Swords, ploughshares and calendars

Chris Lavers' Swords into Ploughshares Science-Art exhibition is at Topsham Library in Devon until November 7th. The blurb says

His theme looks at transfer of military technologies into civilian applications and provides interesting insights into everyday items: from microwave ovens and the Swiss Army knife to Geostationary satellites!

They should add infrared/thermal imaging of course.

If you're looking for an infrared photography calendar for 2011, since I don't produce one, then you should check out Simon Marsden's Haunted Realm and Poetry of the Dark calendars. More information on his web site www.marsdenarchive.com.

I should also mention that Simon will be giving a talk called The Twilight Hour, and promoting his latest book, at Waterstones in Canterbury next Thursday (November 3rd) at 1830. It costs £3 to see him but that is refunded if you buy the book.

Enquiries: 01227 – 456343 or manager@canterbury.waterstones.co.uk

Free Phil Trans

Great news that the Royal Society has decided to make its archive freely available on line on a permanent basis. This is covered on this web page which also gives a link to the archive search page.

The main journal of interest to us is Phil Trans: the Philosophical Transactions, which started publishing in 1665. Amongst more than eight thousand documents you can find the very papers in which William Hershel described his discovery of infrared:

• Investigation of the Powers of the Prismatic Colours to Heat and Illuminate Objects; With Remarks, That Prove the Different Refrangibility of Radiant Heat. To Which is Added, an Inquiry into the Method of Viewing the Sun Advantageously, with Telescopes of Large Apertures and High Magnifying Powers. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. 1800 90, 255-283
• Experiments on the Refrangibility of the Invisible Rays of the Sun, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. 1800 90, 284-292

Herschel was prolific. There are 33 papers of his published in 1800 alone. He was the very model of a major scientific mind.

Phil Trans was freely available during 2010 as this was the Royal Society's anniversary year, and access to the papers was very helpful to me when I worked on my history of infrared photography.

Many people believe that open access to scientific papers, many of which are reporting publicly funded research, is definitely something to encourage. The Royal Society says their decision is part of its 'ongoing commitment to open access in scientific publishing' and I salute that.

Elliott Landy photos in Paris

Another opportunity to see some of Elliott Landy's great photos of 60s musicians, including some stunning colour infrareds and including his Dylan shot.

It's not in a gallery; it's at the Armani shop in Saint Germain des Prés (149 Boulevard Saint-Germain) in Paris. It opens tonight (18th) and runs for a week.

Elliott writes:

Magnum and Armani have created a collection of my '60's Music photos which features some of my abstract and especially colorful imagery - a different group than I normally exhibit - less literal and more painterly. They are printed on a variety of non-paper media in large sizes and have never been printed this way before. Some of the images have never been exhibited prior to this show.