizards emerged from a Mexican high-school student working on his family's ranch in Northern Sonora Mexico. Fueled by this exciting new information, a bi-national expedition of Mexican and OS biologists traveled to the area. The expedition resulted in numerous captures and the emollition of interesting new life history information about this little-known lizard.
Photographic truth is being entirely challenged by the ever-changing technology of digital image manipulation and synthesis. Photographs can be altered that are virtually undetectable and photorealistic synthesised images are becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish from original photographs. Image-processing software can rearrange and otherwise transform the elements of a scene. The same software can combine fragments of different images into a new one. The question of how to distinguish visual fact from fiction is becoming increasingly important as we witness the explosive proliferation of digital imaging technology. Digital imaging technology can provide openings for principled resistance to established social and cultural practices, and at the same time it can create possibilities for cynical subversion of those practices.
Photographers working within the discipline of medical and scientific imaging may at times develop a creative block to embracing the abstract image. Thinking differently, “outside the norm” will help one improve their own photographic practice, whether that emphasis be on art or science.
This workshop will be delivered in two parts. Part one will focus on creative thinking and visualization. Selected themes will be used to generate ideas to tell a personal story of a place, a time or an event that shapes the natural world. Such themes as 'World's within Worlds', 'Tracks of Man'', 'Shaped by Water/Shared by Wind', and the Japanese ephemeral concept of 'Wabi-Sabi' will be included.
At the conclusion of Part one, photographers will have ample time in the field to create images for the follow-up in Part two, analysis and discussion. Collectively we will experience how photographers working in the same area and with a common theme can interpret the natural world so differently and convey that personal emotion in the visual image.
Auto-Immune Response began in 2005 and continues today. In it, a figure known only as The Protagonist navigates a post-apocalyptic landscape populated by Native People. Wilson himself portrays the central figure. Fusing multiple genres of photography, he confronts historical and intellectual trauma, considering how he has come to embody such trauma.
Critical Indigenous Photographic Exchange is an ongoing community-centered practice that convenes Indigenous artists, art professionals, government leaders, and the general public in the performative ritual of studio portraits. Wilson employs large format (8x10) wet plate collodion studio photography, the same process that has so deeply influenced our collective understanding of Native American people and our national identity. Augmented reality technology and smart devices map videos to the portraits, connecting the images to the subjects’ voices and perspectives.
Connecting the Dots is based on a photographic survey of the over 500 Abandoned Uranium Mines (AUMs) located on the Navajo Nation. The AUMs are physical manifestations of a complex and traumatic history, and this project raises awareness the Navajo Nation’s efforts to receive remediation for the uranium extraction that has poisoned the land and impoverished a people. Wilson is creating an unconventional photographic survey using drone-based, aerial, and app-activated photography to empower Diné people to re-story their narrative. The project uncovers environmental and social degradation, but more importantly, it creates a platform for voices of resilience and a vision for restorative systems of economy and memory-making.
Peek into the hidden underwater world of bio-fluorescence in marine animals. The author will present research and photographs documenting bio-fluorescent creatures in marine research aquarium tanks. Using a light of specific wavelengths excites an electron, raising energy to an unstable level. The animal then emits light of a different color than that of the "exciter" light. Bio-fluorescent animals can only glow when there are specific wavelengths of light exciting the creature. Turn out the light, and the animal no longer glows. It's a hidden world that scientists are still exploring and discovering uses for fluorescence in science and medicine.
This presentation is a precursor to the Video Workshop, Adam will lead us through the essentials of planning and production of a video piece. An accomplished video producer, he will explain market research and target audience analysis, story building and outlining, budgeting and proposals, scripting and ideation, storyboarding and shot-listing, casting and crewing and location scouting.
A precursor to the Video Workshop, John will discuss techniques and procedures that will help you feel more confident to create a well edited video. He will discuss footage and formatting, sound editing and voice over techniques. You will have a chance to practice during the workshop.
| Wednesday, May 17 |
Tashiding is a 136 acre private estate located in farm country in Northern Baltimore County. It's named after a small town in the Western District of Sikkim in the Eastern Himalaya of India. Tashiding means "Devoted Central Glory, the Center of All Things Auspicious". This presentation about a book project shows the many challenges of a large, long-term undertaking of a general interest coffee table book about a truly unique garden. A review of all of the different disciplines of photography that are involved, from macro, on location studio set-ups for fine art work, architectural interiors and exteriors and of course working in the landscape . Successful book proposals, design, and finding the right publisher, as well as the alternative of self-publishing will be discussed.
Berenice Abbott (1898-1991) is renowned for her distinguished career in photography. Her iconic modernist photography of New York City and environs, supported by the Works Progress Administration, helped to define realist photography in the 1930s. This work however is only a small part of a long and diverse career in photography.
Assistant to the surrealist photographer Man Ray, distinguished portraitist, inventor, educator; is only a partial list of her accomplishments. Abbott’s work in creating photographs depicting the processes of physics are recognized for their clarity of purpose, modernist design, educational value and artistry. They are among the best known and most widely circulated photographs produced strictly for the purpose of illustrating science to a large and diverse audience.
Virtually unknown, is Abbott’s interest in biological photography. This presentation will explore Abbott’s long career with specific attention to her attraction to, activity, and œuvre in biological photography which, not incidentally, predates her acclaimed physics photography.
Photo of Berenice Abbott by Betty Parsons, ca. 1927
National Museum of Women in the Arts
Will Wilson will demonstrate how to make images on tin. We will start in the Meem Conference Room with Will making a portrait image. Then we will go outside to his darkroom tent to learn the particulars of this “old” process which is an art form on its own.
| Thursday, May 18 |
We have created an award winning 3D animated production explaining the revolutionary treatment for blood cancers. For construction of the Chimeric AntigenReceptor (CAR) protein stuctures for animations, no structural data were available in the Protein Databank (PDB). CARs were constructed fragment by fragment, by inferring the protein sequences from DNA primer sequences in the original publication, from which the current therapy evolved. We then searched for protein matches, found what was available in the PDB and modeled missing sequences to produce the complete CAR structure.
Imaging crystals under the microscopes is a fascinating and arduos task, but it could be a way to challenge microscopy techniques and apply the knowledge in new fields. Mr. López will explain his techniques and methods for capturing the image that received the Charles Foster Memorial Citation in BioImages 2022. These methods could be helpful in other applications like pathology.
Converting video capture into a finished usable project is a daunting task. The aim of this workshop is to share and utilize techniques and procedures that may help participants to feel more confident to create well-edited videos. Attention will be given to pre-visualization and planning, commencing a project, importing footage, rough cutting, clipping, resizing and formatting, sound editing and voice over techniques, exporting and uploading.
Software choices in today’s visual world are many and varied. The workshop will be mainly based around Adobe Premier Pro software with references to Final Cut Pro.
Photographers working within the discipline of medical and scientific imaging may at times develop a creative block to embracing the abstract image. Thinking differently, “outside the norm” will help one improve their own photographic practice, whether that emphasis be on art or science.
This workshop will be delivered in two parts. At the conclusion of Part one, photographers were able to go in the field to create images. Part two will be analysis and discussion of those images. Collectively we will experience how photographers working in the same area and with a common theme can interpret the natural world so differently and convey that personal emotion in the visual image.
In 1988, Adobe Photoshop was developed, and I left Texas for Australia (not for that specific reason). In 1990, version 1.0.1 of Photoshop was released. Like a contagious virus, it spread around the world. There was no antidote, and it wasn’t going away.
Gale Spring began his career in biomedical/forensic photography 1976. Those were the good ol’ years of film. Working in pathology and forensic science, the greatest photographic challenges were embedded in materials and processes and followed the basic laws of physics!
But the rapid advances of new technologies were making image capture easier, while for those of us in image interpretation and education, the challenges were becoming more difficult. The word ‘proprietary’ was used every time we enquired into how something worked. As the new Program Leader of Scientific Photography at RMIT University (Melbourne), it was my job to implement the new technologies into the curriculum while not ignoring the past.
From specialist lenses to creative software and innovative engineering, a broad knowledge of image creation has become necessary to continue as a forensic imaging consultant and educator in a primarily digital world.
In this presentation, I will share my (non -proprietary) experiences as a biomedical practitioner, educator and forensic imaging consultant in the world of witchcraft in image creation.
| Friday, May 19 |
8:30 am
Continue the networking with colleagues in a more relaxed and informal atmosphere, while still continuing to reap the educational benefits of photography in the field at the post-conference workshop. We will travel in convoy to to Abiquiu where we will tour O'Keeffe's home and studio. Then on to Ghost Ranch to photograph the colorful and unusual landscapes made famous by Georgia O’Keeffe.
After the tours there will be plenty of time to immerse yourself with your camera and sketchbooks in these amazing landscapes and in the village of Abiquiu. This special environment lends itself to all types of photography ranging from colour, infrared through photomacrography. You are only limited by your imagination.
There is an additional fee for the Post-Conference Workshop.
