In Putnam, Connecticut, Reuter built something called the Pod Machine, a maze of gears, hoses, and moving pistons that inject the developing chemicals into aluminum pods.
He is now moving on to other projects, like writing code and developing chemicals that will turn cellphone cameras and inkjet printers into diagnostic devices.
With the aid of a fat little mule named Hypo, he rattled over cliffs and through ravines with clunky view cameras, a tripod, glass plates, developing chemicals and a keg of water for washing the plates.
Film sales are slowing, and photography industry aficionados are unanimous about one thing: he who dominates the output side -- that is, sells the most prints, developing chemicals and such -- will rule the market.
"We are now bombarded with images, we carry whole libraries of images around in mobile phones, but all of that, the internet, Flickr, YouTube, goes back to Fox Talbot," said Ovenden, a passionate amateur photographer, whose hands as a teenager were always stained with developing chemicals from his darkroom in the garden shed.
The Dow Chemical Company specializes in developing chemicals to improve agriculture, lifestyle, energy use, and infrastructure and transportation.
Last year, someone in the Bush administration accused Cuban scientists of developing chemical weapons.
American officials also expressed alarm that Syria was developing chemical weapons, though Damascus denies that.
But the official added that Iraq had a large program to develop chemical weapons and is believed to be developing chemical warheads.
Mr. Renton said other countries in the Middle East, including Iran, appeared to be developing chemical weapons.
Dr. Litaker, a molecular biologist, set about developing chemical probes that bound specifically to the genetic material of pfiesteria.
