Another archival exhibition that teaches the basics of photography is “Behind the Lens”.

Agglo’s community archives, on the other hand, focus on the making of these shots with a very instructive approach to the history of photographic technique. This mirror exhibition is called “Behind the Lens”.

Agglo’s community archives, on the other hand, focus on the making of these shots with a very instructive approach to the history of photographic technique. This mirror exhibition is called “Behind the Lens”.

All the pieces on display in this entrance hall, which is adjacent to a large fireplace, belong to the photography museum of Saint-Bonnet-de-Mure, near Lyon. His manager, François Boisjoly, is one of two speakers in the explanatory video that completes the visit.

Last year’s workshop

The window features countless devices of all ages. From the early 20th century children’s camera to the legendary Rolleiflex and its vertical eye made famous by Robert Capa. Yesterday’s workshop is recreated with an old wide format camera working with a glass plate and a large black cover.

All the equipment is there, near the darkroom, with vials for fixatives and other chemicals (no undue risks, of course). We see a tin or copper plate where the light sometimes reveals the immortalized portrait and sometimes its negative. Magical! More than a hundred years before Photoshop, in one of the corners of the workshop there is a small device that can retouch images.

The principle of the darkroom is older than photography. Aristotle discovered this technique in 350 BC.

A stone’s throw away, a “room forest” is open to onlookers. This is a reconstruction of part of the Rhone museum’s collection. “The principle of the darkroom is older than photography,” emphasizes Corinne, who is responsible for communication and archive evaluation at the fireside. “Aristotle already discovered this technique in 350 BC. Several rooms appear here, from the largest and oldest to the decreasing models, and therefore more portable.

Camera obscura and magnifiers

Note that there is a pre-1860 copy where the bellows (the accordion between the plate and the lens) are made of paper. Fragile and historical. The principle is always the same, our guide continues. A glass plate is placed under the device and protected from light. We open the cache, take a photo, apply collodion and close very quickly. »

The exhibition is fun and allows you to get acquainted with the basics of photography techniques. A small cardboard darkroom is used to show young children how an inverted image gradually appears with focus. A larger “camera obscura” even offers to watch the building opposite the Tram Factory.

Not far from here, a number of enlargers again demonstrate technical progress, from the first limiting systems that offered only one format, to more modern equipment that allows the lens to move forward or backward toward the negative side of the plate or the positive side of the image.

Good old stereoscopes

Stereoscopes on a nearby table will bring back memories for some, with their dual purpose of allowing two images to be superimposed and a small relief obtained. François Boisjoly explains it in a video in the middle of the exhibition: “Everyone imagines that 3D images have been around since the late 1990s, but in fact we have long understood that two different images are superimposed for the two eyes to see. in relief. Since the dawn of photography, we’ve seen dual-lens cameras to recreate 3D. »

Yesterday or the day before, these vintage stereoscopes invite us on a historical tour of the main tourist attractions of France. Sepia images parade under the viewfinder, elbow operated. One last reminder before the surprise interview. At the end of the trip, you will receive a questionnaire (optional) to check that everything is well integrated. Here’s the photo finish…