Authors:Roberto García-Roa Abstract: The search for certainty in a world that is often so binary – where choosing between two options seems to be the better (and simpler) alternative – gives meaning to the expression «a picture is worth a thousand words». But if we are running away from simplicity, why choose between the two' PubDate: 2023-05-17 DOI: 10.7203/metode.14.26680
Authors:Àngels Viladomiu, Àngel Romo Abstract: Suzanne Davit (Paris, 1897 – Barcelona, 1973) is little known and studied, despite the relevancy of her legacy to the Catalan botanical illustration of the early and mid-20th century. Great botanists such as Pius Font i Quer greatly valued her unique way of capturing nature. As a woman and an artist who was passionate about nature and who was also scientifically very curious, her representation of plants was different from the typical work of the time. Her innovations are interpreted as an alternative artistic discourse to the dominant patriarchal dialogue and a manifestation of the female touch. Access to unpublished documents – Davit's correspondence with a friend – has made it possible to reconstruct some of the key aspects of her work, involving the crossroads between the aesthetic exaltation of flowers and a gender perspective. PubDate: 2023-03-24 DOI: 10.7203/metode.14.25553
Authors:Roberto García-Roa Abstract: Photography was born at the beginning of the 19th century as a tool for representing the world around us. With its advent, the scientific community found an ally to push back the frontiers of knowledge. Since then, the pairing of photography and science has evolved considerably. Photography has positioned itself not only as an effective means of collecting data, but also as a tool for sharing scientific information, both inside and outside the academic world. In addition, technological developments in recent decades have encouraged almost constant interaction between photography and the public, including the research community. This has further opened up possibilities for integrating photography into scientific career development. PubDate: 2023-03-24 DOI: 10.7203/metode.14.25534
Authors:Santiago Carreira Abstract: Since its inception, photography has played an important role as a documentary tool. It has been used to communicate and disseminate biodiversity research and conservation projects in different parts of the world. Today, the extraordinary technological development and popularity of photography has allowed it to be used to collect data for different types of scientific projects and to facilitate a much more fluid exchange of information between the scientific community and the public, for example in citizen science programmes. However, a paradigm shift is now being proposed for photography to move beyond its purely artistic sense to reveal its informative and knowledge-generating potential in the field of conservation. PubDate: 2023-03-24 DOI: 10.7203/metode.14.24705
Authors:Enrique Font Abstract: Louis Daguerre imagined that his invention would be useful mainly for artistic purposes or for personal use (portraits and travel diaries, etc.), but photography actually became a valuable ally of science. The observation and documentation of natural phenomena is one of the pillars of the scientific method. In this context, photography guarantees objectivity and authenticity in a way that other alternative techniques cannot. Moreover, as a visual tool, it gives us access to phenomena that cannot be perceived or processed by the human eye. A book on the expression of emotions published by Charles Darwin 150 years ago marked the beginning of scientific photography. PubDate: 2023-03-24 DOI: 10.7203/metode.14.24660
Authors:Fernando Abalos Vazquez, Javier Ábalos Abstract: In 1925, Edwin Hubble took the first step towards increasing the size of the known universe by several orders of magnitude by using the precarious photographic methods available at the time: glass plates and photosensitive emulsions. Analysing periodic variations in the brightness of certain stars (Cepheids) by using photographs, Hubble was able to show that the distance between Andromeda and the Earth was much greater than previously thought. Thus, Andromeda, previously thought to be a nebula, had to be a galaxy different from our own. Suddenly, the estimated size of the universe went from a few hundred thousand light years to a few billion light years. Since then, the synergy between photographic technology and astronomy has continued to grow. PubDate: 2023-03-24 DOI: 10.7203/metode.14.24625
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