Imago camera

Key takeaways

Imago camera belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Imago camera to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Imago camera from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Imago (stylised as IMAGO) is an analog, walk-in, large format photo camera. It creates life-size self-portraits of people on 62 × 200 cm photographic paper via direct exposure. Since a negative is not created, every image is unique and cannot be reprinted. The images are colloquially referred to as "Imago-grams." The only existing camera was built in the 1970s by German physicist Werner Kraus and artist Erhard Hößle. It is based on an optical system invented by Kraus for scientific purposes. The camera was in museum storage from 1976 to 2006, when it was rediscovered and rebuilt by the inventor's daughter, artist Susanna Kraus.

History In 1970, physicist Werner Kraus was commissioned to photographically document the Daimler-Benz Wankel engine’s combustion cycle. For this purpose, he invented a photo-optical system which captured images on a 1:1 scale. Later, based on the same system, Kraus, together with the artist and sculptor Erhard Hößle, built the Imago Camera. The camera and its photographs were exhibited in Munich during the Fluxus-movement. It operated for several years, but was archived in 1978 due to cessation of production of the photographic paper, which was essential for its operation. It was later stored in the archive of the Pinakothek der Moderne museum in Munich.

Restoration In 2005, photographs taken by the camera were rediscovered by Kraus' daughter, Susanna Kraus, which renewed her interest in Imago, and prompted her to restore it. During the following year, Susanna Kraus searched for a manufacturer who would produce the necessary photographic paper. When she convinced Ilford Switzerland in 2006 to develop and start the production of the direct positive paper, the curator of the New Collection of the Pinakothek der Moderne museum Florian Hufnagl agreed to release the camera from the archive and return it to the inventor's daughter. At the end of 2006, the first exhibition of the photos made with the restored Imago Camera was held in Vienna. After several years of travelling and exhibitions, in 2011, the camera inhabited a new photo studio started by Susanna Kraus in the Aufbau Haus on Moritzplatz, Berlin Kreuzberg. It has been operating at this location since.

Characteristics Imago is a large format camera measuring 6.85 × 3.9 × 3.55 meters. It is designed to capture life-size analog images of subjects inside it. The camera is equipped with an optical system, specifically constructed for it, with an extremely high focal length allowing pictures to be taken on a 1:1 scale, without warping. The camera features a special internal setting of six strobe lights providing a high intensity light necessary for production of the large direct exposure images on paper, which is considerably less photosensitive than film. The Camera produces 62 × 200 cm sized black and white prints on Imago and Harman Direct Positive Paper. Inside the camera, one can see a true-sided reflection of oneself in a special mirror, serving as a viewfinder. The picture is taken by the subject releasing a trigger.

Imago photographic paper Imago Camera uses silver gelatin direct positive photographic paper developed in cooperation with Ilford Switzerland and HARMAN Technology specially for Imago. It is made for direct exposure and reacts as soon as an image is exposed onto it. The exposed paper is developed in a conventional black and white process taking ten minutes, after which the print is ready. The resulting images are characterized by high contrast and display a wide range of tones.

Further developments In 2014 the Imago technology was redeveloped and wrapped in a new design shell. Built by Jakob Kraus, the new aluminum camera was called the Imago Photour and was designed to be mobile. Transported in a 40-foot container, it can be reassembled at a new location within two days. The new camera's first destinations were Rotterdam and Shanghai, where the first Imago Photour exhibitions were held in 2014 to 2015.

Notable people who have made self-portraits with Imago Nick Cave, Robert Wilson, Eva Mattes, Jonathan Meese, Anton Corbijn, Mike Leigh, François Ozon, Barbara Sukowa, Ernst Fuchs, Donata and Wim Wenders, Tim Raue, Angela Winkler, Maria Schrader, F. C. Gundlach.

Exhibitions

2006 European Month of Photography in Vienna. First exposition of Imago after 30 years named “Vienna’s analysts in the black box”. 2007 User - Century of the consumer, ZKM in Karlsruhe (2007) Director - Peter Weibel. 2011 The Punks of Kreuzberg, European Month of Photography Berlin, Imago Gallery Moritzplatz, Berlin, Germany. 2013 Imagographie, opening of the temporary art gallery "Schaustelle", Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany. 2014 Imago-Nation, Imago Gallery Moritzplatz, Berlin, Germany (guest exhibition Annegret Kohlmayer). 2014 Faces of Rotterdam, DE Rotterdam, world premiere of Imago Photour Camera, the Netherlands. 2015 German Premiereof Imago Photour Camera, Gallery Weekend, 10th Anniversary of Spinnerei Galerien Leipzig, Germany. 2015/2016 Blackout, exhibition tour in collaboration with Memorieslab Ltd, Shanghai, China. 2016 Touched – Craftsmanship in Contemporary Photography. Group exhibition curated by Anton Corbijn, Unseen Photo Festival, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. 2016 Self Portraits of the 1970s, European Month of Photography Berlin, Imago Gallery Moritzplatz, Berlin, Germany. 2017 Rendezvous Berlin, solo exhibition, Berliner Sparkasse - Firmen-Center Charlottenburg, Berlin, Germany. 2018 "The own skin as a mirror of the ego", a portrait cycle from the Berlin Tattoo Scene. European Month of Photography Berlin, Imago Gallery Moritzplatz, Berlin, Germany

References

External links Official website

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Imago camera

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Imago camera claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Imago camera before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Imago camera ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Imago camera

In research: Imago camera appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Imago camera in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Imago camera is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Cameras by type, Photographic lens designs, Self-portraits, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Imago camera outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Imago camera in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Imago camera means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Imago camera out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Imago camera in simple terms?

Imago (stylised as IMAGO) is an analog, walk-in, large format photo camera. It creates life-size self-portraits of people on 62 × 200 cm photographic paper via direct exposure.

Why does Imago camera matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Imago camera?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Imago camera.