How instant cameras work

Instant or Polaroid cameras are known for developing and printing out photographs within a few minutes after pressing the shutter release button. But how does this seemingly magical process work? The secret simply lies in the film. In order to understand the physics behind instant camera films, it is essential to first become familiar with the basics of traditional photographic film. Traditional film is composed of a plastic base laminated with light-sensitive silver compound. While there is only one layer of silver compound in black-and-white films, color films contain three layers, the first being sensitive to blue light, the second to green and the third to red. Once the film is exposed to light, the individual layers react to the colors, which cause the formation of metallic silver and a chemical reaction. The image created on the film would then have to be further developed, whereas instant cameras already comprise all the necessary chemicals in their films to develop the photographs right away. These chemicals are found within additional layers. A developer layer that contains dye elements is placed underneath each color layer, all of which are underneath the image, the timing and the acid layer and above a black base layer. These several layers are all parts of a chemical chain reaction that becomes induced by a substance called reagent (see images). 

The reagent consists of a mix of opacifiers, alkali, white pigment and other elements and is situated right between the light-sensitive layers and the image layer. As soon as a picture is captured and exposed to light, the film is sent out through a pair of rollers which push the reagent on the white, plastic borders onto the silver compound. This process triggers the four layers to react which in turn causes the silver compound layers to process and produce blue, green and red light patterns. An image is then created and as the photograph starts to appear, a chemical reaction can be viewed.

[327 words]

Instructional/Group - How To Make a Camera Lucida

 

The instructional text How To Make a Camera Lucida by Tim Hunkin does not provide the reader with useful instructions. Even though the author complies with a number of rules for instructional texts, such as making use of the imperative as well as writing short and simple sentences, the way the instructions are presented is neither clear nor logical. Looking at the sentences, it is extremely confusing for the reader to figure out the order of the steps since they are not numbered. Most of the steps are not written down explicitly but need to be figured out with the help of the images. This, however, is not the purpose of illustrations in instructional texts, instead they should be used to support the individual steps rather than to do the explaining. Moreover, there is no list of the materials needed to build the camera, there are no warnings or helpful tips, nor does the text say anything about the estimated time required. The usage of the camera lucida for drawing is mentioned within the instructions. However, it would have been helpful to know more about the camera from the start and an introduction should have been provided at the beginning. To put it in a nutshell, this piece of instruction clearly lacks organisation and logic.

[215 words]

Descriptive/group: The Migrant Mother

The photo of the Migrant Mother is a black and white photograph, taken in 1936, during the Great Depression, by Dorothea Lange. It depicts a woman in her 30s with her three children, one baby and two toddlers. Taking a closer look at her face, you notice that her hair is unkempt and her brows are knit together. Her wrinkled, sun-tanned face looks careworn and sombre and her hunched posture seems to express her wish to protect her children. The mother’s right hand is propped up against her chin, while her left hand is cradling the baby which is swaddled in a dirty blanket and appears to be sleeping. The children lean against their mother’s shoulder, facing away from the camera. Their dishevelled pageboy hairstyles and their slight bodies exacerbate the already present melancholic atmosphere. The family is poor as can be seen by their dirty and threadbare clothes. The overall impression is one of desperation and the quiet determination to carry on living.

[163 words]

A day in the life of...Monika

Unlike most days, I find myself being not entirely reluctant to the idea of waking up at this early time in the morning, even though I know I have a long day ahead of me. I stay in bed for a few more minutes to soak in the warmth of the sun that shines through the windows before I finally get up and ready to leave for university. It is such a beautiful sunny day that I decide to pass on the tram and continue by foot instead. Luckily, I arrive just in time for my first class and cannot help but notice that most of my fellow students seem to be in a good mood this day as well. 

The nearly eight hours pass quicker than I thought and I am faced with two options: Either going back to an empty apartment and getting some work done or taking a friend up on his offer to give me a ride to my family home in Vienna. Spontaneously, I choose to go with the latter, head home and pack a few things to hit the road. 

After a fun ride with my good friend, I am happy to finally be home and to find my sister about to make one of my favorite desserts: pancakes with ice and fruits.