When Michael met Robin

A psychedelic reunion.

Michael Pollan returns to visit Robin Carhart-Harris at the new Imperial Centre for Psychedelic Research.

Image © Thomas Angus / Imperial College London  [Click Image to expand]

Michael’s book “How to Change Your Mind: The New Science of Psychedelics” topped the best seller lists last year, and includes Robin’s work on the very promising trials using Psilocybin for treatment resistant depression. Psilocybin occurs naturally in Magic Mushrooms.

Image © Thomas Angus / Imperial College London  [Click Image to expand]

This is not the first time Robin and Michael have met.

Photo tip: Notice how bright the room is in the top image on this post, then look at the dark room behind the glass in the image with Robin and Michael here, that is the same room.
I did not light the room for the top image with the MRI, but wanted it to APPEAR brighter in the image, I did this by using a combination of a high ISO, wide aperture, and low shutter speed. (Read a short explanation of ISO, aperture and exposure at Canon here.)

Image © Thomas Angus / Imperial College London  

Robin showing Michael some brain scans at the MRI in the Burlington Danes Medical Research Facility on the Hammersmith Campus.
The lights in the room have now been turned off and the only light is coming from the door behind me, I have switched to a lens with a very wide aperture to accommodate the change, this gives a heavier vignette on the image, shallower depth of field, and a very different feel to the image above it which is the same room. This is the same lens I talk about in this post.

Image © Thomas Angus / Imperial College London

A lighter moment.

Image © Thomas Angus / Imperial College London  

Press call with a photographer from the Evening Standard who also covered the visit.

Image © Thomas Angus / Imperial College London  [Click Image to expand]

Down to the serious business back at Robin’s office in the Centre for Psychedelic Research.

Visit the new Imperial College London Photography Toolkit here.

Learn more about low light photography:

Watch a video tutorial on low light photography, covering high ISO, wide aperture and colour balance on Lynda.com  (College users have free access to Lynda courses)
Read a short explanation of ISO, aperture and exposure at Canon here.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *