COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN PHOTOGRAPHIC ENLARGEMENT OF

COMMERCIAL MACRO LENS AND AN IMPROVISED METHOD OF

MACROPHOTOGRAPHY IN QUESTIONED DOCUMENT EXAMINATION
By: Jean B. Pauyon, Ph.D. and Gregorio Mendoza, Jr., Ph.D.

Abstract:
This work will compare between photographic enlargement of commercial macro lens
and an improvised method of macrophotography in questioned document examination. The
performance of "macro" lenses is designed for close-up work, with a long barrel for close
focusing and optimized for high reproduction ratios will be compared for the determination of
photographic enlargements using improvised method with travel/folding magnifying glass with
stand – Big Lens, which allows to magnify an object for 125%, two (2) halogen lamp
(150watts), a stand, a table and SLR camera without flash. The commercial macro lens is
accomplished using compact digital cameras and small-sensor bridge cameras, combined with
a high powered zoom lens. The high pixel density and resolving power of these cameras'
sensors enable them to capture very high levels of detail at a lower reproduction ratio than is
needed for film or larger DSLR sensors. However, due to its luxurious price in the market, a
search to achieve the same product but with less cost will be implemented. An improvised
method of macrophotography is hoped to be achieved using available materials in criminology
schools in Negros Occidental. Analytical performances, applicability in the course of
Questioned Document Examination as to clarity, competency, prominence, relevancy,
significance and satisfaction and other aspects such as cost or potential for efficacy will be
compared for both devices and will be evaluated by registered criminologists in Negros
Occidental.

Keywords: comparative study, photography, photographic enlargement, commercial, macro

lens, improvised method, macrophotography, questioned document, questioned document
examination

Introduction

Any document, when questioned, has two sides necessary to be explored by the
questioned document examiner – authenticity of the document or forgery. Fancuili (1994) cited
in his article that was published in FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, that a questioned writing
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should be carefully examined to determine whether it shows forgery or not. The examination
should include line quality, suspicious retouching, unnatural hesitation, pen lifts, interrupted
and unnatural movements, identity of forms of several disputed signatures and any evidence of
hesitation and drawn writing.

Montojo (2006) mentioned that there are four phases of questioned document
examination. The examiner usually observes a scientific approach in examining a disputed
writing. Although there is no specific approach, the following are always observed: a)
Recognition of handwriting characteristics, b) Comparison of handwriting characteristics, c)
Evaluation of handwriting characteristics, d) Findings/conclusions.

Further, the most important tool a document examiner is his/her own vision of eyesight.
But there are other tools which enable the examiner to see, evaluate and record more than is
apparent to the unaided eye such as, basic measuring tools, magnification, light sources,
special instruments, and photographic equipment (Camera w/ macro lens).(Montojo, 2006).

Photographs are very necessary and useful in nearly every questioned document
investigation especially for those who are required to present the facts to a court of any
investigative body and agency. It serves as a record of the initial condition of a disputed
document. Photographs make clear what otherwise maybe hidden or indistinct. By means of
photographs, a writing in question can be accurately enlarge so that every quality and
character can be clearly and properly interpreted whether the facts shown point to
genuineness or to forgery.

However, cameras with macro – lens used in the proper conduct of questioned
document examination are expensive in the market that hinders the criminology schools to
avail in their criminalistics’ laboratory. The luxurious amount of this equipment hampers the
skill that a criminology student must develop while enrolling the Questioned Document
Examination course. Therefore, accurate reproduction of the document that could only be
made through photographs using macro – lens cannot be afforded by the schools offering
criminology education hence, losing criminology student’s opportunity for appropriate study,

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accurate comparison and proper evaluation procedure inside the laboratory. For that reason,
improvised macrophotography is needed to achieve the goal in questioned document
examination in the absence of macro – lens cameras.

Consequently, Onasanya et al. (2008), noted that improvisation demands adventure,

creativity, curiosity and perseverance on the part of the teacher. It was further added that such
skills are only realizable through well-planned technique/method on improvisation. Thus, this
study will be made.

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to compare between photographic enlargement of commercial macro

lens and an improvised method of macrophotography in questioned document examination as
perceived by the registered criminologist respondents in Negros Occidental.

Specifically this study aims to answer the following questions:

1. What is the profile of the registered criminologist respondents of the study in terms of:
a. Age
b. Marital Status
c. Further Studies
d. Years in Service
e. Occupation
f. School of Origin

2. What is the efficacy of photo enlargement of commercial macro lens and an improvised
method of macrophotography in questioned document examination as perceived by
registered criminologist respondents when the following variables are taken into
consideration:
a. Clarity
b. Competency
c. Prominence
d. Relevancy

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 e. Significance
f. Satisfaction

3. Are there significant relationships among the selected variables and the efficacy of
photo enlargement of commercial macro lens and an improvised method of
macrophotography in questioned document examination?

4. Are there significant differences between the efficacy of photo enlargement of

commercial macro lens and an improvised method of macrophotography in questioned
document examination?

Hypotheses of the Study

1. There are no significant relationships among the selected variables and the efficacy of
photo enlargement of commercial macro lens and an improvised method of
macrophotography in questioned document examination?

2. There are no significant differences between the efficacy of photo enlargement of

commercial macro lens and an improvised method of macrophotography in questioned
document examination?

Conceptual Background

The term “improvisation” evokes ideas of spontaneity and freedom; it would seem anti
ethical to the idea of a carefully worked-out and pre-planned structure. (Charles, 2003)
Improvisation has often been sighted and esteemed in terms of what it provides and
similitude to several existing inventions found in the market. Such an end product will
seriously patch up the significance and competency of this innovative modality, and will result
to improvisatory method being largely overlooked or unnoticed in modern world especially in
photography. (Charles, 2003)
In photography, "macro" lenses specifically designed for close-up work, with a long
barrel for close focusing and optimized for high reproduction ratios, are one of the most
common tools for macro photography.True macro lenses, such as the Canon MP-E 65 mm

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f/2.8 or Minolta AF 3x-1x 1.7-2.8 Macro, can achieve higher magnification than life size,
enabling photography of the structure of small insect eyes, snowflakes, and other minuscule
objects. Others, such as the Infinity Photo-Optical's TS-160 can achieve magnifications from 0-
18x on sensor, focusing from infinity down to 18 mm from the object. (Macro,2011)
In questioned document examination, comparison of the individual characteristics in
signature and handwriting is the most common procedure. However, in doing the process of
comparison it will require the specimen to be magnified to see details unseen or unnoticed by
the naked eye. Photographing using the macro lens will make things possible and will convert
the images unto the photographic paper but with large imagery to see what is needed to be
seen in comparing the questioned and standard specimens.
In this connection however, the researchers had interviewed faculty members from most
of the criminology schools in Negros Occidental and articulated that they do not have the
macro lens depriving the students, who are future criminologists to experience the realistic
process of enlarging signature’s for questioned document examination. This process is a
critical knowledge that a criminologist must be equipped to become an effective professionals
in the future.
Wanting to achieve the macrophotography with less cost but quality photographic
enlargement, improvisation is hoped to be the answer in giving to this existing dilemma of
many criminology schools and administrators. Proving the efficacy of improvisation this study
will be conducted.
Further, in one study it stated that improvisation on its own terms, mean seeking to
understand its unique features, functions and potentials, while freeing it from the heavy
shadow of its scripted counterpart. To this end, the theories of literary critic, Mikhail Bakhtin,
provide important methodological guide posts and allow the silhouette of the improvisational
impetus to take form. Through the application of Bakhtin’s concepts of the chronotope,
prosaics, polyphony and the carnivalesque, and his overarching schema of the genre as a way
of seeing and experiencing the world, the communicative event of improvisation is revealed to
be strikingly similar to Bakhtin’s preferred model, the modern novel. In this manner, the
“novelty” of embodied spontaneity is uncovered. (Zadeh, 2012)

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 This heightened understanding of the improvisational impetus is considerably enriched
through a detailed consideration of a diverse field of spontaneous movements that span
numerous regions, periods and socio-political contexts. (Terrones, Ramírez , et al, 2006)
Contrasting with the idea of whimsical freedom that the word “improvisation” evokes, a
number of scholars have drawn attention to ways in which performances in the North Indian
classical tradition are highly structured. (Zadeh,2012). John Napier, for example in his book
emphasized that improvisation is highly critical of some of the “misunderstandings” that arise
from Western audiences’ impressions of North Indian classical music as improvised. He is
suspicious of what he calls a “crude racialization,” which, he feels, leads some to view Indian
music as “structurally deficient.” (Zadeh, 2012)
It is not only in studies of North Indian classical music that scholars have pointed to the
problems inherent in the use of the concept of “improvisation” to make sense of different types
of music. Bruno Nettl (1974) has critiqued the conventional opposition between composition
and improvisation, suggesting that they would better be modeled as opposite poles of a
spectrum, on which most musical traditions sit somewhere in the middle, involving a
combination of pre-planned and spontaneous musical events. Moreover, Laudan Nooshin
(2003) has discussed the political implications of the discursive distinction between
improvisation and composition, suggesting ways in which it is informed by a Western,
orientalist ideology.
On a similar study entitled “Comparative study between a commercial and a homemade
capillary electrophoresis instrument for the simultaneous determination of aminated
compounds by induced fluorescence detection” by Terrones, Ramirez, et al, 2006, Two
induced-fluorimetric methods were developed: one in a commercial instrument with an argon
ion laser as excitation source; the other in a homemade device with a cheap LED as light
source, fibre optics and a detection cell built in our laboratory. Both methods have been
applied to determine aminated compounds in brewing samples. It was found out that resolution
achieved with the homemade instrument was much poorer than that with the commercial
device, but it is easy to understand why if we take into account that the detection window in the
LED system is about 3 times wider than in the laser, and there is non-refrigeration either.

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 Although the result of the study concluded that homemade (LED) system is presented
as low-cost in comparison with the laser, the difference in cost could not be big enough to
outweigh the loss in performance. The homemade (LED) system is not expected to displace
the commercial (LIF) one, but offers another possibility and cheaper way to solve simple
analytical problems. The final choice of the system will be depend on the complexity of the
sample and on the analytical requirements.

Significance of the Study

This study will be valuable to the participants, the criminology schools, school
administrators of criminology education, questioned document instructors, criminology
students, Philippine National Police (PNP), the general public, and present and future
researchers.

Scope of the Study

The participants of the study will be the registered criminologist faculty members of the
University of Negros Occidental – Recoletos, West Negros University, and Bago City College
of Negros Occidental from November – March, 2015. These institutions have a total
population of ____ with ___male and ___ female faculty members. These criminology schools
will be selected due to its location and availability.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The investigators wants to evaluate whether a new method/technique of macrophotography

will produce efficient photographic enlargement compared to commercial macro-lens. The
sample consisted of selected registered criminologists in Negros Occidental. The research
employed a comparative research design. It is one of the most efficient methods for explicating
or utilizing unspoken knowledge or implicit approach. This will be done by showing in parallel
two slides of two slightly different situations and by asking participants to identify the
differences as to Clarity, Competency, Prominency and Relevancy.

Two hypotheses are designed and will be tested at 0.05 level of significance. The
implications of the efficacy of photo enlargement of commercial macro lens and an improvised

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method of macrophotography in questioned document examination will be discussed.
Recommendations for the improvised in teaching of questioned document examination and
suggestions for further studies will be made.

Using comparative research design the principal criteria is evaluative like "Clarity”,
“Competency”, “Prominency”, “Relevancy”, “Significance”, “Satisfaction". The aim of the study
is to point out the best (in this respect) among the alternatives that are being studied. The final
aim perhaps is not only to find the best between commercial and improvised method, but also
to improve it to become available equipment during questioned document examination
particularly in the comparison process.

In this research design, the investigators will use the total population of the faculty
members of the selected criminology schools as respondents of the study to evaluate the
method.

The investigators will be using a product of photo – enlargements from the commercial and
improvised method of macrophotography in Questioned Document Examination as basis for
observation. The principles in film processing, equipment for film processing, film processing
procedure, photographic printing, equipment for paper developing, enlarging technique, and
the chemicals to be used will be the same for both the commercial and improvised method in
macrophotography. However, method in photographing to produce an enlarge image will differ
between commercial and improvised method in macrophotography. In commercial macro lens,
the single lens reflex camera will use an extension ring together with the macro lens to make
very large photographs.

On the other hand, for the improvised method of macrophotography the investigator will
produce a photo – enlargement without the use of macro lens manufactured from the market
instead, the investigators will be using a travel/folding magnifying glass with stand – Big Lens,
which allows to magnify an object for 125%. It folds up to 7”width x 6”1x1.5” thick costing
around Php350.00 only compare to a macro lens which cost Php65,000 more or less. Another
material to be used in the improvised method will be the two (2) halogen lamp (150watts), a

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stand, and a table. Meaning, the procedure to be utilized in the new technique or methods in
photomacrography will employ the available equipment in the university such as the SLR
camera, two artificial light (bulbs) placed in the sides to provide more lighting, and the
magnifying lens to enlarge the image of signature or handwriting. Over the magnifying glass
the SLR camera will take the image projected from the magnifying glass. The positive film will
be processed inside the darkroom together with the procedure of photographic printing to
generate a photographic enlargement.

After producing photographic enlargements both from the commercial and improvised
method in macrophotography, the respondents will receive research made questionnaire to
evaluate the efficacy of photo enlargement of commercial macro lens and an improvised
method of macrophotography in questioned document examination as to clarity, competency,
prominence, relevancy, significance and satisfaction.

The researcher-made questionnaire on the comparative study of photo enlargement of

commercial macro lens and an improvised method of macrophotography in questioned
document examination as to clarity, competency, prominence, relevancy, significance and
satisfaction will be validated by the three (3) experts in questioned document examination.

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Statistical Treatment

The statistical tests used will be determined by the analytical schemes based on the
objectives of the study.

Objective no. 1, which employs the descriptive analytical scheme, will employ the
percentage and frequency. These are appropriate for nominal variables.

Objective no. 2, which also employs the descriptive analytical scheme, will employ the
mean as a measure for central tendency. The efficacy of photo enlargement is an interval
variable and the mean is appropriate for interval and ratio variables.

The total scores for comparison (efficacy) are interpreted using the following guide.
Score Range Interpretation
Very High

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 High
Medium
Low
Objective no. 3, which employs the relational analytical scheme, will employ the
Pearson-Product Moment Coefficient of Correlation r. It is used to determine the efficacy of
correlation between at least interval variables such as age. It will also employ the Chi-Square
test for Association to determine relationship between nominal variables.

Objective no. 4, which employs the comparative analytical scheme, will employ the
independent t-test and the dependent t-test. The t-test is used to determine the differences
between two samples and for observations less than or equal to 30 (n ≤ 30).

The independent t-test requires two separate samples while the dependent t-test may
have two separate samples, which are matched on some variable, or it can have the same
sample measured twice, as in a pretest-posttest design.

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