Inside the ATLAS Detector at CERN. Photograph: Divya Rao Heffley.

The Invisible Photograph: From Underground to Subatomic

We’ve taken you from photographs stored Underground in a limestone mine and Andy Warhol drawings Trapped in an Amiga computer, to Extraterrestrial image data captured by a Lunar Orbiter and photographic treasures Discarded and rescued from the mists of obscurity by artist Joachim Schmid. Our five-part documentary series, The Invisible Photograph, reaches its final stop on a journey that has spanned the Atlantic Ocean with Subatomic: The European Organization for Nuclear Research, set at CERN, an epicenter of research in particle physics. See the documentary now and enjoy behind-the-scenes access to CERN’s ATLAS and AEgIS experiments, where photographic imaging—both digital and analog—is being used to visualize the subatomic world.

A People’s History of Pittsburgh: From Digital Archive to Photobook

The digital archive of A People’s History of Pittsburgh currently consists of over 1,500 photographs submitted by you, our public. Your stories have entertained, educated, and engaged us, and your images have revealed cherished moments that span more than a century. Now, the project is moving into its next iteration, following a lifecycle that will take it from digital to print. Artists-in-residence Melissa Catanese and Ed Panar are currently in the process of combing through your submissions for inclusion in a photobook, also titled A People’s History of Pittsburgh, that will be released this May. Last week, a lucky group of CMOA staffers got a sneak preview of the artists’ preliminary concept and design for the photobook and we can’t wait to see it in finished form. The books will release in early May—just in time for Mother’s Day!

#NowSeeThis: From Soup to Nuts

To celebrate the Initiative’s first year of programming, the museum is hosting #NowSeeThis, a party featuring national music acts, interactive installations, and your submissions to nowseethis.org over the past year. Save the date on May 9 and stay tuned for more details, coming soon.

This Picture: From Robert Adams to Alec Soth to You

This month, we featured a quiet and contemplative photograph by Robert Adams and received a number of introspective responses from you. When an image evokes a mood or feeling that is entirely nonvisual—like the feel of a hot summer’s day, or the sound of leaves rustling in a humid evening breeze—it can be entirely transporting, as it was for photographer Alec Soth. In his own response to this photograph, Soth credits this photograph by Adams as the inspiration for his own practice.

My favorite responses from this month refer to that indescribable aura captured in Adams’s photograph. Congratulations go out to Tiffany Smith, Groana Melendez, and Tori Marchiony! You are this month’s winners of the Program Manager’s Picks Contest. Your prize is free tickets to NowSeeThis, the closing party for the first cycle of the Initiative! Details on how to redeem your prize will be coming your way soon.