Revealing « 360Photography

RSS

Posts Tagged ‘Revealing’

Researchers develop method for revealing images on degraded daguerreotypes

28 Jun

Researchers at Western University in Canada have developed a method for restoring damaged daguerreotypes, including plates so degraded that no portion of the original image remains discernible to the eye. The method, the university explains, involves using rapid-scanning micro-X-ray fluorescence imaging to analyze the silver-coated plate and identify the mercury element used to develop it.

“Mercury is the major element that contributes to the imagery captured in these photographs. Even though the surface is tarnished, those image particles remain intact,” explained study co-author Tsun-Kong (TK) Sham. “By looking at the mercury, we can retrieve the image in great detail.”

Whereas a human hair is around 75 microns thick, the X-ray beam used in this method is as small as 10 x 10 microns, resulting in about 8 hours of scanning time per daguerreotype plate. This method can be used by art conservators to reveal a daguerreotype’s image when cleaning the degraded plate is not possible.

Via: TechCrunch

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

Comments Off

Posted in Uncategorized

Revealing Historical Photos Show US White House Gutted

06 Apr

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

white house remodel project

Imagine the state of it: the United States executive mansion after 150 years of continuous occupation. By this time, the already-aging White House had retrofit with a maze of modern amenities like plumbing, electricity and heating – none of which this expansive estate was constructed to house.

white house historic interior

Per reporter Brian Resnick, sagging ceilings, scaffolding and supports had rendered the structure an unsanitary fire hazard by the late 1940s – some suggested scrapping it entirely and starting from scratch, but President Truman lobbied to keep and rehabilitate it.

white house reconstruction photos

As these amazing photographs from the National Archives & Truman Library illustrate, the entire interior had to be ripped out. Historically valuable materials and decor were meticulously cataloged and stored, and temporary steel columns and beams erected to keep the exterior from collapsing.

white house oval office

To get equipment like bulldozers inside and clear debris required disassembling machines to avoid bursting holes in the sides of the structure – rebuilding would have been cheaper and faster, but this careful treatment preserved irreplaceable pieces of US history.

white house grand remodel

In all rooms and on all levels, lathe, plaster, brick and mortar were laid bare, giving a unique one-time view – fortunately captured in photographs – into the hidden structure and secret architecture of the most important residence in America.