How Instant Photography Works

Traditional slide films used in photography consist of a plastic base that is coated with a layer of light-sensitive silver compound. Color films use three layers: one is sensitive to red light, one to blue light, and one to green light. When the film is exposed to light, each layer forms metallic silver when met with light of the right color, e.g. the green-sensitive layer forms metallic silver when exposed to green light reflected from a green shirt. Therefore, a chemical record of light and color patterns is produced. In order to get a picture from from this, a series of chemical baths containing dye developers and dye couplers has to be applied.

The paper used in instant photography consists of the same layers as traditional slide films, but there are additional layers containing all the chemicals needed for the development of the picture. The base layer is black and on top of it sit the different color layers. Under each color layer there is a developer layer with dye coupler. On the very top sit the image layer, the timing layer, and the acid layer.

A critical part for the chemical process, during which the picture will be developed, is the reagent. It consists of opacifier, alkali, and other chemical substances and is located between the light-sensitive layers and the image layer. The reagent is kept in a blob at the very edge of the plastic sheet of the paper, so the light-sensitive layers will not start to develop before they have been exposed. After taking a picture with an instant camera, the paper will come out of the camera. In doing so, it passes rollers that spread the reagent over the plastic sheet which starts the development process. As the reagent chemicals move downwards, they create metallic silver from exposed particles in each layers. The reagent also dissolves the dye couplers which then start to move towards the image layer. Metallic silver stops the dye from travelling up, therefore only dye from underneath of unexposed layers can make it to the image layer to create the picture. Meanwhile, the opacifiers and alkali in the reagent react with the acid layer of the paper. As a result, the opacifiers become clear, which makes the image visible. The timing layer is used to slow down the opacifiers and alkali, so the opacifiers will not turn clear before the image is fully developed underneath.
As soon as the opacifiers are clear, you can view your photograph!

Camera Lucida Instructions

Our group agreed that the instruction is helpful, yet there were several things that would need improvement to turn this into a good instruction sheet. First of all, there should be a short explanation on what a camera lucida actually is and what it can be used for. At the top, a list of all the materials needed to build the camera would be useful, otherwise people who start reading the text before having a close look at the pictures might encounter problems. Moreover, the units of length are illegible, therefore it is hard to find out if the author meant centimeters, millimeters, or a completely different unit. Another thing our group would change is the structure of the two paragraphs as we would rather use bullet points to describe the building process. While we think that the pictures are very helpful and that the author obviously put a lot of effort into these instructions, we are convinced that the individual steps could be structured better.

Group Text "The European Year of..."

Here's the link to our group text:

http://flaviusleahu.blogspot.co.at/2014/01/final-correction-european-year-of.html

Group Essay: EU-Russia Relationship

Here's the link to the group essay I wrote together with Andrina and Stefanie:

http://andrina-suk.blogspot.co.at/2013/12/group-essay-eu-russia-relationship.html

Freedom of Movement in the EU

Brainstorming

At first I wanted to write something about the history of the EU but then it occurred to me that this topic might be too general for such a short paragraph. Therefore I thought about how the EU affects my very own life and came up with the idea of writing about the Freedom of Movement.

Original Paragraph

In my opinion the Freedom of Movement is the most important benefit the EU has on its citizens. While you still had to pass border and customs controls just to take a trip to Germany not too long ago, you need not even bring a passport with you nowadays. This makes traveling a lot easier for all of us, but the Freedom of Movement also affects the daily lives of many people, because they are now able to work in any EU member country without having to care for visas or work permits. The same goes for students who can study in any member country they choose to. Moreover, the Freedom of Movement allows every EU citizen to live in the EU country they want to while keeping the rights they enjoyed in their countries of origin and therefore making us all equal, regardless of which nation we were born in. Of all aspects of the EU the Freedom of Movement is the one that directly affects the most people’s lives, and usually in a highly beneficial way.


Feedback 1 (Topic Sentence & Register)

I was advised to cross "in my opinion" out of my topic sentence.
The feedback on the register was positive, the only suggestion was that I might use "furthermore" instead of "moreover".

Feedback 2 (Vocab)

My correction partners recommended a small chance for my concluding sentence. I will take out the "the" in front of "most people's lives", because it is unnecessary there. Their second piece of advice was to write "benefits the EU has for its citizens" in the topic sentence.


Final Paragraph

The Freedom of Movement is the most important benefit the EU has for its citizens. While you still had to pass border and customs controls just to take a trip to Germany not too long ago, you need not even bring a passport with you nowadays. This makes traveling a lot easier for all of us, but the Freedom of Movement also affects the daily lives of many people, because they are now able to work in any EU member country without having to care for visas or work permits. The same goes for students who can study in any member country they choose to. Furthermore, the Freedom of Movement allows every EU citizen to live in the EU country they want to while keeping the rights they enjoyed in their countries of origin and therefore making us all equal, regardless of which nation we were born in. Of all aspects of the EU the Freedom of Movement is the one that directly affects most people’s lives, and usually in a highly beneficial way.