Professor Norman Barker

Norman Barker, M.S., M.A., R.B.P., is a professor of pathology and art as applied medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He specializes in photomicroscopy, macro and natural science photography. Mr. Barker is director of the Pathology Photography and Graphic Arts Laboratory.

Mr. Barker received his undergraduate degree from the Maryland Institute College of Art. He earned his M.S. in education from JohnsHopkins and an M.A. in publications design from the University of Baltimore. Mr. Barker joined the Johns Hopkins faculty in 1983.

He is an Accredited Senior Imaging Scientist (ASIS) and a Registered Biological Photographer as well as a fellow of the BioCommunications Association and a fellow of The Royal Photographic Society. Barker's work appears in textbooks, journals and museums worldwide. His work is in the permanent collections of more than forty museums including The Smithsonian, The George Eastman House, The American Museum of Natural History and The Science Museum in London.

Associate Professor Ted Kinsman

Ted Kinsman has an AS in Optics, a BS in Physics, and a MS in Science Education. He has worked as an optical engineer, a physicist, and a physics instructor before coming to RIT to teach the technical side of imaging.

Kinsman’s work continues to explore imagery for books and magazines. His work has appeared on The Discovery Channel, Crime Scene Investigations (CSI), The X-Files, South Park, The Tyra Banks Show, ABC, NBC, PBS, CBS and the British Broadcast Corporation. Recently, he did work on The Frozen Planet series, and James Cameron’s Avatar movie.

In 2015, Kinsman won the National Science Foundation’s Imaging Science Contest with an x-ray image of a turtle with eggs. Kinsman’s work predominantly focuses on using images to teach science.

Kinsman’s latest book is Cannabis: Marijuana Under the Microscope / Schiffer Publishing 2018, his fresh and visually stunning survey celebrates the extraordinary beauty and diversity of the world's most controversial plant: Cannabis salvia.

Professor Michael Peres

Michael Peres is an award-winning photo educator, author, and science photographer. Peres is a professor of biomedical photographic communications at Rochester Institute of Technology and teaches photomicrography, biomedical photography, and other related applications of photography investigating science.

Peres has enjoyed a varied photographic career which, began in 1973. He has been actively publishing most of his career and recently wrote Laboratory Imaging and Photography published by Focal Press in 2016 as well the Focal Encyclopedia of Photography – 4th Edition. He is also a co-author of Michael Photographs a Snowflake, children’s book published by Fossil Press also in 2016.

Peres was a 2003 RIT outstanding faculty award winner and he has been twice awarded the Gitner prize presented by the RIT College of Art and Design for outstanding achievement in the graphic arts. In 2007, Peres was awarded the Schmidt medal by the BioCommunications Association for lifetime achievements in the field of bio-communications. Michael earned a master’s degree in instructional technology and bachelors degrees in biology and biomedical photographic communications. He is also a registered biological photographer.

Professor Chris Jackson | Project Designer

Chris Jackson is the associate dean in the Rochester Institute of Technology College of Art and Design. He is also a Professor in the School of Design, and the former Graduate Director for the MFA Visual Communication Design program.

With over 15 years of academic experience and 20 years of professional work in graphic design, instructional writing, multimedia design, and motion graphics, Chris brings diverse expertise to his courses in applied computer graphics and design. He teaches courses in interactive design and development for applied computer graphics, 2D and 3D animation, and motion graphics.

Jackson continues to create a body of work that contributes to his field in computer graphics design. He is the author of several books, including: After Effects for Designers, Digital Design in Action: Creative Solutions for Designers, After Effects and Cinema 4D Lite, Flash + After Effects, Flash Cinematic Techniques, and Flash 3D: Animation, Interactivity, and Games which have all been translated into foreign languages. His scholarly work has been featured in Animation Magazine and cited in Adobe's user manuals as a good resource for learning After Effects.

As an Adobe Higher Education Leader and Adobe Video Ambassador, his’ research and scholarly work has also been peer-reviewed, published, and presented at Adobe MAX, SIGGRAPH, TypeCon, the UCDA Design Education Summit, and the Society for Technical Communication (STC) National and International Conferences.

He has been a featured speaker at Adobe MAX since 2008 and has been awarded the honor as MAX Master, which means Chris was a community favorite and was ranked as one of the top 20 speakers for his presentation. His professional work has received over 25 distinguished national and international awards for online communication. His interactive work is on permanent exhibit at the National Museum of Play at The Strong in Rochester, New York.

Assistant Professor Bob Rose

Bob Rose graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology in 1978 and was hired in 2015 by his alma mater bringing more than 35 years of experience in the industry as a photographer, educator, and consultant. In 1999, he opened VMI to provide innovative solutions and act as a technology resource for corporations and others. His worldwide contributions have allowed companies to make better products, promote their products more effectively by increasing brand awareness, and make it easier for people to use photographic equipment. During his career, he developed new photographic devices and techniques, directed the use of new technologies, and has helped make good things happen for photography.

He serves as editor-at-large for Photo District News & RangeFinder magazines, overviewing new products and technologies, and assisting companies in making important business decisions, such as when a new products or technology should be shared. Bob has photographed on six continents and underwater in four oceans. He has published countless articles and has two patents to his credit. Bob earned a Master’s degree in Education from the American Intercontinental University School of Education specializing in Online Training in 2004. He earned his BS degree in Professional Photography from the RIT School of Photographic Arts and Sciences in 1978.

Origins of Images from Science

Both Leonardo DaVinci and Michelangelo were making drawings of science beginning in the late 1480’s. Their work predated photography’s invention by more than 300 years and their illustrations were groundbreaking at that time. Used for education and preservation of information, their ability and curiosity helped to further discovery and science. Telescopes and microscopes were invented just a bit later in the mid 1600’s and enabled further explorations of both the minute and cosmos. While these instruments were used by the most talented artists of the time, very few could create the high level of detail that was wanted or needed.

Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre is credited with the invention of photography in 1839. Science enthusiastically embraced its power as a tool for preserving data and its adoption and capabilities rapidly grew. The British scientist William Henry Fox Talbot, and other inventors worked independently to further methods needed for creating images of science. Photography and illustration became an important tool for scientists to create permanent records of behaviors, appearances or interpretations of a scientific subject or experiment.

Anna Atkins – a highly regarded botanist from the UK – is credited with publishing the first scientific photography book in 1843 which catalogued/photographed the entire known marine algae family, 424 samples using the cyanotype process. Working with Sir John Herschel, the cyanotype process was invented. Atkins work predated Fox Talbot's important work and book, Pencils of Nature published in 1844. It was published in six installments that concluded in 1846.

Rarely was early illustration celebrated for its beauty and the early use of photography/illustration as a tool for recording data spread rapidly through the world in the science because it could do what words struggled to. It provided a more complete description of the appearance or behaviors of subjects or when contrasted to the complex and number of words needed to describe things. Other important photographs by Eadweard Muybridge and important illustrators by skilled artists such as Dr. Ramon Cajal provided information otherwise not observable by any other means. Early images/photographs provided empirical facts or outcomes of events that otherwise could not be analyzed. A bonus was also their beauty. The late 1800’s and the 20th century provided countless examples of trends and equipment used by illustrators and photographers alike as color and other new methods were invented.

The scientist photographer/illustrator who works in science has often toiled away in labs that were tucked away from the view of the general public. As a consequence, many early photographs and illustrations from science were not displayed or seen outside of the environments from where they were created.

Science images are different than any type of image category and need to be highly accurate and not interpretative. For many obvious and not so obvious reasons, there are often challenges in making pictures of science This includes that science events are transitory, its samples may require examination or photographing using special equipment or contain uncooperative subjects entirely. These challenges make the creation of the highest quality pictures difficult to achieve for even the very best scientist photographer/illustrators. That is what will make the images in this collection so special. Achieving the results that will be demonstrated throughout this collection requires great care for precision, attention to detail, planning, knowledge, skills, and the most importantly the desire to do so.

The images in this exhibition can function both as science and art. They could be reproduced in both science and art books alike. we think this outcome is rooted in the simple fact that these photographs are scientifically accurate and share scientific facts in ways that allow viewers to add their own interpretation about what they believe they are seeing. This perceptual component of seeing can be exciting and can lead to the creation of intrigue when looking at the unknown.

As the digital technology has sped forward into its dynamic future, the ability to view images from science is readily available. Society watches open heart surgeries on TV, can observe pictures taken by the Hubble telescope using many on-line resources, and people crave more accessibility to images and experiences than ever before in the history of the visual record. Social media outlets such as Twitter and Instagram are experiencing explosive growth for image makers and continues to provide a wide distribution of work. One of the most remarkable inventions is 3d software that creates data rich images that astonishingly accurate and visually captivating.

Images from Science 3 was produced to identify the most unique and beautiful images in the world using the Internet to invite, curate and display the pieces that will be invited for display in the traveling exhibition and catalog.

Professor Norman Barker

Associate Professor Ted Kinsman

Professor Michael Peres

Professor Chris Jackson | Project Designer

Assistant Professor Bob Rose

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