The Site of Vernon D. Miller’s 1978 Photographs of the Shroud of Turin

History

Background

Unique to this website are the terms P or Positive and N or Negative which are specifically used to describe the Image of the Man of the Shroud captured by black and white photographic film. It is from black and white film that we can appreciate the positive view of the Man of the Shroud who was hidden in the negative image on the cloth of the Man of the Shroud until the first photograph of the Shroud was taken by Secondo Pia in 1898.

In 1898 cameras were large as were the negative plates that captured the negative photo of the object that was being photographed. It was in the darkroom that the negative plate was developed and then the total photographic image on the negative plate was turned back into a positive image by passing light through the negative plate onto photographic paper, thus creating a positive image of the photographed object.

After photographing the Shroud cloth with its image and blood marks, Secondo Pia went back to his darkroom to develop his negative plate. He saw the negative photo of the blood marks, patches, etc. of the shroud but he was surprised that he did not see the negative image of a man that he expected to see on his negative plate. Instead he saw the positive image of a man. He wondered how this could be and then realized that the image of the Man of the Shroud that he just photographed was the negative image of a man. How could a negative image of a man get onto an ancient cloth when photography was only invented in the 19th century? Because of this discovery scientists around the world became interested in studying the Shroud.

Website

In 1978 when Vernon took a black and white photograph of the Shroud, he used photographic film which produces a photographic negative when taking the picture. This negative photo was later developed in the darkroom. But in the case of the Shroud, it is the negative photo that reveals the positive image of a man, and it is the positive photo (the original shroud cloth as you see it) that shows the negative image of a man.

Definitions of black and white films on this website:
In summary, on this website, the black and white film of the Shroud cloth as you see it (positive photo) has the negative image of a man and the film is defined as N or NEGATIVE: Negative Image of a Man as seen in the positive photo. The negative photo of the Shroud cloth has the positive image of a man and the film is defined as P or POSITIVE: Positive Image of a Man as seen in the negative photo.

Note: On the Shroud as you see it (positive photo) the blood marks are seen as positive and on the negative film the blood marks are seen as negative. In contrast to the unique image, these blood marks have the classic results of what is expected when blood is photographed, and the same is true of the patches, burn marks, etc. seen on the cloth.

The discussions of positive and negative black and white photos are mentioned throughout this website. These photo discussions should not be confused with the unique way that is used on this website in defining a film by the Positive or Negative Image of the Man of the Shroud. See the above summary.

The Cataloging & Digitization of Vernon Miller’s Shroud Collection

In 2008 Vernon Miller gave his Shroud collection to Tom D’Muhala. In 2012, the cataloging of Vernon Miller’s entire scientific photographic collection from the 1978 study of the Shroud of Turin was accomplished. This project required the help of many wonderful volunteers. The initial work (done by Tom D’Muhala and Gilbert Lavoie, both of whom have extensively studied the Shroud and were colleagues of Vernon Miller) was to determine the contents of each container of photos so that the photographs could then be organized and placed into a filing system. Once the filing system was complete, digitalization of the photos began (also done by D’Muhala and Lavoie).

In 1978 Vernon Miller used the most professional cameras of that era with the best of lenses. For example, he used a large format camera from National Geographic and his own Hasselblad camera, which produced the highest quality photos available. The technology used to reproduce (digitalize) his original images was also of the highest quality, a Hasselblad Camera (H4D-50 MS). This camera has captured the full dimensions of his original photos.

The project of organizing the data for the website (also done by D’Muhala and Lavoie) was started in 2015. The website was completed in 2019. This website allows anyone to enjoy the experience of seeing the Shroud of Turin in the same way that Vernon Miller saw it through his camera lens. His magnificent extensive collection is now available to the public.

The copyright holder for the website www.shroudphotos.com and its text, is D’Muhala and Lavoie Trust, 2019 to , All Rights Reserved. No part of this website, except as otherwise herein stated in ‘the license’, can be copied without written permission from the copyright holder. Small business websites by  OpenVine