FRANK AUPERLE

Science stories

the thoughts that made the image

My main occupation is to create images to accompany science stories. I have highlighted a few to show how it is done. Use the button below to find out more about the header photo, but make sure to look around at this site first. ↑

FROM RESEARCH PAPER TO PHOTOGRAPH,
​HOW DOES IT WORK?

IDEATION

I try to get inspired by reading scientific content thoroughly and block a couple of hours to start thinking intensively.

PROPARATION

I want to bring a scientist closer to society. Collecting recognizable everyday attributes and bringing them together in a scientific context sometimes creates worlds that broaden networks.

CARE

Without language, no image. By carefully describing what a photograph will look like, I intend to convince my client and the researcher that my photography contributes in establishing the research in the media.

DO

When things get physical.

 From abstract scientific content ▼ to visual output​ ►

THIS IS WHAT I GET...
"Quantum computers (QCs) promise significant speedup for relevant computational problems that are intractable by classical computers. QCs process information stored in quantum bits (qubits) that must be typically cooled down to cryogenic temperatures. Since state-of-the-art QCs employ only a few qubits, those qubits can be driven and read out by room-temperature electronics connected to the cryogenic qubits by only a few wires. However, practical QCs will require more than thousands of qubits, making this approach impractical due to system complexity and reliability concerns. Although frequency multiplexing would reduce the interconnects to room temperature by fitting many qubit channels in the same physical interconnect, an excessive number of interconnects would still be required. An alternative, more scalable solution is a cryogenic electronic interface operating very close to the quantum processor to keep the whole control loop at cryogenic temperature, hence avoiding any high-speed interconnect to room temperature. This system must comprise drivers, readout circuits (LNAs, ADCs), and a digital controller to steer the quantum-algorithm execution [1]. While cryogenic CMOS (cryo-CMOS) wideband drivers and LNAs supporting qubit frequency multiplexing have been shown before [1] -[3], no wideband cryo-CMOS ADC has been demonstrated yet. © 2021 IEEE."

SKETCHING

Knowing in advance what an image will look like has its advantages. A sketch of the desired result gives both my client and me something to hold on to. That is why I try to have a clear idea in advance of what I want my photo to look like.

[ i ] Parallax section below. Click on the section below to upload image. Don't worry if it looks weird in the Weebly editor. It'll look normal on your published site.

To edit or delete your image, press the "toggle" button below. Then, hover over your image until a popup appears with the "edit" and "delete" options.


CONVINCE ME

In this particular study, I read about a scientist whose research involved making energy from urine.

From that moment on, I could only think of a man pissing on the lights in a public toilet.

It took quite a bit of email traffic before we could make this visual reality

Marketingfacts dedicated an article to such a way of content communication at TU Delft.

IDEATION PROCESS

The question was; "can you take a team photo and incorporate the subject in a somewhat conceptual way? The story is about a group of scientists who got together to turn a robot arm into a painter."

So I thought:
'why not have the robot arm paint the team photo it self'

In order to investigate this further and to give it the required weight, I started researching perspective paintings on which several people were depicted. I found valuable information in books such as: 'Perspectief by Jan Smits and Eye on Art by Alson Cole.

Having studied the mathematical laws of early paintings, I went in search of a location in which I could re-exemplify these through the medium of photography.

After making this image, all that remained for me to do was to combine it with the robot so that it looks as if the robot has painted it itself.