Photoviz: Visualizing Information Through Photography

256 Pages·2016·334.195 MB·English

by  Nicholas Felton

Nicholas Felton
PHOTOVIZ
Visualizing Information

Through Photography

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WHAT IS PHOTOVIZ?

B Y
N | C H OLA §S F ELTON
| DON'T OVER-THINK THE PROJECTS | SHARE ON MY
BLOG (FELTRON.TUMBLR.COM). THE ENTRIES INSPIRE
ME AND LOOSELY RELATE TO DATA VISUALIZATION.
SOME OF THE IMAGES ARE FORMALLY INTERESTING,
OTHERS ARE CONCEPTUALLY EXCITING, AND THE MA-
JORITY ARE BOTH. WHAT SURPRISED ME IS HOW MANY
OF THESE PROJECTS SUCCEED AS A VISUALIZATION,
BUT ARE ANCHORED IN PHOTOGRAPHY RATHER THAN
DATA. THIS INTERSECTION IS SOMETHING | HAVE COME
TO THINK OF AS “PHOTOVIZ": IMAGES THAT COMBINE
THE LARGER NARRATIVES OF VISUALIZATIONS WITH
THE IMMEDIACY OF PHOTOGRAPHY.
CONSIDER A TYPICAL PHOTOGRAPH OF A POLE
VAULTER IN WHICH THE ATHLETE FLOATS, FROZEN IN
THE MIDDLE OF A COMPLEX MOVEMENT. THE PHOTO
REVEALS THE FITNESS, BALANCE, AND CONCENTRA-
TION REQUIRED OF THE ATHLETE IN THIS INSTANT.*
A DIAGRAM OF THE MOVEMENTS ILLUSTRATES
THE POLE VAULT SEQUENCE FROM START TO FIN-
ISH. THIS APPROACH TELLS A LONGER STORY AND
ALLOWS FOR COMPARISON OF THE COMPLEX MOVE-
MENTS, BUT SACRIFICES DETAIL AND SPECIFICITY.«
USING A TECHNIQUE CALLED STROBOSCOPY, HAROLD
E. EDGERTON WAS ABLE TO COMBINE THE STEPS OF
THE DIAGRAM WITH PHOTOGRAPHIC PRECISION TO

002 | N TRoeoewe de | 0 N
pole vault
/

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ILLUSTRATE THE MOVEMENTS OF THE POLE VAULT- AS MILLIONS OF PIXELS OR AS WORTH A PROVERBIAL
ER. THIS REPRESENTATION DEMONSTRATES HOW THE “THOUSAND WORDS"-BUT BY BOTH MEASURES IT IS
GOALS OF BOTH DATA VISUALIZATION AND PHOTOG- VASTLY SIMPLER THAN THE MOMENT IT REPRESENTS.
RAPHY CAN COEXIST AND CREATE SOMETHING MORE LIKE DATA, PHOTOGRAPHY REDUCES THE WORLD'S
INFORMATIVE AND EXPRESSIVE. COMPLEXITY INTO A FORM THAT IS SUITABLE FOR MA-
DATA VISUALIZATION IS THE GRAPHIC REPRESEN- NIPULATION AND DATA VISUALIZATION.
TATION OF INFORMATION. TRANSFORMING DATA INTO BY COMBINING THE GOALS OF DATA VISUALIZATION
A VISUAL FORM MAKES IT MORE ACCESSIBLE AND AL- WITH THE BEAUTY AND FIDELITY OF PHOTOGRAPHY,
LOWS FOR BETTER COMPARISONS AND UNDERSTAND- PHOTOVIZ IS ABLE TO REPRESENT THE WORLD IN IL-
ING. IN GENERAL TERMS, DATA IS INFORMATION IN A LUMINATING WAYS. THIS COLLECTION RANGES FROM
FORM THAT IS USEFUL FOR PROCESSING; THIS COULD SINGLE PHOTOS THAT EXPRESS AGGREGATE STORIES,
MEAN NUMBERS, DESCRIPTIONS, RELATIONSHIPS, OR TO NOVEL PHOTOGRAPHIC TECHNIQUES THAT EXPAND
EVEN PHOTOGRAPHS. PERCEPTION, TO VISUALIZATIONS CONNECTING THOU-
A PHOTOGRAPH TAKES THE CHAOTIC, TANGIBLE, SANDS OF PHOTOS. THESE APPROACHES COMPLE-
MULTI-DIMENSIONAL WORLD AND REDUCES IT INTO MENT THE INCREASE IN PRODUCTION AND FIDELITY OF
SOMETHING FLAT AND STILL. A PHOTOGRAPH RE- PHOTOGRAPHS AND OFFER SOLUTIONS FOR MANAG-
MAINS A COMPLEX OBJECT—WHETHER CONSIDERED ING THE FUTURE FLOOD OF IMAGES.

003
ORIGINS
/
ON A SPRING MORNING IN PARIS IN 1838, LOUIS DAGUERRE MADE HISTORY BY CAPTURING WHAT IS WIDELY BE-
LIEVED TO BE THE FIRST PHOTOGRAPH OF A PERSON. THE DAGUERREOTYPE HAD NOT YET BEEN PUBLICLY RE-
VEALED AND THIS IMAGE WAS PRESENTED ALONGSIDE TWO OTHERS TO PROMOTE HIS INVENTION. “BOULEVARD DU
TEMPLE" DEPICTS A PARISIAN STREET DEVOID OF INHABITANTS OR VEHICLES BESIDES THE SINGLE SILHOUETTE
OF A MAN EXTENDING HIS FOOT.” LIMITS ON THE SENSITIVITY OF DAGUERRE'S PROCESS MEANT THAT THIS IMAGE
REQUIRED AN EXPOSURE TIME OF MORE THAN TEN MINUTES AND CAPTURED ONLY MOTIONLESS OBJECTS LIKE THE
BUILDINGS, THE STREET AND THIS MAN WHO WAS PROBABLY HAVING HIS SHOES SHINED.
"BOULEVARD DU TEMPLE" IS AS TRUTHFUL AS IT IS MISLEADING. OUR ABILITY TO INTERPRET IMAGES IS LIM-
ITED BY OUR SENSES. BECAUSE WE PERCEIVE TIME AS A SERIES OF MOMENTS, WE INSTINCTIVELY ASSUME THAT
THIS IMAGE REPRESENTS AN INSTANT. THIS IS AS TRUE TODAY AS IT WAS IN 1838 WHEN SAMUEL MORSE SAW
THE IMAGE AND WAS SHOCKED BY THE EMPTINESS OF PARIS. BY CAPTURING A VIEW THAT IS BEYOND THE LIMITS
OF OUR SENSES, THE IMAGE REVEALS AN ALTERNATE TRUTH IN WHICH STATIC OBJECTS ARE ISOLATED FROM OB-
JECTS IN MOTION.

004 [INTRODUCTION
SINCE THE INVENTION OF THE DAGUERROTYPE, PHOTOGRAPHY HAS PURSUED PARITY WITH OUR PERCEPTION.
FASTER SHUTTER SPEEDS, HIGHER RESOLUTION, THE ADDITION OF COLOR, MOTION AND INTERACTIVITY HAVE
PUSHED PHOTOGRAPHIC OUTPUT TOWARDS THE LIMITS OF OUR SENSES. THESE ADVANCES MOVED US EVER
CLOSER TO THE SUBJECT, TRANSPORTING US THROUGH TIME AND SPACE WITH INCREASING FIDELITY TOWARDS
THE ORIGINAL MOMENT.
IMAGING HAS NOW OVERTAKEN OUR EYES, UNLOCKING DISCOVERIES BEYOND THE BOUNDARIES OF HUMAN
PERCEPTION. IMPROVEMENTS IN SHUTTER SPEED HAVE DEMYSTIFIED THE MOVEMENT OF A GALLOPING HORSE.‘
AND FROZEN A BULLET IN MID-FLIGHT.” TODAY'S FASTEST CAMERA CAN RESOLVE MOMENTS ONLY ONE-TRIL-
LIONTH OF A SECOND LONG. MICROSCOPIC IMAGING HAS REVEALED THE FIRST PHOTOGRAPHS OF AN ATOM, THE
SMALLEST OBJECT THAT CAN BE SEEN USING VISIBLE LIGHT. OUTSIDE OF THE VISIBLE SPECTRUM, THE INVISIBLE
WORLD IS NOW CASUALLY REVEALED USING INFRARED, ULTRAVIOLET, AND X-RAYS.

005
MOMENTS
/
AS A DOCUMENTARY TOOL, THE PHOTOGRAPH HAS NOT HARD TO IMAGINE. IN THE CONTINUOUSLY CAP-
HISTORICALLY BEEN A MARKER OF SIGNIFICANCE, A TURED WORLD, THE SEARCH FOR SIGNIFICANCE WILL
MEANS OF PRESERVING A NOTEWORTHY MOMENT FOR BECOME A PROCESS OF FINDING THE RIGHT IMAGE IN-
POSTERITY. WHILE EARLY PHOTOGRAPHS WERE RE- STEAD OF CAPTURING THE PRECISE MOMENT.
SERVED FOR NEWSWORTHY EVENTS OR PORTRAITS IT 1S NOW WORTH ASKING WHETHER FINDING
OF THE WEALTHY AND IMPORTANT, BY 1960 IT IS ES- THE "DECISIVE MOMENT” SHOULD REMAIN THE GOAL
TIMATED THAT 55 PERCENT OF PHOTOS WERE OF BA- OF PHOTOGRAPHY. THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH
BIES. AS THE AFFORDABILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY OF SHOOTING, DEVELOPING, PRINTING, AND REPRO-
PHOTOGRAPHY INCREASED, MOMENTS WORTH PHO- DUCING PHOTOS ONCE CONSTRAINED THE PRODUC-
TOGRAPHING BECAME MORE COMMON AND GENERAL- TION OF PHOTOGRAPHY, BUT DIGITAL CAMERAS AND
LY LESS SIGNIFICANT. THE INTERNET HAVE ELIMINATED THIS RESTRICTION.
HENRI CARTIER-BRESSON MADE HIS CAREER BY UNFETTERED PRODUCTION HAS BEEN TAMED ONLINE
MASTERFULLY OBSERVING AND CAPTURING MOMENTS BY THE BOTTLENECKS OF APPS AND OUR CAPACITY
OF SIGNIFICANCE IN THE MID-TWENTIETH CENTU- TO CONSUME. BUT IS IT SUFFICIENT? CAN EDITING,
RY. CARTIER-BRESSON CALLED THEM “DECISIVE MO- SHARING, AND RANKING MEDIATE THE SCALE OF PHO-
MENTS," AND HIS WORK WAS DEDICATED TO CAP- TOGRAPHY TODAY AND MAKE IT MANAGEABLE?
TURING THESE MEANINGFUL EVENTS AND FORMS. HIS WHEN EVERYONE IS A PHOTOGRAPHER, CONSTANT-
PHOTOGRAPHS EXEMPLIFY SOME OF THE GREATEST LY CAPTURING THE SAME OR SIMILAR MOMENTS, HOW
POTENTIAL OF ONE PHOTOGRAPHER, ONE MOMENT, DO WE PROCESS THIS OUTPUT? WHAT TECHNIQUES
AND A SINGLE POINT OF VIEW. ARE USEFUL FOR UNDERSTANDING THIS NEW TOR-
CARTIER-BRESSON WAS VERY MUCH A PRODUCT RENT OF PHOTOGRAPHY, FOR SEPARATING SIGNIFI-
OF HIS TIME. DURING HIS CAREER, MOST MOMENTS CANCE FROM EVERYTHING ELSE? TO CAPTURE, DIS-
WERE NOT CAPTURED BY THE GAZE OF A CAMERA, TILL, AND EXPRESS MEANING IN THE FLOW OF IMAGES
WHILE TODAY VERY FEW CAN ESCAPE IT. A NEAR-FU- BEING PRODUCED, WE NEED TO CONSIDER APPROACH-
TURE SCENARIO IN WHICH OUR LIVES ARE RECORDED ES THAT LOOK BEYOND THE MOMENT.
BY MULTIPLE ANGLES OF STILL OR MOVING IMAGES IS

006 im OBwU Gili os
BIG PHOTO
/
WHAT WAS MIRACULOUS IN 1838 IS NOW COMMON-
CAMERA SALES REMAIN SUBSTANTIAL. THOUGH THIS
PLACE. WE ARE AWASH IN IMAGES AND SURROUNDED BY
MARKET HAS DECLINED, SALES OF DIGITAL CAMER-
CAMERAS. AS WITH DATA, THE QUANTITY OF IMAGERY
AS TODAY REMAIN STRONGER THAN THE FILM CAMERA
PRODUCED TODAY EXCEEDS OUR CAPACITY TO UNDER-
MARKET OF THE 1980S.
STAND IT. IF THE COMPLEXITY OF BIG DATA IS DESCRIBED
VELOCITY: THE TRANSITION FROM FILM TO DIG-
IN TERMS OF VOLUME, VARIETY, AND VELOCITY, THEN IT
ITAL PHOTOGRAPHY REMOVED THE LIMIT ON HOW
IS CLEAR THAT "BIG PHOTO" IS IMMINENT.
MANY PHOTOS A PERSON MIGHT REASONABLY TAKE.
VOLUME: 1930 WAS THE FIRST YEAR IN WHICH A BIL-
WITHOUT THE EXPENSE OF BUYING FILM OR PAYING
LION PHOTOGRAPHS WERE TAKEN. TODAY, THAT NUM-
FOR DEVELOPMENT THE ONLY CONSIDERATION WAS
BER APPROACHES 400 BILLION A YEAR. APPROXIMATELY
STORAGE. BETWEEN 1997 AND 2010, THE COST OFA
10 PERCENT OF ALL PHOTOS EVER TAKEN WERE PRO-
GIGABYTE DROPPED BY A FACTOR OF 1,000, ENABLING
DUCED IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS, AND THIS NUMBER
CAMERAS, COMPUTERS, AND EVENTUALLY THE CLOUD
WILL ONLY INCREASE WITH THE PROLIFERATION AND
TO HOLD MORE IMAGES AND REMOVING ANY HESITA-
UBIQUITY OF CAMERAS IN OUR LIVES.
TION TO CAPTURE EVERYTHING. LIMITLESS STORAGE
VARIETY: IT WOULD BE HARD FOR ANY MOMENT OF
HAS ALLOWED WEARABLE, PERSISTENT CAMERAS TO
SIGNIFICANCE TO PASS TODAY WITHOUT PHOTOGRAPH-
EMERGE. ONE SUCH DEVICE, THE NARRATIVE CAMERA,
IC DOCUMENTATION. OVER A BILLION SMART PHONES
CLIPS ONTO YOUR CLOTHING AND AUTOMATICALLY
ARE SOLD EACH YEAR, MOST OF THEM EQUIPPED WITH
TAKES A PHOTO EVERY 30 SECONDS OR AROUND 2,000
THE CHEAPEST AND HIGHEST QUALITY CAMERA THAT
OVER A 16-HOUR DAY. CHEAPER STORAGE HAS EN-
THEIR OWNER HAS EVER POSSESSED. THE SIZE AND
ABLED HOME SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS LIKE DROPCAM
FIDELITY OF THESE CAMERAS HAS ALLOWED THEM TO
TO STORE THE VIDEO EQUIVALENT OF UP TO 80 MIL-
PROLIFERATE THROUGHOUT OUR ENVIRONMENT AND TO
LION STILL FRAMES.
COLONIZE BOTH OBVIOUS AND UNEXPECTED DEVICES.
THE TECHNIQUES OF PHOTOVIZ HOLD PROMISE FOR
IT IS NOW COMMON TO FIND CAMERAS IN PUBLIC SPAC-
DISTILLING SIGNIFICANCE FROM THE MASSIVE PHOTO
ES, PRIVATE RESIDENCES, ON CARS, DRONES, WEAR-
SETS WE ARE STARTING TO PRODUCE.
ABLES, AND TABLETS. MEANWHILE, DEDICATED DIGITAL
007
SNAPSHOTS
/
A SNAPSHOT BECOMES PHOTOVIZ WHEN IT CAN EXPRESS INFORMATION ABOUT THE DEPICTED SCENE THAT IS NOT
TYPICALLY VISIBLE OR NATURALLY APPARENT. DEVICES LIKE THE MICROSCOPE OR TELESCOPE AND TECHNIQUES
LIKE X-RAY OR MRI ARE ABLE TO CAPTURE THE INVISIBLE, BUT CAPTURE ONLY A SINGLE VIEW. BY COMBINING MUL-
TIPLE MOMENTS OR PERSPECTIVES, PHOTOVIZ SNAPSHOTS ARE DISTINGUISHED BY THE COMPARISONS THEY AL-
LOW AND THE LARGER VIEW THEY CREATE.
TRACES: WHEN A MALLEABLE MATERIAL LIKE SNOW OR PAINT IS INTRODUCED INTO AN ENVIRONMENT, ITS
SURFACE BECOMES SENSITIZED TO ACTIVITY LIKE A PIECE OF FILM OR PHOTOGRAPHIC PAPER. THIS "EMULSION"

CAN RECORD PROCESSES OVER TIME AND REVEAL AGGREGATE BEHAVIORS. SNOW ON THE SIDEWALK OR PAINT ON
A STREET ARE ALTERED AND DEGRADED BY THE ACTIONS OF PEOPLE AND CARS. THESE ACTIVITIES COMPOUND TO
REVEAL PRIOR MOVEMENTS ON THEIR SURFACE, EVEN AS THE PHOTO SIMPLY CAPTURES A SINGLE MOMENT IN TIME.”
THEN & NOW: RE-FRAMING AN OLD PHOTO IN A CONTEMPORARY CONTEXT CREATES A LINK THAT ENABLES COM-

PARISON AND A CONNECTION BETWEEN THESE TWO MOMENTS. THIS SIMPLE LAYERING ALLOWS A SNAPSHOT TO
EXPRESS A MUCH LONGER STORY BY REVEALING THE FORGOTTEN HISTORY OF A PLACE.’
008 | NT R QO DUTCt O N
SCHLIEREN PHOTOGR APHY: AN OPTICAL PROCESS KNOWN AS A SCHLIEREN SYSTEM REVEALS THE FLOW OF FLUIDS
WITH VARYING DENSITIES IN PLAIN SIGHT. WITH A BRIGHT LIGHT, A CURVED MIRROR, LENSES, AND A KNIFE EDGE,
DISTURBANCES AND TEMPERATURE CHANGES IN AIR CAN BE MADE VISIBLE. BY COMBINING THE SCHLIEREN TECH-
NIQUE WITH HIGH SPEED PHOTOGRAPHY, THE SHOCK WAVES MADE BY THE FIRING OF A RIFLE OR THE PLUME OF
AIR PRODUCED BY A COUGH CAN BE REVEALED.’

00g
EXPOSURES
/
BY MANIPULATING THE WAY AN IMAGE IS CAPTURED,
SEVERAL PHOTOVIZ TECHNIQUES CAN BE ACHIEVED
WITHOUT USING POST-PROCESSING. THESE AP-
PROACHES EXPAND OUR PERCEPTION BY RE-FRAMING
TIME OR PRESENTING A DIFFERENT FIELD OF VIEW.
LONG-EXPOSURE: AT AROUND 1/30TH OF A SEC-

OND, THE BRAIN BEGINS TO PERCEIVE THE FRAMES
OF AN ANIMATION AS A SMOOTHLY MOVING IMAGE AN
THIS LIMIT, PHOTOGRAPHY BEGINS TO REVEAL PHE-
OPTICAL ILLUSION KNOWN AS THE PHI PHENOMENON.
NOMENA THAT ARE TYPICALLY IMPERCEPTIBLE. USING
ONCE THE SHUTTER SPEED OF A CAMERA EXCEEDS
SHUTTER SPEEDS RANGING FROM MINUTES TO YEARS,
LONG-EXPOSURE PHOTOGRAPHY CAN REVEAL THE
BLUR OF A PASSING CROWD, THE CONSTRUCTION OF A
BUILDING, OR THE MOVEMENT OF STARS. ~
MULTIPLE-EXPOSURE: IN 1882, ETIENNE-JULES

MAREY DEVELOPED HIS CHRONOPHOTOGRAPHIC GUN,
A CAMERA CAPABLE OF SHOOTING 12 FRAMES PER
SECOND ON A SINGLE NEGATIVE.’° WITH THIS "GUN"
a3
ao
—) HE WAS ABLE TO DECONSTRUCT THE MOTION OF A
ny

# VARIETY OF ANIMALS AS WELL AS COMPLEX HUMAN
is
MOVEMENTS LIKE RUNNING AND JUMPING. THESE
;
EARLY MULTIPLE-EXPOSURE PHOTOGRAPHS _IN-
SPIRED A GENERATION OF 1950S PHOTOGRAPHERS
LIKE HAROLD E. EDGERTON AND GJON MILI WHO PI-
ONEERED THE USE OF STROBE LIGHTING TO FREEZE
TIME FOR SINGLE AND MULTIPLE EXPOSURES.*' WHILE
EDGERTON FAMOUSLY FROZE MILK DROPS AND THE
FLIGHT OF BULLETS, MILI DISSECTED EVERY MOVE-

MENT HE COULD FIND, FROM BALLERINAS TO MUSI-
CIANS TO ATHLETES. ESSENTIALLY, THIS APPROACH
010 iNT ROBOCTIT oa