experiment the third: video

[4thdimensional]

[For the first time in quite a while, it's Doc. This time he's not building hoverboards, but something smaller. Lenses litter the desk, shining in the light.]

I realize that photography is largely a function of our communication devices these days, but do any of you still possess a more traditional camera? I'm looking to modify the build for my own and missing a key component or two.

And if any of you have created albums, I'd be interested in seeing those too. Not all memories can be recorded, but I'd like to remember what I can...while I can, at the very least.

[His smile almost wavers, but he fights it off and waves.]

Thank you.

Comments

[driftsintobuffetline]

Scrapbooking, Doc? Careful. That's a steep fall into Martha Stewart hell.

[4thdimensional]

I don't believe I get the reference. What might this turn me into?

[driftsintobuffetline]

Eh, well, she was a business woman in the early 2000s with a tv-show and magazine and shit about how to entertain and pretty up your house. She's become kind of synonymous with, like, the kind of expensive crafting that says "I'm a middle-aged upper-middle-class conservative white woman who has too much time and money on my hands." Beware, Doc. It is a dark and dangerous path you're embarking on.

[Text]

[doesntdomuch]

I have a digital camera, if that's traditional enough for you.

Although I must admit I don't really have many albums on me, I apologize.

[Text]

[4thdimensional]

It will do. I have a feeling that film may be too outdated to work.

And that's the trouble. Any albums would likely be on our home worlds, and any we complete here can't be kept. But I'd still like to see that camera and make an attempt.

[Text]

[doesntdomuch]

Alright, as long as you promise not to delete the photos on there I can let you borrow it.

Mind if I ask why you're doing this? You never seemed like the type who would make photo albums.

video

[glitterateur]

[She cannot resist the call of someone who wants to talk about scrapbooks.]

Oooh, me! I am a scrapbook expert. I have a ton of them!

video

[4thdimensional]

Glad to hear it! I'd be grateful if you could show me any examples.

[glitterateur]

[Careful what you wish for, Doc. She pulls a stack (a large, large stack) of photo albums over from out of frame.]

Okay so is there a specific theme you wanna go with? 'Cause your scrapbook should be a reflection of you! That way it's more-- well it'll be better at preserving your memories.

Voice

[helladoomed]

If you get a photo printer you can just print out the pictures you take on your phone, Doc.

Voice

[4thdimensional]

I'll give it a shot, but I confess to a certain attachment to film.

Voice

[helladoomed]

You and Max both.

But that shit has got to be getting expensive by now.

video

[dendarii]

You ... mean physical film?

[ He sounds faintly baffled by the idea. ]

Re: video

[4thdimensional]

Yes. I understand it's not in common use anymore, but it's what I'm most familiar with. Technology brings new innovations, new marvels, and it's impressive how many images can be efficiently transferred---but I do miss the red lights and chemicals.

( video )

[drizzle]

A traditional camera? What does one of those look like if they are different to the ones in our communications thing?

[All these new words, she doesn't get them at all, but she was curious regardless.]

Are you having trouble with your memory? I don't really get what you're asking for. In albums and stuff. Do those things store whatever you've forgotten?

[4thdimensional]

I'm referring to a film-based camera. Essentially, it contains photographic film, a material that is extremely sensitive to light. It's contained in a largely lightproof box, and when you're facing the image you want to capture, you press a button to expose the film to light. A chemical reaction of the film and the light causes an exact replica of the sight in front of you to be recorded...and then you simply apply more chemicals to the film to process the image.

[As he talks, he pulls up a paper, points the comm at it, and draws a film piece, film roll, and then a camera with lens and viewpiece labels.]

[drizzle]

[Most of the explanation was better understood as he begins to show her the items he was talking about. The entire process of picture taking was far more interesting than she thought it would be even if it all was difficult to imagine. Science in the future seems to have advanced a great deal!]

I'm beginning to see the reason most people would prefer the other type of camera. But that film-based way sounds really interesting. All of that happens as you prepare to take a picture? How did the people discovered a way to accomplish that? It all sounds so complex to me.

[Another short pause.]

Is it due to portrait painters getting lazy in the future?

video; comm ID just says "Peter Parker"

[shutterbugged]

My last analog camera is in another universe, but I used to tinker with it a fair amount back in the day. If you give me an idea of what you're looking for I might be able to help rustle something up.

Re: video; comm ID just says "Peter Parker"

[4thdimensional]

[He sketches this relatively slim model from the 1950s and holds it up.]

Something nostalgic...of course, I'll also need the darkroom chemicals, but that should be less of an issue. I'll be building mine once I have a model to work from, and I assure you it'll be returned in mint condition---unless you'd like an upgrade?

[He might go a little wild with modifications over here, but he always appreciates a camera lover.]

video

[quaerit]

I work for a photographic studio, actually. I have the camera they gave me, and obviously I have materials to develop pictures in the office. We'd probably have most of what you need.

[ Gansey, who is on video, is clearly not at the studio at the moment, if the greenery around him is anything to go by. That's because one of his duplicates is there in his place. ]

Re: video

[4thdimensional]

That's excellent news---I'll meet you there whenever's convenient, and we can discuss appropriate compensation for time and materials.

[liverletdie]

Well, you could just build a digital camera that acts the same way -- and probably has a sharper picture.

[ Why bother? his voice says. ]

[4thdimensional]

I could, yes. It'd be simple and inexpensive. But there's a tangible nostalgia to the entire process with film...it's sentimental, yes, but it doesn't quite feel like a complete picture without the fumes and red lights.

text; ID is Tim Drake-Wayne

[alreadywon]

[He's been monitoring the network but not participating much lately, but this is somehow enough to drag him out of the shadows, if only from a minor tug of nostalgia.

There was a time when photography was very important to him, if only as a window into things he didn't have.]

I have some experience with cameras. What kind of modifications are you looking into?

[4thdimensional]

I'm interested in photographing while moving at high speeds. Poor lighting conditions too---I don't always have the space for studio lighting equipment, so that little flash bulb will be getting an upgrade.