Photographic Materials Research Articles

Archaic sap beetles (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) as Cretaceous pollinators

Kateretidae have been considered a family of generalist (as a whole) fossil pollinator beetles after the description of many fossil species in this taxon from the Upper Cretaceous Kachin amber together with pollen grains from their host plant. But the placement of this group of fossils in Kateretidae remained tentative because some definite characters to be observed in the fossils (e.g., maxillae and genitalia) were almost inaccessible by conventional methods. A recent paper proposed to include most of these fossil “kateretid” genera and species in the newly erected family Apophisandridae among Cucujoidea. The description of the two new genera and species Diopsiretes corniger gen. et sp. nov. and Cornuturetes elaphus gen. et sp. nov. from the same deposit, and the use of synchrotron light to describe the first cited species, combined with the examination of new photographic material of the type of Apophisandra ammytae, allowed us to better define this peculiar group of fossils. We attempt to demonstrate their placement in an extinct basal subfamily in Nitidulidae (Apophisandrinae stat. nov.), with some partially shared plesiomorphic characters of both Kateretidae and Nitidulidae: Epuraeinae, and with a series of convergent morphological characters also shared with other extant anthophagous nitidulids including Nitidulinae: Mystropini and Meligethinae. As such, all the fossil species from the Kachin amber initially described in Kateretidae and recently moved to Apophisandridae, should be included in Nitidulidae: Apophisandrinae.

Vision Inspection Method for the Quality Assessment of Paint Coatings on Glassware.

Image analysis is becoming increasingly popular in many industries. Its use is perfect for, among other things, assessing the quality of products on or off the production line. Highly automated, high-performance systems can be used for this purpose. However, there are situations in which automated vision systems cannot be used on the production line due to the specific nature of the process. One such situation is testing the resistance of paint applied to glass when washing in automatic dishwashers. It is carried out outside the production line, and typical production vision systems are not used here. An attempt was made to develop a cheap and easy-to-implement research method enabling quantitative measurement of paint loss on glass when testing the coating's resistance to automatic washing. For this purpose, analysis of images taken during the study was carried out. The developed method is based on taking a series of photos of the tested object between each stage of the wash resistance test. The obtained photographic material is then analyzed by measuring the size of paint losses expressed in the number of pixels. Then, the percentage of paint loss is calculated. This method is cheap to implement and highly accurate. Statistical analysis of the results confirmed the method's accuracy at 98%.

Venezuelan migration to Brazil: teachers and students co-constructing multicultural education inside classrooms

PurposeThis study aims to show the complexities of engagement between students - Venezuelan and Brazilian - and their teachers. This qualitative ethnographic study documents the everyday pedagogies and practices that take place in elementary schools with high levels of refugee and immigrant children. While Brazilian law ensures the basic right to public education, forbidding discrimination based on nationality or immigration status (Lei de Diretrizes e Bases da Educação, 1996), the barriers remain. Through the frameworks of multicultural (USA) and intercultural (Brazil) education, this paper shows how Brazilian teachers and students of Venezuelan and Brazilian backgrounds engage, learn from one another and build welcoming spaces, but also how stereotypes are reinforced inside classrooms and schools.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative study uses ethnography to understand how recent Venezuelan migratory flow influences Brazilian and Venezuelan children’s educational experiences in elementary education. Participants were Venezuelan (N = 57) and Brazilian (N = 76) children in two elementary schools in the city of Boa Vista. Data sources for the study are school observations in four elementary classrooms (1st and 2nd grade) and semi-structured interviews with caregivers, teachers, administrators and other educators. This paper also collected children’s drawings and writings and documents like curricula, strategic planning, guidelines, policies, grades, reports and any other textual or photographic material made available at the city level.FindingsIn the field of education, there is a critical need for understanding children’s education experiences. This paper focuses on the experiences of teachers and students in two elementary schools in Brazil. This paper focus on two findings: first that teachers promote the learning of Portuguese to show care toward their Venezuelan students. Second, children in the classroom show solidarity with one another and resist some of the more rigid Portuguese-only practices enacted by teachers. This work uses the frameworks of intercultural (more commonly used in Brazil) and multicultural education to inform the analysis.Research limitations/implicationsIn this study, this paper puts these frameworks of interculturalism, multiculturalism, language use and solidarity into conversation to understand the dynamics of two elementary classrooms in the city of Boa Vista, Brazil. While this paper shows the shortcomings of a seemingly multicultural and multilanguage classroom, it also shows how children actively resist the rigidity of teaching and learning in elementary schooling.Originality/valueThis study is a response both to the increasing South–South migration trend in Latin America and its consequences on public education systems. Through multicultural and intercultural lenses, this research highlighted the complexity of interactions within multicultural classrooms by delving into a two-year ethnographic study conducted in Boa Vista, Brazil, focusing on Venezuelan and Brazilian children in two local elementary schools. This paper focused on two main observations this paper refers to as “Teaching Portuguese as a Way of Caring” and “Children's Solidarity Work.” Teachers primarily centered their instruction on teaching Portuguese to migrant children, believing it to lead to quicker integration in the classroom and beyond – thus as a way of caring for their migrant students.

Digital Twin-Based Alternate Ego Modeling and Simulation: Eva Herzigová as a 3D MetaHuman Avatar

Abstract Due to Dimension Studios and Unsigned Group, by likeness and movement digitization, the human supermodel Eva Herzigová’s highly realistic metahuman and 3D digital twin lead to perpetual career extension (e.g., on virtual runway shows by catwalk replication or in advertising campaigns by particular pose adoption), including in virtual worlds such as metaverse spaces, by use of extended reality technologies, in terms of virtual clothing, digital hair, skin texture, facial and body expressions, and makeup styling as avatar appearance and persona. In this paper, we show how, by likeness capturing (e.g., signature walk by motion capture shoot for face and body movement tracking) and virtual clothing, Eva Herzigová’s hyperreal 3D avatar (lifelike 3D digital human clone or realistic virtual human) is configured with subsequent restyled hair and make-up, 3D clothing modeling, and extended reality fashion shows on virtual catwalks or campaign shoots. We clarify that photographic reference materials and a sensor-based motion capture suit assisted Metahuman Creator in capturing facial and motion data for Eva Herzigová’s digital avatar, configuring realistic depiction and virtual activations of beauty standards, in addition to digital likeness, signature style, talent representation, and narrations, typifying digital human creation and presence in virtual worlds (e.g., for metaverse-based shoots). We conclude that Eva Herzigová’s hyperrealistic 3D digital human twin and MetaHuman avatar operate as a styled virtual alter ego and versatile personal brand extension by motion capture technologies for immersive virtual fashion shows, live video streams and broadcast, and digital wearable modeling.

Oral history made tangible and visual: entangling photographs, objects and archaeology in the assertion of identity and feelings of loss

ABSTRACT In 2020, our team organized a touring exhibition among Kenya’s Ilchamus community that set out to make their oral history tangible and visual by including photographic, archival, ethnographic, and archaeological materials. This paper discusses how the exhibition was designed and how it facilitated multivocality about the past, fostered engagement with environmental and cultural histories, and how identity was (re)asserted over the objects. In particular, it discusses how archival photographs and archaeological assemblages were central to evoking imagery of everyday life and highlighting the absence of once ubiquitous objects today. This led to concerns about the ‘loss of culture and identity’ being raised, which are prevalent in the community. However, the exhibition created a contact zone where we could start addressing these concerns by strengthening ties to the cultural heritage and the landscape, building trust between us and the community, and collaboratively determine future research goals.

Accuracy of geometric morphometrics for age estimation using frontal face photographs of children and adolescents: A promising method for forensic practice

Age estimation is crucial in legal and humanitarian contexts. Forensic professionals may use various procedures to estimate age, including dental analysis, bone density tests, evaluation of physical characteristics including facial bone structure and development, and image-based methods. Although images are often the only material available, visual observation of photographic material is an imprecise method in age estimation, which can compromise judicial decision-making. Analyzing 4000 photographs from the Brazilian Federal Police database, representing four age groups (6, 10, 14, and 18 years), the study employed automated analysis by marking 28 photogrammetric points. Data were used to establish facial patterns by age and sex using the facial geometric morphometrics method. Performance was assessed through a Multinomial Logistic Regression model, evaluating accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity across the categorical age groups. Analyses were conducted using R software, with a 5 % significance level. The study found that facial geometric morphometrics achieved an overall accuracy of 69.3 % in age discrimination, with higher accuracy in males (74.7 %) compared to females (65.8 %) (p < 0.001). The method excelled at predicting the age of 6-year-olds with 87.3 % sensitivity and 95.6 % specificity but had lower performance at 14 years. It showed greater accuracy in distinguishing age groups with larger age gaps, achieving up to 99.5 % accuracy between certain groups, and was particularly effective in differentiating ages of 6 and 10 years in females and 10, 14, and 18 years in males. The facial geometric morphometrics emerges as a promising approach for age estimation among children and adolescents in forensic settings.

«Economy of adoption»: street-level bureaucracy VS. Rural community

The case study of the “adoption economy” examines the social factors that determine the decision-making of street-level bureaucrats. Research deals with small villages, whose residents adopted children in the 2000th in order to increase the number of pupils in the underutilized local schools and thus resisted their shutdown. The authors studied cases from five different regions in Russia, where at the time of the field study underutilized local schools were closed in three rural settlements, but in the other five settlements they were “saved” with the help of the “adoption economy”. The authors relied on M. Lipsky’s concept of “street-level bureaucrats” and A. Portes’ theory of social capital. Qualitative data were collected from 88 individual semi-structured interviews, an observation diary, documents, and photographic materials. The institutional context of “bureaucratic” discretion in determining what rural schools are subject to shut down is analyzed. The results of the study showed that the social capital of rural “street-level bureaucrats” (usually teachers of rural schools), due to their (un)inclusion in close interaction with local residents, to whom they provide services, becomes an important factor in (un)making a decision to retain a underutilized school in small rural settlement. In Portes’ theory perspective street-level bureaucrats are regarded as donors for rural community as they are forced by the territorial community to share economic resources – to continue financing a small-size school despite the obvious economic inexpediency.

Вклад архитекторов и инженеров-строителей Петербургского университета путей сообщения в формирование транспортной и городской инфраструктуры БАМа

Purpose: to trace the contribution of scientists and staff of the departments of “Buildings”, “Architecture and industrial Aesthetics” to the development of transport and urban infrastructure of the Baikal-Amur mainline. Materials and methods: archival documents have been reviewed. A system analysis was performed and the chronological sequence of infrastructure projects was determined. Results: on the basis of archival data, settlements and railway stations were attributed, where the developments of the department’s staff were used for the first time, and infrastructure facilities were built by the university’s construction crews. For the first time, photographic materials of individual projects and production processes have been published. A retrospective look at the formation and development of BAM is presented. The time check of the operational characteristics of the erected buildings, laid down as a result of scientific and design developments of the departments of “Buildings”, “Architecture and industrial aesthetics” is analyzed. The practical significance of the article is in preserving memory and communication between generations. The materials of personal origin collected by the author’s team make it possible to expand the boundaries of research related to the study of historical memory of the late Soviet period and reconstruct a number of events when describing local identities of personalities in the context of architectural and construction activities of the staf f of the PSUPS.

USING UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES IN RECOGNIZING TERRAIN ANOMALIES ENCOUNTERED IN THE GAS PIPELINE RIGHT-OF-WAY (ROW)

The objective of the undertaken research was to characterize and evaluate the impact of weather and lighting conditions on recording terrain anomalies in the photographs obtained during a UAV photogrammetric flight. The present work describes the use and capabilities of the UAV in the mapping of photo acquisition conditions similar to those performed during inspection flights with the use of a manned helicopter equipped with a hyperspectral camera, in the target range of visible light. The research was conducted in the southern part of Poland (between Gliwice and Katowice), where 7 routes were selected, differing from one another in terms of terrain anomalies (buildings, types of land areas, vehicles, vegetation). In the studies, which involved photogrammetric flights performed using a UAV, different seasons and times of day as well as changes in light intensity were taken into account. The flight specification was based on the main parameters with the following assumptions: taking only perpendicular (nadir) RGB photographs, flight altitude 120 m AGL, strip width 160 m, GSD ≤0.04 m and overlap ≥83%. The analysis of the photographic material obtained made it possible to correct the catalog of anomalies defined previously, since the recognition of some objects is very difficult, being usually below the orthophotomap resolution. When making and evaluating orthophotomaps, problems with mapping the shape of objects near the edges of the frame were found. When a 12 mm lens is used, these distortions are significant. It was decided that for the purpose of generating training data from orthophotomaps, only the fragments containing objects which shape would be mapped in accordance with the real one would be used. Thus, the effective width of orthophotomaps obtained from simulated flights will be approximately 100 m.

Urban Comparison of Former “Fotokemika” Factory Complexes in Zagreb and Samobor

The urban fabric of cities is in constant flux. This paper is focused on two areas of former “Fotokemika” industrial complexes for production of photographic materials, located in Zagreb and Samobor. Complexes are analyzed based on previous studies, archive material and field research. The results compare their urban transformations in contemporary urban context with new uses. The aim is to detect urban, micro-urban and architectural characteristics in order to understand how they change through time within each city by comparing the initial contexts in the first half of the 20th century and contemporary situations followed in the period between 2020 and 2024.

Evolution of flight control systems and aerial photography in unmanned agricultural aircraft

The advancement of UAV technologies has enabled the automated capture of photos and videos, eliminating the need for manual intervention in flight control. (Research purpose) This research aims to conduct a retrospective analysis of the evolution offlight control systems and the development of aerial photography equipment for agricultural land, covering the period from the mid-19th century to present. (Materials and methods) A systematic literature review was conducted using the historical-analytical method. The paper examines original works by both domestic and international authors, including monographs, scientific journals, conference proceedings, museum exhibitions, photographic archives, and open-source software code. (Results and discussion) The paper identifies six distinct phases in the development of aerial photography and flight control systems. The classification is based on key innovations in camera types, control systems, and aircraft designs. Each phase highlights the predominant cameras, control systems, and aircraft utilized for agricultural applications. (Conclusions) Over the past 165 years, notable changes have occurred in aerial photography parameters, including the type of photographic material, image spatial and spectral resolution, camera weight and mounting, shutter types and their mechanisms, inertial control units, integrated GPS/GLONASS receivers, and light sensors. In terms of flight control systems for UAVs, significant developments over the last 106 years include variations in flight control types, the number offlight-stabilizing sensors, obstacle detection systems, size of the flight control units, flight modes, and takeoff/landing techniques, along with interfaces for attachments. It is anticipated that future intellectualization and miniaturization of flight control systems will not only boost UAV performance but also reduce the economic costs associated with the aerial monitoring of agricultural biological assets.

Photography’s Other Sensitivities

This article sets out to challenge the idea of photography as a medium that deals purely in the visible. Taking the example of the mid-twentieth-century British photography industry, this article considers photographic sensitivity as part of a sensory economy in which human, technological and environmental sensing are mutually entangled. I emphasise these interlinked sensing systems, and what I see as the “passive agency” of photographic materials, showing how photographic emulsions are capable of registering much more than visible light or even radiation. Chemical photographic materials had distinct cultural biases built into them, yet often registered entities other than those they were designed to picture. Great effort went into restricting photographic sensitivities, as well as into cultivating them. By the 1930s, the photographic materials factories had air purification and climate control systems, sensitometry laboratories and specialist tropical materials. Their sensitised materials and chemicals transformed ecosystems and participated in a “technological sensory training”, shaping what people could perceive.

Color Plates, Material, and Condition: Hermann Krone’s Contributions to Lippmann Interferential Color Photography

Abstract Lippmann color photographs are among the rarest examples of early color photography in public and private collections worldwide. At the time, Hermann Krone was probably one of those who contributed most actively and with remarkable results to the Lippmann process. After general remarks about Krone’s work, this paper will describe more deeply his book about color photography focusing on the direct color process, the technology he practiced himself to accomplish interferential color, and the body of his Lippmann color photographs, which still exists today in major collections, and which has been recently examined by the author. With a focus on the work of Krone, the paper aims to give an overview of the variety of presentation forms of Lippmann color images in existence today and closes with information on the permanence and preservation of these early color photographic materials.

Multiscale slope analysis and functional correlation with gloss reflectance from photographic papers

A novel multiscale 3D topographic characterization for slope is introduced. Slope is considered as a crucial parameter linking area-scale and 3D curvature analyses. Relationships between surface topography and gloss reflectance in photographic papers are used for an example application. Directional angles, characterizing slopes, are calculated two ways: normals to triangular facets (method 1), and eigenvectors of a covariance matrix based on nine points (method 2). Slope is the steepness of surface inclinations associated with the orientation of local surface features (facets). The impact of slope on gloss reflectance supports the use of pertinent geometric characterizations, i.e., alignment of geometric characterizations with the physical nature of the topographic interaction phenomena. Topographies of 24 photographic papers, were measured with a laser scanning confocal microscope and their gloss reflectance was measured with a micro-TRI-gloss gloss meter. Analyses of slope distributions with bivariate dispersion measures of directional angles and their trigonometric functions revealed strong correlations (R2 > 0.6) between slope distributions and gloss. Bivariate median deviation of secant or tangent of directional angles, demonstrated consistently high correlations across scales, magnifications, and filtrations. This study supports pertinent and useful characterizations grounded in the physics of topographic interaction phenomena to provide insights into relationships between surface topography, e.g., slope and gloss reflectance in photographic papers. This nuanced understanding has potential applications for other applications as well.

Textured pattern belts on pictures of the Semeiskie people from Transbaikal

An analysis of the regional, cultural and technological observations is proposed in the article with the aim of preserving a unique phenomenon of the textured pattern belts of the Semeiskie people from Transbaikal. The work is based on personal photo archives of residents of the village of Bichura in the Republic of Buryatia and interviews with them. Photographs are used as an auxiliary source to visualize belts in the folk costume complex. An analysis of digital images of photographs from the beginning of the 20th century to the 1980s is presented. Despite the insufficient quality of the photographs by modern standards they represent a valuable source. In terms of statistics on the use of a traditional men's suit (an obvious replacement for the civilian leather belt) age and gender limits for wearing, as well as the preservation of traditional ornamentation. The scientific novelty of the study consists in systematization and generalization of heterogeneous information, which allows to analyze images according to the author's method of describing textured pattern belts. The geometric elements of the pattern, the composition, the principle of constructing the ornament, the approximate number of woven threads. Photographic materials from personal and museum archives have been introduced into scientific circulation. A comparison of the belt ornamentation in the photographs with real samples is made. It is preliminary established that there is no basis for dividing the belts by gender and age. The results are obtained using content analysis, visual analysis, comparative-typological, comparative, biographical methods and the formalization method. The analysis of the content of the images is based on the identification of visual elements that are significant from the point of view of the problem at hand, the frequency of their appearance in the selected collection of images and subsequent analysis of the quantitative results.

Deterioration-associated microbiome of a modern photographic artwork: the case of Skull and Crossbones by Robert Mapplethorpe

The preservation of cultural heritage, including ancient photographic materials, is of paramount importance in the field of conservation science. In this context, the microbial diversity of ‘Skull and Crossbones’, a 1983 photograph by Robert Mapplethorpe printed on silver gelatine, was assessed. We employed both culture-dependent and culture-independent methods to characterize microbial communities inhabiting this artwork. Vibrational Raman micro spectroscopy and FT-IR spectroscopy were utilized to assess the chemical degradation condition and characterize the chemical components of the silver gelatin print. The combination of molecular sequencing methods (Sanger and HTS approach) and non-invasive vibrational spectroscopy yielded valuable insights into the microbial communities thriving on photographic material and the chemical degradation of the print. Isolated fungal strains were added to the Fungal Collection at the University of Naples Federico II, and their deteriorative potential was investigated by adding substrates, commonly used in canvas photographs to the culture media. These results establish a link between microbial communities colonizing ancient photographic materials, paper decomposition, and the enzymatic patterns of the retrieved microorganisms. This information is invaluable for understanding and addressing biodeterioration progression on valuable works of art, such as historical photographs, which remain understudied.

Studies on the Authorship of Albumen Vintage Photographs: A Combined Experimental and Chemometric Approach.

The differences in albumen photographs from vintage photographic studios were identified by energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results inspired the concept of finding common features characteristic of a given photographic studio. The obtained measurement data (i.e., positions of vibrational bands for characteristic groups of albumen and the mass contents of chosen elements) were analyzed chemometrically by employing the Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The PCA technique allowed us to reduce the number of relevant experimental parameters characterizing the unique features of the photographic objects. The two major components were able to distinguish the photographic objects in terms of their authorship and the time to produce a photograph. The method developed was examined for a selected group of photographs consisting of albumen prints from three Polish photographic ateliers. To validate ED-XRF measurements and, consequently, the chemometric findings, reference albumen photo samples were designed and prepared. The empirical functional relationships between the content of photochemically reduced silver particles on the photographic paper and several physicochemical factors, including time of exposure to UV light, AgNO3 concentration in a fixed bath, and concentrations of other additives, were proposed. These results can be used for the prediction of the experimental conditions under which the investigated photographs were developed.

The Digitization of Photographic Spectra in the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory Plate Collection with Commercial Scanners: A Pilot Study

Commercial flatbed scanners have the potential to deliver a quick and efficient means of capturing the scientific content of spectra recorded on photographic plates. We discuss the digitization of selected spectra in the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory (DAO) photographic plate collection with commercial scanners. In this pilot study, emphasis is placed on assessing if the information on the plates can be recovered using Epson V800 and 12000XL scanners; the more complicated issues associated with the shortcomings of photographic materials, such as correcting for nonlinearity, are deferred to a future study. Spectra of Vega (α Lyr) that were recorded over ∼4 decades with the DAO 1.8 m telescope are examined. These spectra sample a range of photographic emulsions, plate preparation techniques, calibration information, observing techniques, and spectrograph configuration. A scanning density of 2400 elements per inch recovers information in the spectra. Differences in the modulation transfer function (MTF) of the two scanners are found, with the Epson 12000XL having a superior MTF. Comparisons with a CCD spectrum of Vega confirm that moderately weak features are faithfully recovered in photographic spectra that have been digitized with the 12000XL scanner. The importance of scanning the full plate to cover the light profile of the target and calibration information is emphasized. Lessons learned from these experiments are also presented.

Teaching Black Educational Philanthropy Through Photography, 1863–1920s

This article explores the use of photography as a strategy for teaching Black educational philanthropy. Ordinary consumer-philanthropists, white and Black, saw value in the production, sale, and circulation of photography for the support of African American schools in the former Confederate states. In reading these historic photographs, students bear witness to the curated photographic collection of liberated children, traveling choirs, and Historically Black College and University (HBCU) campus communities who left little-to-no written records. The materiality and content of the historic photographs enhances the teaching of Black educational philanthropy from the Civil War to the early Jim Crow era.

The Emotions of Protest: Some Examples of Anti-Yugoslav Demonstrations in Australia, Canada and the USA in 1972

The aim of the article is to describe some examples of anti-Yugoslav demonstrations in Australia, Canada and the USA during 1972 from the perspective of the history of emotions. Those demonstrations were a reaction to the repression that had been exerted in Croatia against students, cultural activists, scholars and other participants in the Croatian Spring. The research was based on unpublished archival documents and the Croatian political émigré press, primarily the periodical Nova Hrvatska edited by Jakša Kušan. The conclusions are based on an analysis of available textual and photographic materials.