[Vision2020] The Shroud of Hype

[Kai Eiselein]

Well, I stand corrected on the possibility that bleaching could have been
the method, Joan. My apology.

However, the theory that a camera obscura could have been used to make the
image has several flaws.
1: A solution of silver nitrate would soak clear through the cloth, and
would be identifiable by testing, as would a fixing solution. The images on
the cloth, according to the Forbes article, can be removed with adhesive
tape. The image would go deeper than the surface.
2: If, at the time the shroud was made, there was no distortion free glass,
I highly doubt that a decent convex lens could have been made to gain
reasonable sharpness of the image. The photos of the shroud that I've seen
show it to be reasonably so.
3: The movement from a hanging corpse would blur the image, as would the
slightest draft of air on the shroud itself. The exposure time would have
been incredibly long, too long to keep from blurring.
4: A rope to hang the corpse would have shown at least as a shadow on the
shroud.
5: The image would show degradation for a couple of reasons. First, I doubt
there would have been a fixing agent that would last long enough in that day
and age. Second, I doubt people would have understood how to archive it so
that it wouldn't have faded. There are images with us today that have
survived 100 years or so, but the archiving was much better. I have B/W
images that are half that age that show degradation due to improper fixing,
mishandling and improper archiving. To expect an image to last for several
times that long is a stretch, I think.
Just as an aside, I've been involved with photography nearly my entire life.
Both of my grandfathers were lithographers, so I spent many happy hours
messing around in a darkroom. I've been shooting professionaly since I was
about 15 or 16 years old, and I shoot thousands of images a year.
I'm currently archiving my families photos, some of which date to the Civil
War. My camera collection dates back to the early 1900s.
OK, I'm done puffing out my chest now. I just love photography and can talk
about it endlessly.





Kai T. Eiselein
Editor
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