Signs of the Times - December 2012 - 30

SOFTWARE UPDATE
By Theresa Jackson

Theresa Jackson operates Orchard View Color (Escondido, CA) and has more than 20 years’ experience in prepress, graphic design, color management and photography. Email her at Theresa@orchardviewcolor.com

UC Berkeley’s “Fiat Lux, On the Same Page”
New technologies and processes that produce super-large-format images
Fiat Lux: The phrase comes from the third verse of the Book of Genesis. In the King James Bible, it reads, “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” Ansel’s original photo had astonishingly high resolution, because he used large-format film. Michael employed a robotic tripod mount (mounted near Ansel’s original tripod site) to record more than 1,200 images; he subsequently “stitched” his photos – past and present – into one seamless and massive gigapixel image. A bitmapped, gigapixel image generally requires a specialized camera (presently, the Pan-STARRS or Gigaplx) that records up to one-billion pixels in numerous, ganged mosaics of high-resolution digital photographs. Theoretically, such a camera can also record one image on a grand-scale negative. However, like Michael, you can achieve a less-expensive alternative with such gigapixel software as PTGui, Autopano Giga or PanoramaStudio Pro. Using Photoshop, he blended the past (black-andwhite) and present (color) images together. The resulting “mashup” reveals both similarities and differences in the audience and venue. Michael captured his present-day, 1,200 photos with a Canon 60D body and a Canon 70-200 f/2.8 lens at 200mm; his final gigapan image rated 13.16GB. Expectedly, I followed up with Michael. He was kind enough to answer my questions. Why did you choose Ansel’s 1964 Charter Day photo to remix with your present image? I chose the Charter Day shot because of the sea of people’s faces. I wanted to show today’s young, postphotographic film audience the depths and details that are possible to discover when you begin with a 5 x 7-in. negative. In Photoshop, at 1:1 resolution, I was astounded to discover I could see the people’s individual expressions, and also gain a sense of just how hot the afternoon sun was. I decided it would be fun and interesting to re-photograph the same exercise during the 2012 Commencement. I shot my hi-res original on May 17, during the Commencement. I chose to use gigapixel imaging, and the total capture time was 1½ hours. However, my truly initial remix was a low-res experiment. I put it together in about an hour, as a still image, and included it in a promo video I shared with incoming Cal students who were interested in the program. How did you determine the correct location for your camera? I had an original image copy on my iPad. I looked for Ansel’s same position; however, I positioned myself more centered and higher – to more fully capture the panorama and ensure I could revisit the exact spot in future years.

In October, II visited Parentongoing university event, Weekend at UC-Berkeley. While there, attended an
“Fiat Lux, On The Same Page,” that, in part, was an ongoing event that allowed students to revisit – and alter or remix – scanned, hi-res copies of Ansel Adams’ 1960’s UC Campus photographs as an art, video or photography project. Fiat Lux – “Let There Be Light” – is the university motto. The term also headlines the repository of Ansel Adams’ photographs, those taken of the entire UC system in the 1960s, and an accompanying book of the same name. University of California President Clark Kerr commissioned the creation of Fiat Lux – Ansel’s photographic collection and the accompanying book – in 1964; both became available in 1967. The book (and Ansel’s 6,000 photographs) comprises Adams’ “photographic vision of the University of California’s future in the 1960s,” as assigned by Kerr. Photography writer/critic Nancy Newhall composed the text. She had previously written 12 photographybased books, including This is the American Earth, a collaboration with Adams and his photography. It became her best-known work. She also collaborated with Edward Weston, Paul Strand and other renowned photographers. In October, UC Berkeley’s Center For Digital Archaeology (CoDA) led a Fiat Lux presentation where Ruth Tringham, CoDA’s creative director, and Michael Ashley, CoDA’s chief technology officer, displayed examples of digital remixing. They said Ansel had often spoken of students experimenting with his negatives and, therefore, would surely embrace all modern-day imaging possibilities. The two encouraged today’s students to use and alter the images and “artistically envision the future,” as Ansel and Nancy did in the ’60s. Michael presented a remixed image he’d earlier created for the Fiat Lux exhibit – Fiat Lux Redux. The remixed image, digitally printed on laminate material, was exhibited alongside several of Ansel’s original prints. I enjoyed the contrast of past and present in Ashley’s remixed image and the disparity between Ansel’s and Michael’s prints. Michael’s remixed print, Recommencing Unchartered Places, is partly based on Ansel’s “Charter Day, Greek Theatre, UC Berkeley, April 1964” image. Michael said
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Signs of the Times - December 2012

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