The Solar Dynamics Observatory and the thin line between science and art

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Figure 1 - Photograph of an erupting solar prominence taken of September 24, 2013 by the SDO. From NASA and in the publi domain.

Figure 1 – Photograph of an erupting solar prominence taken of September 24, 2013 by the SDO. From NASA and in the publi domain.

A few days ago I happened upon some of the beautiful images coming from NASA’s “Solar Dynamics Laboratory (SDO).” Two of these are shown in Figures 1 & 2.  These particular images were taken with the satellite’s deep ultraviolet camera.  I could go on for quite a while explaining why this region of the electromagnetic spectrum was chosen, how these cameras work, and why it’s important.  But I choose to focus instead on the simple point that these images are truly spectacular.

There is this fine line between science and art.  Here the images were chosen from a great many by a human being as one’s that appeal to a human aesthetic.  Similarly the colors chosen for the rendering again appeal to human sensibilities and in no small way to our sense of the mythic.  The red-orange images evoke association with the phrase “cauldron of the gods.”  Is the Sun’s fire the forge of Hephaestus?  As we know, the Sun is not made of fire but of insanely hot plasma, a state of matter where the atoms have been strip by the intense heat of their electrons.  But in our artistic mythic enthusiasm we forget the scientific facts and dwell a few moments in the romance of the image.

In such images, I believe we stand at the crossroads between science and art.  We see that ultimately there is a piece of both in all human intellectual effort.  Photography has always, at it does in the case of the Solar Dynamics Observatory’s images, occupied this liminal zone.  In what it reveals it is art.  In the chemistry and physics of how it works, and how it is practiced, it is science.

This dichotomy defines the sense of wonder that we have when looking at scientific images like these.  They took great science to produce.  But someone practiced in art selected then and selected how they would be displayed.  Please enjoy these pictures. Visit NASA’s SDO mission website to see more of them and their accompanying videos.  At the same time remember what Hamlet said:

“Doubt thou the stars are fire,
  Doubt that the sun doth move,
  Doubt truth to be a liar,
  But never doubt I love.”
Figure 2 - Deep UV image of a sunspot group showing the magnetic field lines and taken by the SOD from Januray 9-15, 2013. From NASA and in the public domain.

Figure 2 – Deep UV image of a sunspot group showing the magnetic field lines and taken by the SOD from Januray 9-15, 2013. From NASA and in the public domain.

 

An idyll of childhood

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Figure 1 - An Idyll of Childhood, (c) DE Wolf 2013.

Figure 1 – An Idyll of Childhood, (c) DE Wolf 2013.

A highlight of the Pope collection at Hill-Stead Farm are two Claude Monet paintings of haystacks.  I mention this because after I left the main house, then free to use my camera, when I began to explore the photographic possibilities outside,  I heard the voices of two children, a boy and a girl – not little children but adolescents, pre- or just teens.  They were animated and hell bent on descending the hill into the meadow below.

I followed them, but, of course, couldn’t really keep up with their youthful legs and determination.  The meadow was well groomed by the harvest reaping and bore a very striking resemblance to the fields in Monet’s paintings.  The girl carried a plastic bag.  They were out to collect something.  The boy followed with a stick in his hands.  Their conversation continued unabated.  I couldn’t understand what they were saying.  Their enthusiasm wasn’t meant for me – but a was a private thing.  I had perhaps long ago lost the ability to understand their language.

The field was broken by two green paths.  At a fork they had made a choice – the most direct path to wherever they were going.  I followed them no further than the top of the hill.  I looked out at the barn across the field, assuming that was their destination.  But, I couldn’t be sure.  The world seemed very much defined to me and didn’t draw me on any further.  I had become an observer of the adventures of childhood.

I pulled out my camera to record the event. I framed the image the way I wanted it – neatly divided into geometric sections that paid homage to the “golden rule of thirds.” I loved the subdued pastel colors, the fall flowers in the foreground, and I loved the way the plow lines of the two sections weren’t all in the same direction.  It was like a giant doodle that I might have scribbled when I was young and bored in school.  I waited for the figures of the children to reach the point where I wanted them in the picture and I pressed the shutter.  Then they moved on out of sight, and I heard them no more.

Chasing the fall foliage

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Figure 1 - Hill-Stead Farm #1, (c) DE Wolf 2013.

Figure 1 – Hill-Stead Farm #1, (c) DE Wolf 2013.

We have been having a really wonderful fall here in New England.  The foliage has been magnificent, although lacking just a bit in reds.  These differences are the vagaries of summer rainfall and temperatures.  We are just past “peak” now and took advantage of the hospitality of good friends to chase the foliage into the Connecticut River and Farmington Valleys of Northern Connecticut this past weekend.

Our destination were visits to the Mark Twain House in Hartford, CT and Hill-Stead Farm in Farmington, CT.  These two magnificent homes offer up a glimpse into the great “Gilded Age.”    To me it is always interesting to see these places and to imagine the inhabitants going about their lives and living out in newborn novelty the events of the times. Theodate Pope(1867-1946), the mistress and architect of Hill-Stead, was on the Lusitania when it was torpedoed on May 7, 1917. She was pulled in from the sea with boat hooks and laid among the dead. One woman pleaded with the rescuers to give her artificial respiration. They cut off her fashionable clothing and went to work. To everyone’s amazement she regained consciousness.

Needless-to-say photography is not allowed in either of the houses.  However, I took a large number of photographs at both locations.  In both cases I had really excellent light, late afternoon at the Twain House and reasonably early at Hill-Stead Farm. It’s going to take me a while to work all of these up and will certainly share more of them with you.  However, since we’ve been on the topic of autumn colors, I’d like to share one (Figure 1) today that I think, hope, complements the wonderful impressionist art collection at Hill-Stead.  It is the view from the farm of the barn, the valley, and the hillside.  It is late fall, or at least late fall color, in the morning light. If you must know the particulars, they are: Canon T2i with EF70-200 mm f/4 USM lens at 94 mm, ISO 400, Aperture-Priority AE, Exposure compensation -1 (to catch the blue sky), 1/500th sec. at F/9.0.

The light and the season are changing.  Next weekend comes Halloween, and we set the clocks back (Boo on both accounts).  New light brings new perspectives and photographic opportunities.

2013 Wildlife Photography Award Winners

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The more I see, the more I like.  There is a contest each year entitled Wildlife Photographer of the year and jointly sponsored by the BBC Worldwide and The Natural History Museum.  This contest has received over 48,000 entries since its inception in 1965.  This years winners have just been announced and it’s one of those “Wow, amazing, %@$#*!!! Moments.

So the question is where to begin with personal favorites, and I’m going to confine myself to three.  I have to start with Paul Souders’ breathtaking photograph of a polar bear hunting just below the surface.  (Once the picture shows up, be sure to click on it to enlarge.)This photograph is winner of the “Animals in their Environment” category.  There is a subdued pastel quality to this image and, of course, that polar bear is certainly intent upon its dinner, which you feel certain could just as easily be you.  Hence there is a sense of fear create.  At the other end of the spectrum is remorse that these beautiful animals are quite likely to be extinct in the wild in another fifty years or so as their habitat melts away..

Next I’ll vote for Connor Stefanison’s photograph of an owl in British Columbia at night.  This is the winner of the “The Eric Hosking Portfolio Award.” This female barred owl had a territory near Stefanison’s home in Burnaby, British Columbia. He began the work by studying the owls flight path and behavior, doing that until he felt ready for the shot.,  He set up his camera near one of the owl’s favorite perches that was triggered and linked remotely three flashes: diffused and on low settings.  He used a dead mouse on a platform above and out of sight of the camera to induce swooping.  I just love the quality of the stop action and the sense of night, despite the vividness of the surrounding forest.

Finally, there is Joe McDonald photograph of two mating jaguars in Brazil. This image is winner of the “Behavior: Mammals” category.  There is a wonderful sense of intensity and raw visceral emotion as well as beautiful coloration caught in the picture .This is not what your online dating services would advertise. 

Be sure to check out all of the photographs.  There is a lot of wonderful work to be seen here.

Fall colors on the Charles

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Figure 1 - Fall on the Concord River, Concord, MA by the Nashawtic Country Club, (c) DE Wolf.

Figure 1 – Fall on the Concord River, Concord, MA by the Nashawtic Country Club, (c) DE Wolf.

I wanted to indulge myself today and share one of my Fall 2013 photographs.  This is an image of the Charles River watershed by the Nashawtic Country Club at Nine Acres in Concord, MA.  This is a very pretty site throughout the year.  The river’s mood is ever changing.  Not so much in terms of roughness, but in terms of the interplay of fog and light.  On this particular day the light was dazzling and provided an excellent reflection upon the water, creating, I hope, an impressionist coloration.  I never tire of this river or this historic part of the state.  There is still fall color left to enjoy.  And after that we will have the low light of late fall with its long shadows, followed by the magic of snow and winter.

More abstracts from the mall

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Figure 1 - Mosaic #1, (c) DE Wolf 2013.

Figure 1 – Mosaic #1, (c) DE Wolf 2013.

I stopped by the Natick Collection today to run an errand and I entertained myself taking abstract photographs with my favorite “large format” view camera, my IPhone 4S.  The mall is starting to bustle again, which is, I think, both an indication of a reviving economy and the start of a busy holiday season.

Figure 2 - Mosaic #2, (c) DE Wolf 2013.

Figure 2 – Mosaic #2, (c) DE Wolf 2013.

First, I found some lovely mosaics, which I have displayed here as Figures 1 and 2.  It was a matter of figuring out how to make the wave patterns of tiles to form a decent composition.  Invariably there is a little rotating required in the final image.  With the IPhone I can never quite get it right.  The lighting was a bit dull in both cases, but not so much so as not to be correctable with the usual suspects: levels, curves, hue, saturation, brightness and contrast.  Of course, there was a bit of dodging and burning to be done as well.

Figure 2 - "People. a Tribute to Robert Indiana," (c) DE Wolf 2013.

Figure 2 – “People. a Tribute to Robert Indiana,” (c) DE Wolf 2013.

Then there was this wonderful sign, actually part of a sign, which says “People.” I see it as a tribute to artist Robert Indiana, of “Love” fame.  And I chose here to do it, Figure 3, in black and white.

Finally, I ventured over to the Louis Vuitton store.  Their windows always have some light catching element and today I took a picture straight into a mosaic mirror.  The image reminded me of the computer game “Tetris.”  I thought that I was going to have to label it a “self portrait,” but I am pretty much invisible in the end product, which again I chose to render in black and white.

Figure 4 - "Tetris," (c) DE Wolf 2013.

Figure 4 – “Tetris,” (c) DE Wolf 2013.

Sweating in the eye of Phoebus and sleeping in Elysium

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Figure 1 - Edward Steichen, "Sailors Sleeping on the Deck of the USS Lexington," 1943, from US NARA and in the public domain,

Figure 1 – Edward Steichen, “Sailors Sleeping on the Deck of the USS Lexington,” 1943, from US NARA and in the public domain,

Today is Saint Crispin’s day and 598 years ago on October 25, 1415 there took place one of the great epic battles of the Middle Ages, the Battle of Agincourt.  This battle is highlighted in Shakespeare’s epic history “Henry V.”  I point this out because one of the great soliloquies of that drama is Henry bemoaning the fact that slaves may sleep while kings pace the night sleeplessly.

Not all these, laid in bed majestical,
Can sleep so soundly as the wretched slave,
Who with a body fill’d and vacant mind
Gets him to rest, cramm’d with distressful bread;
Never sees horrid night, the child of hell,
But, like a lackey, from the rise to set
Sweats in the eye of Phoebus and all night
Sleeps in Elysium…

You may ask what is my point.  Well, reader Megan has shared with me a wonderful portfolio of images by Dutch photographer Paul Schneggenburger, which are night long exposures of couples sleeping.  They seem to be more like intricate dances – dances of sleep.   The couple sleeps in Schneggenburger’s studio apartment, obviously black sheets.  The room is lit with candles and the camera hangs over the bed and takes a six hour exposure.  There is something sweet and wonderful here, maybe an ounce of voyeurism, perhaps reminiscent of Andy Warhol’s five hour and twenty minute film entitled “Sleep,” showing his friend John Giorno sleeping.  But in the end, I think what strikes one the most is the sense of joyous peacefulness.  Henry V was right.  There are no kings here.

BBC News “Your Shoes”

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The BBC is featuring a gallery of readers images entitled “You Shoes.”  There are some interesting photographs, but I am particularly intrigued by a multiexposure stroboscopic photograph by Brandon Klein, showing someone’s basketball sneakers performing an aerial dance (You should be able to go from this image to the others in the series).  There is nothing else of the player save the shows and the background is perfect.  The image is quite whimsical and I am very much intrugued by how it was taken.  No details are given.  I suspect it is some kind of green screen with Photoshop layers subsequently reassembled.

Sometimes a good photograph is easy or at least straightforward to create.  AT other times there is a lot of technical setup and skill involved.  I think that Klein’s picture falls into the latter group. In any event it is a gorgeous image.