Without chemistry, would digital photography as we currently know it even exist? In a time when digital advancements seem to be evolving at lightning speeds, it can be easy to forget the analog processes and objects that these modern tools derived from originally. Think of digital camera filters or the square image used in Instagram to mimic film, how we measure camera ISO to determine a sensor’s sensitivity to light, and the use of editing software like Lightroom, which is a play on traditional darkroom photography. All of these are directly influenced by the successful advancements in chemistry that allowed photography to exist in the first place, and it is still a thriving and growing relationship today. Not only are there many artists still creating images using the vast array of chemical-based photographic processes, including artists within our Stanford community, but chemistry is still making advancements in the field from improvements to darkroom processes to the inks used in digital prints. Chemistry truly is picture-perfect in making photography possible.

About the Speaker

Sommer Wood earned a BFA in Photography from Clemson University and an MFA in Photography from Barry University. She has been an arts educator for over a decade, and the Photography Lab Manager for the Stanford Art and Art History Department for six years. Her photography practice includes both artistic and commercial work, but her main interest is working with analog processes in the darkroom. Her images are typically observational from her encounters in daily life and travel.

In celebrating National Chemistry Week, this event is co-hosted by the Department of Art and Art History and the Department of Chemistry.