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Experimental Photography


  • Fabville at Somerville High School 81 Highland Avenue Somerville, MA, 02143 (map)

Do you like taking pictures? Do you like conducting wild science experiments? Want to learn about science while taking cool pictures? Come join us in 2 day class on visualizing physics in action, capturing details unseen to the eye through high-speed and long exposure photography.

Bring in your DSLR or SLR camera to each session that features a different exciting experiment and explores several advanced photography techniques.

Each day, we’ll do two experiments.

Day 1 (1/30) 6-8 PM

  • Leidenfrost Effect - a phenomenon where when a liquid is extremely close to a surface that is far hotter than that liquid’s boiling point, the bottom part of the liquid heats up so fast that it creates an insulating layer that stops the rest of the liquid from boiling, making the liquid hover above the surface, never actually touching it, and skid off quickly.

  • Hydrodynamics - physics behind the visualization of hydrodynamics through rheoscopic fluid is complicated and not yet fully understood. What we know is this; we can visualize fluid flow with mica powder because of mica powder’s properties. Mica powder is made up of tiny mica particles, which is a type of sheet silicate mineral that has almost perfect basal cleavage. These particles are shiny and are big enough to reflect light in different ways based on their orientation caused by the hydrodynamics of the fluid they reside.

Day 2 (1/31) 6-8 PM

  • UV Reactivity - some objects have details visible in the UV spectrum that aren’t visible in the visible spectrum. Food items or plants have these markings to attract or deter animals that see the UV spectrum appealing to them instead of us. Let’s discover what we can see!

  • Vortex Rings - created when a region of liquid or gas spins around an imaginary axis of a closed loop. These rings happen extremely commonly in the physical world but are only visualized through certain mediums such as smoke rings, mushroom clouds or, in my discovery, highlighter fluid being dropped into a glass of water lit up by a black light.

Free class, register at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/experimental-photography-tickets-500176249627

Earlier Event: January 25
FabVille Family Night
Later Event: February 1
Circuit Hacking Night @FabVille