Brave Boy
April 12, 2011 § 4 Comments
Photo by Øystein Horgmo © All rights reserved.
From time to time we’re called on to photograph different medical technical equipment in a clinical setting. It can be a new device that’s being introduced or a demonstration of proper use. This time it was the correct placement of the tubes from a heart-lung support machine to a nine-year-old boy. « Read the rest of this entry »
BioImages 2011
March 10, 2011 § 2 Comments
If you’re a medical or scientific photographer you should definitely consider submitting your best work to BioImages, an annual visual media competition that showcases the finest still, graphics and motion media work in the life sciences and medicine.
BioImages is sponsored by the BioCommunications Association (BCA) and online submissions are accepted until March 22.
Read more about the competition here, and go here to submit your work.
Mirror of the Body
February 8, 2011 § 5 Comments
“Man with Shoulder Amputation, 1874, James Robinson, D.D.S., Dublin” © The Burns Archive. Used with kind permission.
Ever since seeing this fascinating photo of a man with a shoulder amputation on the cover of Scope Magazine, I have been interested in the use of mirrors in vintage clinical photographs. Using a mirror to reflect another view of a body part or wound was common in the mid-nineteenth century. « Read the rest of this entry »
Don’t Light As Cartooned
January 20, 2011 § 2 Comments
"Figure 125 - The best single suggestion for good lighting is: DON'T do it as cartooned." Click to see larger version.
Good lighting requires simplicity. The least number of lamps possible should be employed. The greatest intensity should be directed at or near the center of the area of interest. The major lighting recommendation is summarized in Figure 125.
From “Clinical Photography – A Kodak Data Book” © Eastman Kodak Company, 1972.
Medical Illustration Dept, 1980s
January 13, 2011 § 2 Comments
While browsing the Wellcome Images collection I came across these photos showing the various activities of a mid 1980’s Medical Illustration departement. Most likely at the Charing Cross Hospital, the researchers at Wellcome tell me.
It’s interesting to see that even though the technology has changed a lot, the tasks are still much the same: clinical and specimen photography, video production, graphic design and presentation support.
A Picture Before Dying
December 19, 2010 § 5 Comments
“Intensive Care”. Painting by Joseph Dwaihy and Sara Dykstra.
An unusual request from the intensive care unit. Could I take some last photos of a patient before they switched off his life support? « Read the rest of this entry »
Imagine Medicine Photo Contest
November 22, 2010 § 2 Comments
Medgadget.com has announced an exciting medicine-themed photo contest they call Imagine Medicine. The prize is an iPad.
We are looking for fascinating medical photography that… imagines medicine. Nothing is off the table: portraits, group shots, happy shots, tragic shots, clinical shots, photoshop illustrations, macro, micro, and anything in between. Can you imagine medicine, showcase it as art, and make us wonder?
To participate, simply upload your photographs to Flickr and tag them with “imaginemedicine” and “medgadget”, by 11:59pm ET on December 5, 2010.
You can see all the submitted photos here.
No Pacifier
October 27, 2010 § 5 Comments
Photo by Øystein Horgmo © All rights reserved.
Notice on the incubator of a one-week-old baby with epidermolysis bullosa (EB):
I must do without a pacifier. Or else I get large wounds in my mouth. Give me some drops of mother’s milk instead.
A Watch for the Blind
October 22, 2010 § 5 Comments
Photo by Øystein Horgmo © All rights reserved.
This is a pocket watch I’ve inherited after my great-grandfather. Working as a farmer on the northwest coast of Norway he injured one of his eyes while mending a wire fence. Some time later he injured the other eye in the exact same way, making him completely blind. The watch has no glass cover and the numbers are indicated with braille-like dots.
The blindness did not stop him from providing his family with an income. Although he couldn’t go on as a farmer, he started making a living as a cabinetmaker. He died a few years before I was born.
Larger and additional photos available on my Flickr page.
The Other Side of the Lens
October 11, 2010 § 5 Comments
Photo by Robert Peinert © All rights reserved.
Guest post by Robert Peinert
For the past two years, I worked as a medical photographer and videographer during my graduate studies. While I primarily worked for a general surgery department, I often found myself documenting orthopedic and neurosurgical cases as well, in part due to my boss’ involvement with these other departments. Because of my background – mother was a nurse, father is an orthopedic surgeon – I have spent some time in and around operating rooms and surgeons’ clinics, allowing me to become familiar with the general instruments and supplies used in any case. Because of this, while photographing or filming, I would be often asked to grab something – usually gauze or sterile towels, etc….you know, the simple, everyday stuff. « Read the rest of this entry »
The Sterile Eye 