Exploration Seven [Fish and Film]

As much as I love creative writing, I've found that my interest lie more in sciences. Both of my topics are science based, but have developed into something that even those far from interested in chemical compositions can enjoy. My first go to topic is also my major: marine biology. My second topic has interested me since I learned its progression over the years: film development.

Several people have helped further the study of marine biology. It's roots are said to have began with Aristotle: The Father of Marine Biology. He was the first to make a written record observations of marine life. [This is unsurprising to me as it seems that Aristotle gave birth to many sciences.] Other people such as Captain James Cook, Charles Darwin, and Sir Charles Wyville Thomson all sailed around the world and recorded their observations of sea life. Thomson himself made note of more than 4,717 new species and charted currents and temperatures that are still valuable and accurate today. The most interesting person I found to further underwater discovery was Otis Barton. In 1934, he designed the bathysphere, a small vessel designed to allow people to delve under the waves without fear of bodily harm, and observe the creatures in their natural habitat. However, because he didn't publish his findings and scribbles upon discovery, he wasn't given the credit he rightly deserved.

Film development also interests me. I can only imagine it was somewhat trial and error. The progression from chemicals to digital has been a long one. Richard Leach Maddox is the founder of gelatin negative plates. This is the very basic form of developing film by utilizing exposed light and creating a reaction with the fixer silver bromide and silver chloride. Development of the film continues until its placed into the stop bath. From there, other people began to commercialize which gave rise to companies like Kodak. Flexible film was created and marketed by George Eastman in 1885. Going from just playing with chemicals and light to full vivid photos is absolutely fascinating and really represents progress as well as persistence.