CAP (Computer Aided Photography) is the project involving digital picture manipulation, originally started in the Department of Photography by Philip Dean in 1990. The lab received a large grant from the Swedish Erna & Victor Hasselblad foundation in 1992 and later moved to the 3rd floor alongside the newly formed IMI lab. Since then CAP has developed to become a place for those who work in the area which falls somewhere between photography and graphic design. In four years it has grown to become a lab with five Macintosh workstations and the picture manipulation unit of the new Media Lab. In these early years the main effort has been in learning the technology and applications.
Now is the time to face new challenges: to serve the continually growing demand from various departments of UIAH and to develop research and production. CAP organizes courses for students from all faculties. When not booked for courses the CAP lab's machines are available for students' own projects. The CAP service unit offers scanning and printing services including a Matrix film printer, Kodak sublimation printer, 35 mm film scanner and UMAX flat-bed scanner.
Since the technology is now familiar one of CAP«s major aims is to apply digital technology in large-scale visual projects. We are studying and adapting the character of the computer within the thematization, methods and viewpoints of productions, not merely (in) manipulating the actual images. We are also putting together a flexible group of people which aims to develop and support projects that apply the characteristics of the new media, like, for example, interactivity in the wider sense. Emphasis will also be placed on making use of several parallel media in the presentation of productions.
