Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Ansel Adams
This is typical Ansel Adams black and white photography. Stunning work.
Update: It seems to be the negatives found in the garage were not taken by Ansel Adams and the art expert who appraised them allegedly has no experience in art appraisal. Here is an article about Ansel the man and photographer.
Ansel Adams was a famous nature photographer whose specialty was black and white photography using what is known as large format film. In film photography you have small 35mm, medium format and large format film. Digital photography has passed 35 mm in quality in many ways, in my opinion. Medium and large format film is still superior in quality to digital photography with what is commercially available, in my opinion.
Ansel Adams was born on February 20, 1902; he was raised in San Francisco, California. Ansel Easton Adams was the only child of parents, Charles Hitchcock and Olive Adams of New England. Ansel Adams' father Charles was a businessman, whose companies were to include an insurance agency as well as a chemical plant. Ansel Adams took a keen interest in music and musical instruments at an early age. He was able to teach himself how to play the piano, and he always seemed to enjoy being around and in tune with as well as surrounding himself with nature as far away from the city as possible. This interest was to be a guide in his nature pictures. Ansel Adams as a child attended both public and private schools, hopefully gaining the best of both worlds.
Ansel’s father gave him his first lessons in mathematics and the French language. French was considered a romantic and international language at the time of Ansel. France was very influential in the impressionist expression of the musical art and painting era.
In 1915 when Ansel Adams was 13 years old, his father bought him a ticket for the Panama Pacific World’s fair. Ansel took a great deal of interest in the Armory Show art gallery exhibition. This art exhibition contained modern art that had been first presented in New York City. There was a music concert that took a hold on the young Ansel's interest.
Ansel was able to take his very first photograph in 1916 at age 19, when he and his parents went on a trip to what is now Yosemite National Park. He took his first pictures with a Kodak Box Brownie camera. I actually remember seeing these Kodak Brownie camera’s when I was a child as most everyone had one in their closet. Kodak was responsible for making photography available for the masses and affordable for the public and the average Joe.
His early pictures and images were of the Yosemite National park, and its splendor of nature, but Ansel’s major interest was of the High Sierra Mountains. Ansel returned to Yosemite National Park every summer and took pictures of nature, which included mountains and the forest. While Ansel was there in Yosemite National Park in 1919, he joined the Sierra Club. The purpose of the Sierra club was to explore and protect the wilderness areas of the Sierra Nevada. Ansel was to become an official contract photographer for the Sierra club. I understand that he was on the board of directors of the Sierra Club for a time.
Young Ansel actually and eventually worked in Yosemite National park for four summers as the caretaker of the Sierra club's headquarters. While spending his time there in the park, Ansel became an expert mountaineer and a rugged conservationist. Ansel also gained a lot of experience in the changing and shifting conditions as a landscape photographer of the park. During this time of the young Ansel or around the year of 1920, photography was just a casual hobby for Ansel Adams. In the year 1920 Ansel decided he was going to make music his vocation and profession.
His ambition in life was his plan on how to become a concert pianist. Ansel was able to give piano lessons and professional piano concerts until the year 1927. Ansel then decided to change his path in life and start his career into photography.
This was to be a life changing decision for Ansel and for the world to enjoy his life-long work. That same year the publication of his first printed book of photographs was entitled Parmelian Prints of the High Sierras, was put out for sale.
Ansel was able to procure and got financial support for his first photography book from an art patron named Albert Bender. In the year 1930 Ansel published a limited edition portfolio of some of his photographs of Taos Pueblo. Mary Austin who was a writer, novelist and essayist wrote the text for this book.
The early pictures of Ansel Adam were in a photography style known as soft-focus, or fashionable pictorial, as this was very popular at the time. These kinds of pictures imitated the effects of Impressionistic paintings popular in France, in which the image you were trying to view was hazy or rather it looked like and as if you were looking at it through a mist. This effect made it look more like it was a painting, rather than a sharp photographic image.
In 1932 Ansel was instrumental and helped start a photographer’s group with other well known photographers of the twentieth century, to rebel against the soft-focus photography technique when taking pictures that was in vogue at the time. The group was called Group f/64. Their name was taken thus symbolizing the small lens opening of the camera. What Ansel wanted were sharp details in his pictures that focused through the smallest aperture in the camera lens, which was f/64. Group f/64 was a small informal photography group that lasted for just two years. This group had a large effect as it made a big difference in the direction that American photography would travel in.
In photography the aperture or shutter opening is often called the f/ stop or f-stop and the larger the number then the smaller is the opening of the shutter. The larger the opening of the shutter will reflect a smaller number for the f-stop. A 2.8 f-stop lens is considered a very fast lens and it has a fairly large opening in the shutter to let in a lot of light in a very short period of time. This type of lenses is used for sports photography and it captures moving subjects quite well.
With a 2.8 lens being used for sports the subject will be in focus and the background will be a blur or what is called soft focus. These are considered professional lenses and they cost a considerable sum of money. Consumer lenses are generally 3.5 and above for the lens opening with the f-stop. Although they let in a certain amount of light they are not considered as fast as sports lenses. These consumer lenses have more of what is called depth of field or rather the subject and the background will be more in focus. Ansel Adams founded a group called the F/64 photography group and their concern was to enjoy photography and have the entire photograph in focus.
An f-stop with a very high number has a very small opening in the shutter. This would be very much like a pinhole camera and would have a great deal of depth of field, in other words everything would be in focus in the picture. Suppose you had someone that was about 10 feet from you and you were taking their picture and in the background is a large forest and behind that are mountains and in the sky you have varying shades of blue and beautiful white clouds. You would use what is called landscape mode on your camera and it would have a very high f-stop to be sure that everything in the picture was in focus. This is the photography technique that Ansel Adams was interested in and promoting with his new photography group.
When using this type of technique for photography it is recommended that you use a tripod for the smaller opening of the shutter means that you have to leave it open for a longer period of time and it is subject to blur from shaking. Therefore a tripod will help you eliminate this problem. A sports lenses being used for a different purpose does not have this problem and a tripod is not needed nor is it necessary. I often use the landscape mode of the camera when I am taking wedding pictures on the beach so that the ocean in the background is in focus along with the clouds in the sky. This is the style of photography that the great nature photographer Mr. Ansel Adams was interested in and used in his famous style of photography.
Ansel Adams used what is called large format film for his photography you can make very large pictures from these negatives and there is a great deal of sharpness in the film and when you make prints you have a lot to work with. Digital photography is nowhere near the high level of quality that you have with large format film. Large format film is often used for the pictures that you see on billboards by the side of the highways. Medium format film is used to take pictures of models wearing beautiful clothes and a photograph products and digital cameras are nowhere near the quality of that of film. So Ansel Adams was using a very precise high quality medium to capture his artistic vision. Large format film is very expensive then and is very expensive now, but it captures the quality that Ansel Adams was looking for when he was taking pictures of nature in black and white.
Most traditional fine art photographers love to shoot in black and white because they feel that black and white is more expressive than color film. Even if you are not interested in doing this type of photography, black and white can be a lot of fun to experiment with and it will teach you things related to composition as well as contrast. Shooting in black and white eliminates the distraction of unwanted colors or unexpected colors in the picture scene. When using black and white color is eliminated and the important thing to worry about is framing and composition of the scene and the contrast between light and dark.
Special filters are available that can lighten some tones and darkened other tones which can manipulate contrast while you are shooting with your camera. You can also experiment with contrast by printing on different types of paper used for printing your pictures. Black and white film records light in various shades of gray and it can be used with all available light sources. Glossy paper is very good for bringing out the vivid colors of color photography. Matte paper is very good for printing pictures in black and white.
In the year 1928 Ansel Adams was an official photographer for the Sierra Club and he was working at Jasper national Park which is in Canada, there he did some beautiful work. This was the year before the Great Depression and was the end of the roaring 20s in America. About three years into the Great Depression in the year 1932 Ansel opened his gallery for photography and it was very short-lived. Ansel taught photography and gave lectures to earn money while his gallery was open. Ansel was able to work in advertising and he wrote articles on photography for different magazines. Two of the magazines that Ansel wrote for were called camera craft and photographers on photography. Ansel published his first manual on photography techniques and camera equipment in the year 1935.
Outside of his own photography gallery Ansel's work was featured in an exhibition in the year 1936 for the very first time. Ansel owes a debt of gratitude to a Mr. Alfred Steiglitz, Alfred was known as a master photographer as well as being a discoverer of genius. This gallery was located in New York City and Ansel was on his way to becoming famous and recognized for his vision and talent. In the year 1940 Ansel was able to direct what was called a pageant of photography. The very next year Ansel taught classes at the art center school in Los Angeles, California. Ansel was also appointed by the Department of the Interior with headquarters in Washington DC to be a photo muralist for the US government.
Ansel was given an assignment to take large landscape pictures of national parks and monuments all over America. Ansel was fortunate enough to be able to lecture at colleges all along the West Coast as well is at the Museum of modern Art. In the year 1949 the Polaroid Corporation gave Ansell an appointment as a consultant of photography.
Ansel Adams was to become the director of the Sierra Club from 1936 to the year 1970. In 1968 he was the recipient of the Conservation Service award of the Interior Department. In 1969 he was awarded for his photography the Progress Medal of the Photographic Society of America. Ansel published many portfolios and wrote many books which some include Sierra Nevada: The John Muir Trial, Illustrated Guide to Yosemite Valley, Michael and Annie in the Yosemite Valley, Yosemite and the High Sierra, My Camera in Yosemite Valley, Camera and Lens, The Negative, The Print, Natural Light Photography, Born Free and Equal, Death Valley, and Mission San Xavier del Bac, are just a few of his portfolios and books.
Thai dancing in South Florida
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Suggested Wedding Pictures
Wedding Ceremony Pictures:
Grandparents of the bride and groom being escorted in for the ceremony
Mother of the Groom and the Bride being escorted in for the ceremony
Wedding Officiant / Clergy and Groom entering for the ceremony
Best Man and Groomsmen ceremony
Bridesmaids and / or Bridesmaids escorted with the Groomsmen) coming down aisle
Flower Girl and Ring Bearer coming down aisle
Maid / Matron of Honor walking down the aisle
Vow exchange with the Bride and Groom should be facing each other
Ring Exchange with the Bride and Groom should be facing each other
Unity Candle Ceremony is optional but the Bride and Groom should be facing each other
Bride and Groom Kissing for the first time as husband and wife.
Introduction as Mr. And Mrs.
Bride with her Groom exiting down the aisle
Wedding Party exiting to reception
Introduction as Mr. And Mrs.
Bride with her Groom exiting down the aisle
Wedding Party exiting to reception
Parents exiting to reception
The Formals: These can be done prior to the ceremony or after and will depend upon lighting and the locale of the pictures being inside or outside. Formals are also known as Portraits and Traditional pictures.
Bride and the Groom
Bride and the Groom with the wedding officiant
Bride and the Groom with the Maid / Matron of Honor as well as the Best Man
Bride and Groom with everyone in the wedding party
Bride and Groom with the parents of Bride
Bride and Groom with the Bride's family
Bride with her parents
Bride and Groom with parents of the Groom
Bride and Groom with the Groom's family
Groom with his parents
Bride with all of her female attendants
Groom with all of his male attendants
Bride and Groom with the grandparents, and / or godparents, etc.
The Reception:
Bride and Groom and their first dance as Husband and Wife
Bride traditional dance with her father
Groom dancing with his mother
Bride dancing with the groom's father
Groom dancing with the bride's mother
Bride and Groom dancing with the Maid / Matron of Honor and the Best Man
Champagne Toast by the party
Cake-cutting by the Bride and Groom
Bouquet Toss by the Bride
Garter Toss by the Bride
Bride and Groom exiting the reception
Candid pictures of the guest’s at the dinner tables
Candid pictures of the special friends of the Bride and Groom
The Formals: These can be done prior to the ceremony or after and will depend upon lighting and the locale of the pictures being inside or outside. Formals are also known as Portraits and Traditional pictures.
Bride and the Groom
Bride and the Groom with the wedding officiant
Bride and the Groom with the Maid / Matron of Honor as well as the Best Man
Bride and Groom with everyone in the wedding party
Bride and Groom with the parents of Bride
Bride and Groom with the Bride's family
Bride with her parents
Bride and Groom with parents of the Groom
Bride and Groom with the Groom's family
Groom with his parents
Bride with all of her female attendants
Groom with all of his male attendants
Bride and Groom with the grandparents, and / or godparents, etc.
The Reception:
Bride and Groom and their first dance as Husband and Wife
Bride traditional dance with her father
Groom dancing with his mother
Bride dancing with the groom's father
Groom dancing with the bride's mother
Bride and Groom dancing with the Maid / Matron of Honor and the Best Man
Champagne Toast by the party
Cake-cutting by the Bride and Groom
Bouquet Toss by the Bride
Garter Toss by the Bride
Bride and Groom exiting the reception
Candid pictures of the guest’s at the dinner tables
Candid pictures of the special friends of the Bride and Groom
Globe of Blogs
BlogCatalog
Photography Blog Directory
Canadian Directory
Photography Terms and paparazzi
A glossary of photography terms or terminology
Photography definitions
Photographer’s jargon
35MM EQUIVALENT (Focal range)
This is the focal range of a 35mm camera (aka the zoom range, from wide angle to telephoto) as opposed to a digital camera's zoom lens. Camera manufacturers always provide the 35mm equivalent focal range as a point of reference. (For old time film photographers) The distance needed to produce a sharp image measured the magnification of a certain lenses with a standard film size. This is known as your focal length. A lenses with a 45-55mm focal length is considered a standard lenses.
ARTIFACT
No we are not talking about religious items or ancient Egyptian tombs. This is usually in reference to JPEG picture compression. An artifact is an unwanted characteristic that degrades the quality of your digital pictures. An example of an artifact is if jagged edges appear on what should be a straight edge. Associated with a type of noise in a camera.
APERTURE
The aperture is similar to the iris in your eye (Similar to the black part of the eye) an iris is built into the camera's lens. The iris of a camera, just like your eye, opens up and allows more light to reach the imaging sensor. This happens in low lighting conditions and the iris will close more or be a smaller diameter to allow less light to reach the sensor. In the aperture priority camera mode, the photographer decides on the camera's aperture setting. The camera will automatically choose the appropriate shutter speed (Shutter speed is the amount of time the camera shutter is open and the image sensor is exposed to light).
BACKLIT
Backlit refers to a lighting condition where the object or person has a source of lighting emanating from the read of the subject.
A backlit subject, such as somebody with their back towards the sun, causes exposure problems because their face is in the shadow. If you can't move the subject into a better lighting situation, consider using a fill flash to obtain a more balanced exposure.
BITMAP
A bitmap is an image that consists of a large grid of tiny dots or pixels. Every pixel has an individual color and brightness value. Computer files ending in .bmp are not unusual in Windows XP. Digital photos are all bit mapped which includes JPEGs. Dots make up all pictures and the finer the dots, then the better the picture.
BUFFER
The camera’s internal memory, that is to be written to the memory card.
BURST OR CONTINOUS MODE
Burst mode allows the photographer to take several pictures quickly in rapid succession. This is at a much faster rate than in the single frame mode. The image rate is measured in frames per second (fps). This is the ideal mode for action shots, such as football and other sporting events. If you take a group imaging shots using burst mode then you will later choose and decide on the best shots.
CD-ROM
Compact Disc, Read Only Memory. This is a popular consumer storage media used for image and software distribution. CD-R and CD-RW are recordable variations of this media.
CENTER WEIGHTED METERING
A camera that uses center-weighted metering will measure light, mostly from the center of the image. This takes lighting levels into account from the surrounding areas of the image that you are trying to capture. Professional cameras give you the option to choose different metering or rather lighting modes. In other words…
Metering describes the process that the camera uses to measure the available light and chooses the proper lighting exposure level.
CLONING (not animals)
This is a term used for a technique used in imaging editing programs, like Photoshop, that will replace a part of an image by copying another area of the image over it. This is similar to the old double exposure technique of photography.
CCD (Charge Coupled Devise)
This is the IC or integrated circuit that is inside many digital cameras. This acts as an image sensor. The IC chip converts the photographic image of light from the lens into an electrical signal that is converted into a digital image will be stored on the memory card of your camera.
(See CMOS below)
CMOS
Complimentary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor
A solid-state computer chip; which is responsible for capturing the image in a camera. (See CCD above)
CMYK
The acronym stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black, which are the colored inks used by most print processes. Cyan is blue and Magenta is reddish purple. Black is (K)
COMPACT FLASH
A version of flash memory, with a memory card, that is known for its very high storage capacities up to 1GB.
COMPRESSION (JPEG – GIF)
A formula and a process that will shrink a file size. Lossless compression algorithms (a formula) can compress or shrink file sizes without losing any of the original information. Lossy compression algorithms (formulas), such as JPEG or GIF, will lose some of the original information. Image quality is degraded in the compression process. Compressed TIFF files discard less information, but results in larger image files. (See RAW.)
CPU
Central Processing Unit, the CPU is the chip responsible for the work that a personal computer does. Intel and AMD are the largest makers of CPU chips.
CROP (nothing to do with farmers or alien crop circles)
To crop is to separate part of the edges of an image. Cropping is usually used to emphasize a subject or an object in a Picture. You basically cut a piece of the picture out and enlarging this can lead to an unpleasant blurred image if the photo doesn't have enough resolution to start with.
DEPTH OF FIELD
Refers to the zone of focus in a photograph. The subject is in sharp focus, but the background can be blurry or sharp. Portraits usually have a blurred background to have a pronounced subject. Landscape usually tries to be sharp and in focus for the whole image.
DIGITAL ZOOM
This zoom function is a digital enlargement of the center image. A digital zoom produces images that are not as sharp than a true optical zoom. The digital zoom creates a digital enlargement for the original image and it can suffer in quality, it is not a true zoom like an optical zoom feature.
DPI
Dots Per Inch is a measure of the number of pixels (dots) contained in one linear inch of a picture or image. The larger the number of pixels can increase the quality of an image.
DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)
DVDs are very similar to CD-ROM’s but the memory capacity is much greater. DVD-R and DVD-RW are recordable mediums.
ELECTRONIC VIEWFINDER (EVF)
This type of viewfinder is found on digital cameras. Unlike a DLR optical range finder, the image sensor on the back of the camera generates the image seen in the EVF.
EXPOSURE
This is the amount of light that reaches the camera's digital image sensor. The sensor is exposed to light.
EXPOSURE COMPENSATION
Is a setting that provides for a manual override that requires the exposure to be shorter or longer than the camera’s automatic sensor to choose. This allows the photographer to choose to underexpose or overexpose the image and is used in film and digital photography.
F-STOP (f-stop)
The f-stop is the relative size of the aperture of the lens. This determines the exposure and depth of field. Exposure is the amount of light allowed to the image sensor to enable it to become viewed.
FILL FLASH
FILL FLASH is a flash feature, used primarily to fill in the shadows in a setting where there is some light available to take pictures.
FOCAL LENGTH
The focal length of a lens tells you the power of its magnification. Small focal-length lenses are wide angle; large focal-length lenses are telephoto. A zoom lens has a variable focal length lens, most commonly with a 3:1 ratio (e.g., 35-105mm). (See 35mm top)
GIGABYTE (GB)
This is a unit of measurement for permanent (hard disk) and temporary (RAM) electronic storage. One gigabyte consists of roughly one thousand megabytes (the next smaller unit of measure).
HERTZ (Hz)
A unit of measure for cycles or revolutions per second abbreviated Hz. 1Hz equals 1 cycle per second. 1kHz (kilohertz) equals 1,000 cycles per second, 1MHz equals 1 million cycles per second, and 1GHz equals 1 billion cycles per second. Hertz was the name of the German scientist that worked on this unit of measurement.
HUE
The hue of a color is where it belongs in the color spectrum. You have many shades of color and this is what hue is all about. In Photoshop and other image-editing software programs, colors are defined as an alphanumeric value and this is used to make color adjustments to an image easy and precise.
INTERPOLATED
Interpolation is a process by which software enlarges image resolution beyond the actual resolution. The software analyzes the image and creates new pixels based on the surrounding pixels in the image. This technique is commonly used for digital zoom, where in essence, something is created from nothing.
ISO RATING
An ISO rating measures the imaging sensor’s sensitivity to light of a camera. Most digital cameras will have an adjustable ISO setting. This is used to simulate results you would obtain using more or less sensitive films in a 35mm camera. The more sensitive the image sensor is to light, then the higher the ISO setting will be.
ISO stands for International Standards Organization.
JPEG (COMPRESSION)
JPEG is a useful digital photograph or image file format standard. This allows for one to compress or shrink the image. You can balance quality with image size and save on memory space and still preserve image quality. JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group, an international authority that decides standards for image compression.
LCD
LCD stands for liquid-crystal display. LCD’s are on the back of digital cameras to display images and menus. Mini LCD’s are also used as electronic viewfinders (EVF). Televisions and computer monitors are using LCD’s.
MANUAL
Manual mode allows one to set the camera's shutter speed or aperture of the lens and you can still use the built-in light meter. This overrides the automatic setting of the camera.
MACRO LENS
Macro lenses are designed to focus on objects at a very close range. This is similar to a microscope and will magnify the image. This lens is perfect for detailed images of shots of insects or flowers.
MEGABYTE (MB)
A unit of measure for permanent (hard disk) and temporary (RAM) electronic storage. One megabyte consists of roughly one thousand kilobytes (the next smaller unit of measure).
MEGAPIXEL
Mega stands for million and pixel in number of dots so a mega pixel is one million pixels or rather the dots that compose digital image. Mega pixels are used as a measurement of the resolution of the camera's imaging sensor. The more pixels used for the image, the larger that you can make the photograph without the pixels becoming noticeable to the naked eye. Newspapers pictures are an example of the dots used for pictures.
MEMORY
Memory is the amount of information a storage device can remember. Alternative removable memory devices include XD Picture Cards, Compact Flash, and Secure Digital or SD memory cards. My Nikon cameras use the SD format.
METERING
Metering is the choosing the proper lighting exposure setting and this is essential for the best in picture quality. Metering is the image process that is used by the camera to take quality pictures. There are different metering modes, such as center-weighted and spot metering, and they have differing priorities and characteristics.
OPTICAL ZOOM
Optical zoom is the zoom or telephoto range of the lens on the camera. Optical zoom is the opposite of digital zoom.
RAM
Random-Access Memory, RAM is the temporary electronic storage for your camera or computer. This is very fast memory and is not dependent upon a hard drive. Gamers use this for video games for fast memory intensive playing.
RAW
Raw is a very high quality file format that is uncompressed and is used in high quality digital cameras. Raw uses a lot of memory to store the RAW images, as they are not compressed to save disc space. Most of your digital cameras will squeeze or rather compress a picture using a JPEG formula or algorithm format and then transfer the image to the camera's memory card. TIFF is a file format, which will use less compression to deliver better image quality than JPEG but it has a lager file size. Tiff is smaller than RAW, but larger than JPEG.
REMOVABLE MEDIA (Memory)
Removable media is the type of memory storage that can be removed from the camera. Removable media mentioned with digital cameras are Compact Flash, Secure Digital, Memory Stick, XD Picture Cards, and Micro Drives. The term also applies to memory media such as CD-ROM and floppy discs.
RESOLUTION
Resolution is in reference to digital cameras and the maximum size of an image that a camera can capture. Resolution is measured in the number of pixels or mega pixels. When referring to printing, then resolution is a measurement of the number of individual dots; the printer can fit into one inch (see also dpi).
RGB (Red, Blue and Green)
All the colors we can see are made up from a mixture of Red, Green and Blue. These three primary colors make up all other colors. (See also CMYK)
SATURATION
Saturation or rather color purity, will describe how rich and vivid the color tones that are in the image. Saturated colors have high levels of the primary colors. Desaturated colors appear bleached out, dull, and weak. Saturation is a highly subjective view among photographers. Differing levels of saturation are better for differing types of photography. Fall landscapes are better with the leaves changing colors and being saturated to bring out the vivid colors.
SCENE MODES
Many digital cameras have function modes that are pre-set for specific scenes. You select a certain mode for particular situations; such as portrait (faces) sport (action) Scenic modes will adjust the camera's exposure settings to allow greater depth of field and allow the whole picture to be in focus.
SHUTTER
The shutter is the cover of the aperture that opens to regulate the amount of time that the camera's image sensor is exposed to light from the subject to create an image. Shutter speeds are measured in seconds and fractions of seconds. Longer shutter speeds are better at low light conditions and quicker speeds are better in bright light.
SHUTTER PRIORITY
This exposure mode setting allows you to set the shutter speed, and the camera adjusts the lens aperture according to what it meters for the correct exposure.
SHUTTER SPEED
This is the amount of time that the shutter is open and allows light to reach the imaging sensor. If a photographer is going to use a setting for a large aperture and they are going to be shooting in bright light or possibly taking a picture of a quick moving object then you may wan to use a fast shutter speeds to obtain the best images.
SLR (Single Lens Reflex)
Single-lens reflex. The standard definition of an SLR camera is that the image appearing in the viewfinder is the same as that taken through the lens. SLR cameras generally have the added ability to interchange lenses.
SPOT METERING
Spot Metering is an exposure mode where the readings taken by the camera are from a small area of the image area and where the lighting levels from the rest of the scenic area will be ignored.
TELEPHOTO LENS
A telephoto lens has a long focal length and this mimics a telescope to magnify distant objects. Digital cameras have zoom type lenses and these have variable focal lengths that have characteristics of both wide-angle and telephoto lenses.
TIFF
TIFF is a high quality imaging file format standard that uses less compression as opposed to the JPEG format and this results in larger files. TIFF means Tagged Image File Format.
TTL METERING (Through The Lens)
TTL stands for Through The Lens.
TTL metering is considered the most accurate metering, due in fact because it's based on the same light levels that are reaching the camera's image sensor. Nikon uses TTL metering in their digital cameras.
USB
Universal Serial Bus or USB is a method that is now very common and very fast method of transferring digital images from your digital camera to your computer. USB is the standard used to connect printers, scanners, and other devices to your computer or just PC. The latest USB standard is USB 2.0 and this is about 40 times faster than the older USB 1.1.
WHITE BALANCE (not racial diversity)
White light is made up of a mixture of colors.
Remember when you took a white light in science class and put it through a prism and you would see a rainbow of colors. A perfect "white" would be the perfect balance of all colors. Each light source will have some mixture of red, green, and blue (primary colors) in it. Digital camera’s can analyze the light source and compensate to try to achieve the proper color balance in any given setting. Digital cameras allow you to override the factory default white balance setting to compensate for particular lighting situations, such as incandescent or fluorescent lamps, clouds or sunlight. These tend to favor certain colors of light, ever notice the red sky at sunset?
WIDE-ANGLE LENS
A wide-angle lens has a short focal length and this results in a wide field of view. Digital cameras usually have zoom lenses and they use variable focal lengths that have characteristics of wide angle, zoom and telephoto lenses.
Photography definitions
Photographer’s jargon
35MM EQUIVALENT (Focal range)
This is the focal range of a 35mm camera (aka the zoom range, from wide angle to telephoto) as opposed to a digital camera's zoom lens. Camera manufacturers always provide the 35mm equivalent focal range as a point of reference. (For old time film photographers) The distance needed to produce a sharp image measured the magnification of a certain lenses with a standard film size. This is known as your focal length. A lenses with a 45-55mm focal length is considered a standard lenses.
ARTIFACT
No we are not talking about religious items or ancient Egyptian tombs. This is usually in reference to JPEG picture compression. An artifact is an unwanted characteristic that degrades the quality of your digital pictures. An example of an artifact is if jagged edges appear on what should be a straight edge. Associated with a type of noise in a camera.
APERTURE
The aperture is similar to the iris in your eye (Similar to the black part of the eye) an iris is built into the camera's lens. The iris of a camera, just like your eye, opens up and allows more light to reach the imaging sensor. This happens in low lighting conditions and the iris will close more or be a smaller diameter to allow less light to reach the sensor. In the aperture priority camera mode, the photographer decides on the camera's aperture setting. The camera will automatically choose the appropriate shutter speed (Shutter speed is the amount of time the camera shutter is open and the image sensor is exposed to light).
BACKLIT
Backlit refers to a lighting condition where the object or person has a source of lighting emanating from the read of the subject.
A backlit subject, such as somebody with their back towards the sun, causes exposure problems because their face is in the shadow. If you can't move the subject into a better lighting situation, consider using a fill flash to obtain a more balanced exposure.
BITMAP
A bitmap is an image that consists of a large grid of tiny dots or pixels. Every pixel has an individual color and brightness value. Computer files ending in .bmp are not unusual in Windows XP. Digital photos are all bit mapped which includes JPEGs. Dots make up all pictures and the finer the dots, then the better the picture.
BUFFER
The camera’s internal memory, that is to be written to the memory card.
BURST OR CONTINOUS MODE
Burst mode allows the photographer to take several pictures quickly in rapid succession. This is at a much faster rate than in the single frame mode. The image rate is measured in frames per second (fps). This is the ideal mode for action shots, such as football and other sporting events. If you take a group imaging shots using burst mode then you will later choose and decide on the best shots.
CD-ROM
Compact Disc, Read Only Memory. This is a popular consumer storage media used for image and software distribution. CD-R and CD-RW are recordable variations of this media.
CENTER WEIGHTED METERING
A camera that uses center-weighted metering will measure light, mostly from the center of the image. This takes lighting levels into account from the surrounding areas of the image that you are trying to capture. Professional cameras give you the option to choose different metering or rather lighting modes. In other words…
Metering describes the process that the camera uses to measure the available light and chooses the proper lighting exposure level.
CLONING (not animals)
This is a term used for a technique used in imaging editing programs, like Photoshop, that will replace a part of an image by copying another area of the image over it. This is similar to the old double exposure technique of photography.
CCD (Charge Coupled Devise)
This is the IC or integrated circuit that is inside many digital cameras. This acts as an image sensor. The IC chip converts the photographic image of light from the lens into an electrical signal that is converted into a digital image will be stored on the memory card of your camera.
(See CMOS below)
CMOS
Complimentary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor
A solid-state computer chip; which is responsible for capturing the image in a camera. (See CCD above)
CMYK
The acronym stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black, which are the colored inks used by most print processes. Cyan is blue and Magenta is reddish purple. Black is (K)
COMPACT FLASH
A version of flash memory, with a memory card, that is known for its very high storage capacities up to 1GB.
COMPRESSION (JPEG – GIF)
A formula and a process that will shrink a file size. Lossless compression algorithms (a formula) can compress or shrink file sizes without losing any of the original information. Lossy compression algorithms (formulas), such as JPEG or GIF, will lose some of the original information. Image quality is degraded in the compression process. Compressed TIFF files discard less information, but results in larger image files. (See RAW.)
CPU
Central Processing Unit, the CPU is the chip responsible for the work that a personal computer does. Intel and AMD are the largest makers of CPU chips.
CROP (nothing to do with farmers or alien crop circles)
To crop is to separate part of the edges of an image. Cropping is usually used to emphasize a subject or an object in a Picture. You basically cut a piece of the picture out and enlarging this can lead to an unpleasant blurred image if the photo doesn't have enough resolution to start with.
DEPTH OF FIELD
Refers to the zone of focus in a photograph. The subject is in sharp focus, but the background can be blurry or sharp. Portraits usually have a blurred background to have a pronounced subject. Landscape usually tries to be sharp and in focus for the whole image.
DIGITAL ZOOM
This zoom function is a digital enlargement of the center image. A digital zoom produces images that are not as sharp than a true optical zoom. The digital zoom creates a digital enlargement for the original image and it can suffer in quality, it is not a true zoom like an optical zoom feature.
DPI
Dots Per Inch is a measure of the number of pixels (dots) contained in one linear inch of a picture or image. The larger the number of pixels can increase the quality of an image.
DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)
DVDs are very similar to CD-ROM’s but the memory capacity is much greater. DVD-R and DVD-RW are recordable mediums.
ELECTRONIC VIEWFINDER (EVF)
This type of viewfinder is found on digital cameras. Unlike a DLR optical range finder, the image sensor on the back of the camera generates the image seen in the EVF.
EXPOSURE
This is the amount of light that reaches the camera's digital image sensor. The sensor is exposed to light.
EXPOSURE COMPENSATION
Is a setting that provides for a manual override that requires the exposure to be shorter or longer than the camera’s automatic sensor to choose. This allows the photographer to choose to underexpose or overexpose the image and is used in film and digital photography.
F-STOP (f-stop)
The f-stop is the relative size of the aperture of the lens. This determines the exposure and depth of field. Exposure is the amount of light allowed to the image sensor to enable it to become viewed.
FILL FLASH
FILL FLASH is a flash feature, used primarily to fill in the shadows in a setting where there is some light available to take pictures.
FOCAL LENGTH
The focal length of a lens tells you the power of its magnification. Small focal-length lenses are wide angle; large focal-length lenses are telephoto. A zoom lens has a variable focal length lens, most commonly with a 3:1 ratio (e.g., 35-105mm). (See 35mm top)
GIGABYTE (GB)
This is a unit of measurement for permanent (hard disk) and temporary (RAM) electronic storage. One gigabyte consists of roughly one thousand megabytes (the next smaller unit of measure).
HERTZ (Hz)
A unit of measure for cycles or revolutions per second abbreviated Hz. 1Hz equals 1 cycle per second. 1kHz (kilohertz) equals 1,000 cycles per second, 1MHz equals 1 million cycles per second, and 1GHz equals 1 billion cycles per second. Hertz was the name of the German scientist that worked on this unit of measurement.
HUE
The hue of a color is where it belongs in the color spectrum. You have many shades of color and this is what hue is all about. In Photoshop and other image-editing software programs, colors are defined as an alphanumeric value and this is used to make color adjustments to an image easy and precise.
INTERPOLATED
Interpolation is a process by which software enlarges image resolution beyond the actual resolution. The software analyzes the image and creates new pixels based on the surrounding pixels in the image. This technique is commonly used for digital zoom, where in essence, something is created from nothing.
ISO RATING
An ISO rating measures the imaging sensor’s sensitivity to light of a camera. Most digital cameras will have an adjustable ISO setting. This is used to simulate results you would obtain using more or less sensitive films in a 35mm camera. The more sensitive the image sensor is to light, then the higher the ISO setting will be.
ISO stands for International Standards Organization.
JPEG (COMPRESSION)
JPEG is a useful digital photograph or image file format standard. This allows for one to compress or shrink the image. You can balance quality with image size and save on memory space and still preserve image quality. JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group, an international authority that decides standards for image compression.
LCD
LCD stands for liquid-crystal display. LCD’s are on the back of digital cameras to display images and menus. Mini LCD’s are also used as electronic viewfinders (EVF). Televisions and computer monitors are using LCD’s.
MANUAL
Manual mode allows one to set the camera's shutter speed or aperture of the lens and you can still use the built-in light meter. This overrides the automatic setting of the camera.
MACRO LENS
Macro lenses are designed to focus on objects at a very close range. This is similar to a microscope and will magnify the image. This lens is perfect for detailed images of shots of insects or flowers.
MEGABYTE (MB)
A unit of measure for permanent (hard disk) and temporary (RAM) electronic storage. One megabyte consists of roughly one thousand kilobytes (the next smaller unit of measure).
MEGAPIXEL
Mega stands for million and pixel in number of dots so a mega pixel is one million pixels or rather the dots that compose digital image. Mega pixels are used as a measurement of the resolution of the camera's imaging sensor. The more pixels used for the image, the larger that you can make the photograph without the pixels becoming noticeable to the naked eye. Newspapers pictures are an example of the dots used for pictures.
MEMORY
Memory is the amount of information a storage device can remember. Alternative removable memory devices include XD Picture Cards, Compact Flash, and Secure Digital or SD memory cards. My Nikon cameras use the SD format.
METERING
Metering is the choosing the proper lighting exposure setting and this is essential for the best in picture quality. Metering is the image process that is used by the camera to take quality pictures. There are different metering modes, such as center-weighted and spot metering, and they have differing priorities and characteristics.
OPTICAL ZOOM
Optical zoom is the zoom or telephoto range of the lens on the camera. Optical zoom is the opposite of digital zoom.
RAM
Random-Access Memory, RAM is the temporary electronic storage for your camera or computer. This is very fast memory and is not dependent upon a hard drive. Gamers use this for video games for fast memory intensive playing.
RAW
Raw is a very high quality file format that is uncompressed and is used in high quality digital cameras. Raw uses a lot of memory to store the RAW images, as they are not compressed to save disc space. Most of your digital cameras will squeeze or rather compress a picture using a JPEG formula or algorithm format and then transfer the image to the camera's memory card. TIFF is a file format, which will use less compression to deliver better image quality than JPEG but it has a lager file size. Tiff is smaller than RAW, but larger than JPEG.
REMOVABLE MEDIA (Memory)
Removable media is the type of memory storage that can be removed from the camera. Removable media mentioned with digital cameras are Compact Flash, Secure Digital, Memory Stick, XD Picture Cards, and Micro Drives. The term also applies to memory media such as CD-ROM and floppy discs.
RESOLUTION
Resolution is in reference to digital cameras and the maximum size of an image that a camera can capture. Resolution is measured in the number of pixels or mega pixels. When referring to printing, then resolution is a measurement of the number of individual dots; the printer can fit into one inch (see also dpi).
RGB (Red, Blue and Green)
All the colors we can see are made up from a mixture of Red, Green and Blue. These three primary colors make up all other colors. (See also CMYK)
SATURATION
Saturation or rather color purity, will describe how rich and vivid the color tones that are in the image. Saturated colors have high levels of the primary colors. Desaturated colors appear bleached out, dull, and weak. Saturation is a highly subjective view among photographers. Differing levels of saturation are better for differing types of photography. Fall landscapes are better with the leaves changing colors and being saturated to bring out the vivid colors.
SCENE MODES
Many digital cameras have function modes that are pre-set for specific scenes. You select a certain mode for particular situations; such as portrait (faces) sport (action) Scenic modes will adjust the camera's exposure settings to allow greater depth of field and allow the whole picture to be in focus.
SHUTTER
The shutter is the cover of the aperture that opens to regulate the amount of time that the camera's image sensor is exposed to light from the subject to create an image. Shutter speeds are measured in seconds and fractions of seconds. Longer shutter speeds are better at low light conditions and quicker speeds are better in bright light.
SHUTTER PRIORITY
This exposure mode setting allows you to set the shutter speed, and the camera adjusts the lens aperture according to what it meters for the correct exposure.
SHUTTER SPEED
This is the amount of time that the shutter is open and allows light to reach the imaging sensor. If a photographer is going to use a setting for a large aperture and they are going to be shooting in bright light or possibly taking a picture of a quick moving object then you may wan to use a fast shutter speeds to obtain the best images.
SLR (Single Lens Reflex)
Single-lens reflex. The standard definition of an SLR camera is that the image appearing in the viewfinder is the same as that taken through the lens. SLR cameras generally have the added ability to interchange lenses.
SPOT METERING
Spot Metering is an exposure mode where the readings taken by the camera are from a small area of the image area and where the lighting levels from the rest of the scenic area will be ignored.
TELEPHOTO LENS
A telephoto lens has a long focal length and this mimics a telescope to magnify distant objects. Digital cameras have zoom type lenses and these have variable focal lengths that have characteristics of both wide-angle and telephoto lenses.
TIFF
TIFF is a high quality imaging file format standard that uses less compression as opposed to the JPEG format and this results in larger files. TIFF means Tagged Image File Format.
TTL METERING (Through The Lens)
TTL stands for Through The Lens.
TTL metering is considered the most accurate metering, due in fact because it's based on the same light levels that are reaching the camera's image sensor. Nikon uses TTL metering in their digital cameras.
USB
Universal Serial Bus or USB is a method that is now very common and very fast method of transferring digital images from your digital camera to your computer. USB is the standard used to connect printers, scanners, and other devices to your computer or just PC. The latest USB standard is USB 2.0 and this is about 40 times faster than the older USB 1.1.
WHITE BALANCE (not racial diversity)
White light is made up of a mixture of colors.
Remember when you took a white light in science class and put it through a prism and you would see a rainbow of colors. A perfect "white" would be the perfect balance of all colors. Each light source will have some mixture of red, green, and blue (primary colors) in it. Digital camera’s can analyze the light source and compensate to try to achieve the proper color balance in any given setting. Digital cameras allow you to override the factory default white balance setting to compensate for particular lighting situations, such as incandescent or fluorescent lamps, clouds or sunlight. These tend to favor certain colors of light, ever notice the red sky at sunset?
WIDE-ANGLE LENS
A wide-angle lens has a short focal length and this results in a wide field of view. Digital cameras usually have zoom lenses and they use variable focal lengths that have characteristics of wide angle, zoom and telephoto lenses.
Celebrity photographers and the paparazzi
I am not involved with this in anyway...
Paparazzo is the combination of two Italian words papatacci, which has the meaning of “gnat” and “razzi” which has a meaning of the popping of flashbulbs. We no longer use disposable flashbulbs, but rather speed lights or flash units that are digital.
The Italian word paparazzo was first coined by Mr. Federico Fellini, as this was the name he gave to an aggressive prying high society photographer in his 1959 film "La Dolce Vita". Paparazzi photography is driven and fueled by greed by the tabloids offering large sums of money. Photographers try to catch celebrities as well as the rich and famous in compromising and unflattering poses and situations.
To the celebrities’ photographers or rather the paparazzi were just an annoying group of photographers who were so very persistent when trying to get a salable picture or a snapshot of a celebrity. This is due to the fact that the public is so crazy about movie stars and celebrities that the photographers could sell the pictures or image for extremely large amounts of money.
Digital and film technology became more advanced as did the camera equipment the photographers and paparazzi used. Telephoto and zoom lenses insured that no major celebrity can avoid them for long. Celebrities and politicians, captains of industry can been seen emerging from their limo’s and cars, entering high society glittering parties or just trying to go on a private secluded vacation.
Glamorous and rich personal famous figures of the modern day are followed by the photographers who wield long range zoom lenses and a brazen shamelessness of greed. The paparazzi trespass on private property and the take shots and pictures of movie celebrities during intimate moments in private places and even go so far as to stalking a public figures. Some of these photographic images can be worth in the millions of dollars. A single photograph of Prince Charles, when he was married to Princess Di, as he was seen together with his mistress Camilla Parker-Bowles is estimated to be worth millions of English pounds sterling.
The royal prince of England and his mistress usually arrive and depart at different times in order to avoid the paparazzi when they attend a function together. Almost all of the well known famous faces have had run-ins with the paparazzi photographers. Many famous people have horror stories to tell to all that will listen.
The Hollywood Screen Actors Guild has been concerned with the photographer’s paparazzi army and how it affects many of its 100,000 members. "The death of Princess Diana was the final straw" quotes SAG president, Richard Masur. He, along with California Senators Diane Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, and three respected constitutional scholars had a meeting to discuss what could be done about the paparazzi. In less than four hours, they came up with the rough wording of S. 2103 (Quill, 27). Many feel these laws violate the freedom of the press and freedom of speech provisions of the US constitution.
Before his death Rep. Sonny Bono introduced the first bill, H. Rep. 2448, going so far as to specify prison terms for harassment that results in injury (5 years) or death (20 years). The California bill states that harassment would be considered "persistently physically following or chasing a victim, in circumstances where the victim has a reasonable expectation of privacy."
After Bono’s death, Rep. Elton Gallegly, a California Republican, offered H. R. 3224, a more carefully defined version of Bono’s proposal. Rep. Bono’s widow succeeded her husband to keep the Bono name on H. R. 2448. There are many bills being made to stop the most aggressive of the paparazzi but many take away from the first Amendment, freedom of speech. Sen. Feinstein’s bill, S.2103, differs from the House bills because it also provides for civil actions against members of the press and freelance photographers for use of high-powered lenses, microphones, or helicopters used to trespass on private property for commercial purposes and gain.
This legal provision attempts to supplement any and all existing laws of trespass, creating a new legal cause of action for new forms of trespass made possible by modern technological advances in photography and electronic eavesdropping. Victims can sue to recover compensatory, and punitive damages and they may also petition a court and seek injunctions and declamatory relief.
All three of the so called paparazzi bills, H. R. 2448 and 3224 in the House, and S. 2103 in the Senate by statute, in their own way, create new criminal and civil penalties for commercially motivated invasions of privacy that result from persistent chases or other invasive methods used by photographers, videographers and audio sound recorders.
Actor Brad Pitt and actress of his past girlfriend Gwyneth Paltrow were caught vacationing on a private island in the nude and their pictures were sold to the highest bidder to a tabloid. The only way someone could snap those nude photographs would have been to trespass on private property.
Michael J. Fox told his unhappy story to the Senate about when he was leaving a movie premier with his wife and a police escort when they both were mobbed by the paparazzi. The resulting photographs of Fox and his wife looking in distress with a police officer assisting them. The trashy tabloids published fictional articles stating that they were being sent death threats and were afraid for their lives. Because of that article, an allegedly disturbed female started sending Mr. Fox real death threats over six thousand total. She was finally and eventually arrested and served some jail time.
Michael J. Fox says "I firmly believe that she would not have acted had the tabloid not provided an irresponsible, fictional precedent. There were stalking laws that protected us from her, but no deterrent or law to protect us from aggressive paparazzi". He states that "it’s the hunting, not the cooking" that celebrities want protection against.
Many other movie and TV stars, politicians, wealthy and victims of infamous crimes have similar stories. The laws that are being considered, four in total as of June 1998, have a positive and negative side to them. All laws are being made to protect against "commercially motivated invasions of privacy". However, some lawyers fear that these laws could do more harm than good.
Washington DC media lawyer Lee Levine said that if the paparazzi legislation passed he could and I quote "envision almost anyone who did not like a story that included a picture of him suing under this new law".
Because of the legal concern that Levine and many other lawyers fear the new laws being presented to the legislation state that it is not illegal to publish whatever photograph is taken in public. According to the people who would like to see the bill passed, the bill would protect those who are harassed verbally and physically by photographers of the paparazzi who are just trying to get a photograph image or picture of a person at their worst for higher sums of money and it would protect the privacy of people, who 50 years ago, couldn’t even imagine the possibilities of future technology. "In the two hundred nine years since the First Amendment was authored, this balance has become progressively hardly to achieve. Before the advent of inexpensive, lightweight, telephoto lenses and long-range listening devices, one could feel relatively secure that, when you were in your own home, no one could closely observe you unless they entered your property".
Because of the modern technological advances in photography, congress should pass some sort of bill that would take this into account. The bill would protect those who are harassed by being persistently followed for the purpose of making a visual or audio recording. In a case where the harassment would cause a person to fear injury, a cause of action would be created. If the harassment results in serious bodily injury, or death, it would constitute a crime.
There is a current legal argument here is that we already have laws protecting against anyone who becomes hurt by the violent actions of another person. People opposed to the new laws that are trying to become passed say that all incidents where a certain member of the paparazzi got out of hand were taken care of through the legal system.
Mr. Paul McMasters, a First Amendment Ombudsman at The Freedom Forum told the House Judiciary Committee that "State and local jurisdictions already have laws dealing with invasion of privacy, intrusion upon seclusion, trespass, harassment, and other problems taken up in the federal legislation”.
Mr. McMasters brought up the 1973 trial where a judge ordered free-lance photographer Mr. Ron Gatella to stay at least 25 feet from Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and 30 feet from her children after a long period of harassing coverage as an example of how the legal system intervened when a paparazzi photographer went to the extreme.
Another legal case he mentioned was the 1996 trial where a judge imposed similar legal restrictions on an Inside Edition camera crew that had staked out a family in pursuit of a story. Two British photographers were convicted in a California court and sentenced to jail terms for their attempts to photograph actor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver.
Actor’s George Clooney and others led a boycott of tabloid TV shows for what he considered intrusive and unfair coverage. He was joined by his colleagues on the cast of ER, as well as other big TV and movie stars, including Whoopi Goldberg, Rosie O’Donnell, and Steven Spielberg. As a result of the boycott, the shows changed their rules about what would be accepted and aired.
When a vague and ambitious law interferes with the public’s right to see, hear and be touched by the news, they are robbed of their ability to make their own judgments about what they consider "news". Americans are so bored of their lives that they want to gossip about other famous people and their troubles. Some say that trying to create more and more of the same laws that serve relatively the same purpose would be irrelevant.
The California Newspaper Publishers Association has support of the top 3 TV networks in fighting the Anti-paparazzi bill, SB262, including CNN who hired a lobbying firm to fight the bill. CNPA said new opponents include the California Manufacturers Association, law enforcement agencies, private detectives and unions. The manufacturers are worried that the bill would make it illegal to photograph their employees while playing football or other sports while receiving workers compensation. The police are worried they would be sued for spying on criminals and private eyes are worried because they photograph and film people undercover all the time.
Unfortunately for those opponents, the Anti-Paparazzi bill, SB 262, was passed in California 48-13. This bill would define invasion of privacy as trespassing with the intent to capture audio or video images of a celebrity or crime victim engaging in a personal or family activity. It will allow the celebrity or crime victim to recover damages from the paparazzi and people who employ them.
According to Andrea Brown, who was a spokesperson for the former governor Pete Wilson, "The governor thought it was important because of safety issues for normal everyday people. These people deserve to conduct their personal lives in private. Technology requires changes in any law. It creates new ways for people to commit crimes."
After all the research done on the pro’s and con’s of new laws that would affect the paparazzi it’s easy to see how these laws could affect people on both sides of the issue. Paparazzi photographers have to make a living and the famous deserve their privacy. Celebrities know that with fame comes the loss of privacy but they do not deserve to loss all privacy and not all paparazzi photographers are ruthless, shameless, aggressive people.
Different Styles Of Wedding Photography defined
Different Styles Of Wedding Photography defined
I wish to give you a very brief overview of the different styles of wedding photography. These styles include a very brief definition of each style. You can understand what is popular and modern in style. I will attempt to answer a few questions to help you choose the photography style and photographer that is right for you.
There are some technical oriented details and photographers jargon, please understand that they are only briefly covered. You will probably have a multitude of questions and you will want to discuss all of them with your potential photographer of anything that is not covered in this article.
Various Styles of Wedding Photography and definitions.
Your wedding day is over in only one day and does not last forever. Many details of your special day and your once valued memories will soon be forgotten. The main item that is left for you to remember your special day is your photographs.
The person that you pick as your wedding photographer must be someone that you are comfortable with and also should be someone that you will enjoy working with. During your special wedding day the bride and groom and your family will be working with the photographer for hours.
One should never settle on the cheapest and most economical photographer, you should however settle on your choice of photographers based upon their style, quality and personality.
There are basically four different and creative approaches that photographers will use: Traditional, Photojournalistic, Illustrative and Creative. Here are the defintions and examples of the styles.
Traditional style of photography is sometimes called posed or formal photography and is used in formal portraits or is used sometimes for informal portraits of the bridal party, family, and friends. These pictures and portraits can be used in close-up and full-length photos. Sometime this is mixed with candid photographs of the major key events at your wedding. Most brides will choose this style or version of photography for their special wedding day. Traditional portraiture is very formal and any decent photographer is well versed in this area. This is one of my favorite styles of photography, and as a photographer, I know what makes a woman look great. Formal portrait photography is great for family pictures and family portraits. Angles and certain poses can flatter a woman’s features, if you have an eye for detail.
Photojournalistic or candid style of photography basically means no posed formal pictures. All of your pictures will be taken in a candid fashion and without any instructions from your photographer with this photography style. A photojournalist photographer can capture your emotions and your guests without even being noticed, save the flash. The photographer should hide in the crowd and capture the emotions of the special day. This is my preferred style of photography for the reception dinner. I am actually a published photographer for a local newspaper and this is the style of photography used in sporting events. You take the pictures as the action happens, there is nothing posed and you do not get a second chance to catch the shot. Children’s pictures are often this style of photography. Pet pictures also fall into this category. Children’s and pet photography have to capture the action as it occurs. Children can be posed, but especially little boys, have too much energy to sit still and you have to follow them to get their pictures.
Illustrative style of photography looks just like the photographs that you see in magazines and among models. These photographic sessions are set up like a commercial modeling photography shoot as the photographer takes care of every little detail of the photographic images. Maternity photography uses this photographic technique at times and digital editing programs are useful.
Creative or Artistic photography will take your photographs from unusual and unique angles, with creative lighting. This style of photographer creates his or her artistic impressions of your wedding day and often uses digital photo editing software, like Photoshop, to create their images just like a painter uses a canvas.
When meeting with potential photographers you should look at a recent portfolio with a variety or rather a mixture of weddings. Ask to see an album of a complete wedding. You should make sure to the photographs are from recent current weddings and that they were the actual photographer. Many companies have multiple staff photographers that will take pictures for them and some have sales representatives that will actually meet with you and not the actual photographer.
Do the candid photographs capture the emotion, and are they sharp and in focus and free of blur? Would you be happy with the pictures if this were your wedding?
If any of the photos are not pleasing to you, ask the photographer why the picture is this way or that. It may come to the point their view is not the same as yours. It is best to choose a photography that will incorporate with your views, or him or hers view you are pleased with.
While looking at the photographs ask yourself these technical questions:
Is the lighting situation good? Are the pictures not too bright or too dark?
Is the lighting flattering to the subjects being photographed?
I wish to give you a very brief overview of the different styles of wedding photography. These styles include a very brief definition of each style. You can understand what is popular and modern in style. I will attempt to answer a few questions to help you choose the photography style and photographer that is right for you.
There are some technical oriented details and photographers jargon, please understand that they are only briefly covered. You will probably have a multitude of questions and you will want to discuss all of them with your potential photographer of anything that is not covered in this article.
Various Styles of Wedding Photography and definitions.
Your wedding day is over in only one day and does not last forever. Many details of your special day and your once valued memories will soon be forgotten. The main item that is left for you to remember your special day is your photographs.
The person that you pick as your wedding photographer must be someone that you are comfortable with and also should be someone that you will enjoy working with. During your special wedding day the bride and groom and your family will be working with the photographer for hours.
One should never settle on the cheapest and most economical photographer, you should however settle on your choice of photographers based upon their style, quality and personality.
There are basically four different and creative approaches that photographers will use: Traditional, Photojournalistic, Illustrative and Creative. Here are the defintions and examples of the styles.
Traditional style of photography is sometimes called posed or formal photography and is used in formal portraits or is used sometimes for informal portraits of the bridal party, family, and friends. These pictures and portraits can be used in close-up and full-length photos. Sometime this is mixed with candid photographs of the major key events at your wedding. Most brides will choose this style or version of photography for their special wedding day. Traditional portraiture is very formal and any decent photographer is well versed in this area. This is one of my favorite styles of photography, and as a photographer, I know what makes a woman look great. Formal portrait photography is great for family pictures and family portraits. Angles and certain poses can flatter a woman’s features, if you have an eye for detail.
Photojournalistic or candid style of photography basically means no posed formal pictures. All of your pictures will be taken in a candid fashion and without any instructions from your photographer with this photography style. A photojournalist photographer can capture your emotions and your guests without even being noticed, save the flash. The photographer should hide in the crowd and capture the emotions of the special day. This is my preferred style of photography for the reception dinner. I am actually a published photographer for a local newspaper and this is the style of photography used in sporting events. You take the pictures as the action happens, there is nothing posed and you do not get a second chance to catch the shot. Children’s pictures are often this style of photography. Pet pictures also fall into this category. Children’s and pet photography have to capture the action as it occurs. Children can be posed, but especially little boys, have too much energy to sit still and you have to follow them to get their pictures.
Illustrative style of photography looks just like the photographs that you see in magazines and among models. These photographic sessions are set up like a commercial modeling photography shoot as the photographer takes care of every little detail of the photographic images. Maternity photography uses this photographic technique at times and digital editing programs are useful.
Creative or Artistic photography will take your photographs from unusual and unique angles, with creative lighting. This style of photographer creates his or her artistic impressions of your wedding day and often uses digital photo editing software, like Photoshop, to create their images just like a painter uses a canvas.
When meeting with potential photographers you should look at a recent portfolio with a variety or rather a mixture of weddings. Ask to see an album of a complete wedding. You should make sure to the photographs are from recent current weddings and that they were the actual photographer. Many companies have multiple staff photographers that will take pictures for them and some have sales representatives that will actually meet with you and not the actual photographer.
You should be aware that the photographer that you view the pictures from might not be the artist that actually takes your pictures with a large photographic firm. Beware of a “staff” clause in the contract. I only use one other person to take pictures and then only when I am unavailable for some reason and it is unavoidable.
While looking at the potential photographers pictures you should ask yourself these questions:
Are the posed photographs well lit and do they have a pleasant demeanor about them?
While looking at the potential photographers pictures you should ask yourself these questions:
Are the posed photographs well lit and do they have a pleasant demeanor about them?
Do the candid photographs capture the emotion, and are they sharp and in focus and free of blur? Would you be happy with the pictures if this were your wedding?
If any of the photos are not pleasing to you, ask the photographer why the picture is this way or that. It may come to the point their view is not the same as yours. It is best to choose a photography that will incorporate with your views, or him or hers view you are pleased with.
While looking at the photographs ask yourself these technical questions:
Is the lighting situation good? Are the pictures not too bright or too dark?
Is the lighting flattering to the subjects being photographed?
Does it pertain to the mood that it conveys?
Is the posing of the photographer flattering?
Is the posing of the photographer flattering?
Does the picture flatter the figure of the person?
Professional photographers must use flash in low lighting conditions, such as in churches, or indoors to counteract unflattering shadows and sometimes even in an outdoor wedding.
Again, if any of the photographs do not please you, then ask the photographer why the picture is the way that it is. If you are viewing a photographer’s portfolio then just about very single photo should be pleasing to the eye, free of distractions, and they should convey the emotion of the special day.
Interviewing a photographer is almost always something that you should do in person. Take the time to preview their website or online photo gallery. You can speak to them over the phone and get a feel for them.
Ask for a DVD or CD of their recent work for a portfolio. An online portfolio is great for weeding out the good photographers from the great ones. You can narrow your choices down to 3 photographers and make your final decision on your choice of a photographer. Budget your photography needs and expect to invest 10% or more of your wedding budget on a professional photographer.
The cheapest is not always the best choice in this case as after the wedding day is over what will you have to show? You pictures may be all that you have to show for your special day and a pro is always worth a little bit more….
Professional photographers must use flash in low lighting conditions, such as in churches, or indoors to counteract unflattering shadows and sometimes even in an outdoor wedding.
Again, if any of the photographs do not please you, then ask the photographer why the picture is the way that it is. If you are viewing a photographer’s portfolio then just about very single photo should be pleasing to the eye, free of distractions, and they should convey the emotion of the special day.
Interviewing a photographer is almost always something that you should do in person. Take the time to preview their website or online photo gallery. You can speak to them over the phone and get a feel for them.
Ask for a DVD or CD of their recent work for a portfolio. An online portfolio is great for weeding out the good photographers from the great ones. You can narrow your choices down to 3 photographers and make your final decision on your choice of a photographer. Budget your photography needs and expect to invest 10% or more of your wedding budget on a professional photographer.
The cheapest is not always the best choice in this case as after the wedding day is over what will you have to show? You pictures may be all that you have to show for your special day and a pro is always worth a little bit more….
Beach Wedding Photographer
Angles and lighting are all very important for those special photographic moments.
I have a great deal of fun taking pictures of the children in attendance at the wedding party, after I have many pictures of the bridal party.
I have a great deal of fun taking pictures of the children in attendance at the wedding party, after I have many pictures of the bridal party.
I take many pictures of the wedding favors and the decor of the venue to serve as a reminder of the wedding day. Wedding decoration pictures will help the memory and set the mood for the album of wedding pictures.
The most important factor in taking pictures is the photographer and next is the subject and last is the camera. Do not get sucked up into the megapixel race, as the number of megapixels does not always equal a good picture. A high quality lens is far more important than just a lot of megapixels.
When taking pictures then you must consider the circumstances.
If your make up is smeared, or the grandparents have a lot of wrinkles, then what good is a sharp picture? I have a special filter for the camera to soften wrinkles and other imperfections. I can also work on the digital pictures with the computer in a program called Photoshop and it is very good at editing and fixing imperfections in images.
I will digitally edit the family event and wedding pictures to remove any red eye or other potential problems to give you a natural look that is flattering to you.
Pictures that I want for you to cherish and show off with pride for many years to come. I always enhance all of your special pictures to remove any red eye or any other problems to give you a more natural look that is flattering to you as well as to your guests.
You may ask for a sample DVD of wedding pictures as a digital portfolio of some of more recent pictures that South Florida Photography has done for your review.
South Florida is a perfect place for a winter beach wedding ceremony or marriage service. West Palm Beach is full of great places for your special wedding day, either on the beach or at a more elegant wedding venue.
The beach is an unusual place for a wedding as you usually have the outdoor elements to contend with. The roar of the ocean and the occasional call of the seagulls make for an unusual ceremony. The steady breeze of the wind and the soft glaze of the winter sun in your face can make for a romantic setting for your special wedding day.
I suggest that you can have a wedding for a few dozen close friends and family and not spend a fortune and still have a nice wedding.
Enjoy your wedding by the sea...
Why Photographers charge so much?
Why do photographers charge so much?
Why do wedding photographers charge so much?
So Why is it that professional photographers charge so much?
1. Well for one thing a photographer pays about twenty five (25) % of the total revenue charged to the bridal party in federal and state taxes. So one quarter of the total price goes to taxes.
2. The next thing is the camera and lenses and photography equipment costs are very high. One lens is over five hundred ($500) dollars and one camera is over one ($1,000) thousand dollars. I have at least $10,000 invested in photography equipment alone, and this is a guess and it could be higher. I carry backup redundant equipment in case of camera failure. I cannot afford to lose wedding pictures due to a camera that quits working. I also need new camera and lighting equipment and must purchase it for my clients.
3. The photo-editing program called Photoshop costs about $800 dollars and the computer used to run the program is no run of the mill average system. My computer was around $1,500 and I must have two of them as a back up for the customers pictures in case one system crashes.
4. After the hours spent on the wedding pictures the photographer will spend time editing the pictures. If I spend two (2) hours taking one (1) hundred pictures at a wedding – Then I get to edit the pictures. If I spend ten (10) minutes on each picture then I will have one (1,000) thousand minutes invested in digitally enhancing or editing the pictures. If you take 1,000 minutes and divide this by 60 minutes for an hour – then I shall spend an additional 16.6 hours editing the digital images for the clients for your 2 hour wedding shoot.
Why do wedding photographers charge so much?
So Why is it that professional photographers charge so much?
1. Well for one thing a photographer pays about twenty five (25) % of the total revenue charged to the bridal party in federal and state taxes. So one quarter of the total price goes to taxes.
2. The next thing is the camera and lenses and photography equipment costs are very high. One lens is over five hundred ($500) dollars and one camera is over one ($1,000) thousand dollars. I have at least $10,000 invested in photography equipment alone, and this is a guess and it could be higher. I carry backup redundant equipment in case of camera failure. I cannot afford to lose wedding pictures due to a camera that quits working. I also need new camera and lighting equipment and must purchase it for my clients.
3. The photo-editing program called Photoshop costs about $800 dollars and the computer used to run the program is no run of the mill average system. My computer was around $1,500 and I must have two of them as a back up for the customers pictures in case one system crashes.
4. After the hours spent on the wedding pictures the photographer will spend time editing the pictures. If I spend two (2) hours taking one (1) hundred pictures at a wedding – Then I get to edit the pictures. If I spend ten (10) minutes on each picture then I will have one (1,000) thousand minutes invested in digitally enhancing or editing the pictures. If you take 1,000 minutes and divide this by 60 minutes for an hour – then I shall spend an additional 16.6 hours editing the digital images for the clients for your 2 hour wedding shoot.
Wow - Maybe I need to charge more money...?
Flash Photography
FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY WITH MOSTLY BLACK, WHITE
AND / OR HIGHLY REFLECTIVE SUBJECTS:
Even if you use a TTL (through-the-lens) automatic flash exposure system, the correct exposure will not be automatic if your subject is mostly black or white. The same will be true if your subject has a highly-reflective, mirror-like surface. You can and should plan to compensate for these conditions by using your camera’s exposure compensation. You may also manually open your camera's aperture wider if your subject is mostly dark and you can close or stop down the aperture if the subject is mostly white or is highly-reflective.
ARE YOU CONSIDERING ON BUYING A NEW FLASH UNIT?
When buying a new camera and a new flash you will not go wrong by matching a major brand name with brand names. This ensures that both flash and camera are compatible and are made for each other. A flash unit is considered a “dedicated flash” when it is designed for a specific camera make and model. A brand name of a dedicated flash is made by the manufacturer of the camera, whereas an off-brand or knock-off flash is manufactured by someone else to specifications for a camera’s features. The main concern in buying a knock-off or an off-brand flash is that it may not perform with all of the same feature functions as a brand name flash unit or it may not perform under certain conditions at all. You will also have to contend with the possibility that knock-off brand flash may damage your very expensive camera equipment. The positive side is that you may find a high quality off-brand flash from a respected manufacturer that will perform at a high standard of quality at significant price savings.
Just be sure to take some test photographs to make certain that your new flash unit will work properly and as expected in its various picture and imaging modes before you take important pictures, like weddings....
BATTERY TESTING: BE SURE YOU TEST YOUR FLASH BEFORE USING THEM:
Test and fire your flash before you prepare to actually begin taking pictures using the flash. Count the number of seconds it takes for it to recycle in the ready mode to fire again, the ready-light to come on, if it takes more than 15 seconds, you probably need new batteries. If you are using the new high quality lithium or rechargeable nickle-cadmium or rather NiCd batteries and the ready to use light does not come on after 10 seconds, then the batteries should be replaced with new or fully charged batteries. Fill flash is what you use when you have a light source and you wish to use the flash to fill in the shadows from the main source of lighting. An example of fill flash lighting is someone wearing a hat outside on a sunny day, the face will have a shadow or under someone's nose in the noon day sun.
USAGE OF A TRIPOD FOR THE SLOWER SHUTTER SPEEDS OF YOUR CAMERA:
If you will be using a fill flash in daylight and your shutter speed is less than 1/60 sec, you should be sure to use a tripod support to avoid the blur from camera shake. Most people will shake and extreme settings of the camera will show this.
UNWANTED FLASH REFLECTIONS AND OTHER HOT SPOTS:
One should be aware of reflective shiny surfaces when taking pictures. Glass, bright polished metals, glossy waxed wood and other shiny surfaces in a picture scene will bounce the light from your flash right back at you. This condition will create what is known as a “hot spot” in your picture and this is usually noticed when the surface is photographed straight on. A polarized filter is useful for taking pictures when glass is involved, like an aquarium or window. Take the picture at an angle and you should be alright and do not forget the filter.
The flash hot spot is always a common mistake for a beginner due to the fact that they do not see the reflected light when they are taking the picture. A studio modeling lights or an always on video camera light will show you the reflection prior to the shot and the photographer can reposition themselves, unlike an electronic flash that is dark until it fires. Reposition yourself 30 or 45 degrees when you see that your camera and the flash are facing a reflective surface so that the flash lighting strikes it at an angle that won’t reflect it back into your lens.
STORING YOUR FLASH UNIT:
Remove the batteries to prevent battery leakage problems and always use alkaline batteries or the new Nicad or lithium batteries. Insert fresh batteries into it once a month and then fire the flash several times to recharge the capacitor and keep it in good storage and condition.A capacitor is an electronic device to discharge elctricity and is used in televisions and other devices.
Store the flash unit in a cool, dry place. This is to be sure there is no chance of mold or mildew forming in it. Never keep it in the car in summer time. Don’t stow it near volatile chemicals that release vapors that can harm it, such as camphor or naphthalene, and keep it away from the electro-magnetic waves from televisions and radios.
FLASH SAFETY:
1) Never Expose an electronic flash unit to any water, including but not limited to, rain or salt spray at the beach, this could cause an electric shock or set the unit on fire. Most flash units are not waterproof, and will corrode if water gets in.
2) Touching the front of the flash unit lighting head during its usage can burn.
3) Never Fire a flash into someones eyes of at close range as this may damage the retina of their eyes, leading to partial or complete blindness. Never do this to a baby or infant, I have and use a flash diffuser for this.
4) Never disassemble or try to take your flash unit apart and don’t attempt to repair it. high-voltage circuitry can cause electric shock and death.
LCD PANELS:
If your flash has an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) view panel, be sure to view it straight on, it will be difficult to read when viewing it from the side.
LCDs can become dark or black at temperatures of 140°F (60°C) and higher, and at cold temperatures below 41°F (5°C) slow down LCD’s. The LCD display will return to normal at room temperature - 68°F (20°C).
AND / OR HIGHLY REFLECTIVE SUBJECTS:
Even if you use a TTL (through-the-lens) automatic flash exposure system, the correct exposure will not be automatic if your subject is mostly black or white. The same will be true if your subject has a highly-reflective, mirror-like surface. You can and should plan to compensate for these conditions by using your camera’s exposure compensation. You may also manually open your camera's aperture wider if your subject is mostly dark and you can close or stop down the aperture if the subject is mostly white or is highly-reflective.
ARE YOU CONSIDERING ON BUYING A NEW FLASH UNIT?
When buying a new camera and a new flash you will not go wrong by matching a major brand name with brand names. This ensures that both flash and camera are compatible and are made for each other. A flash unit is considered a “dedicated flash” when it is designed for a specific camera make and model. A brand name of a dedicated flash is made by the manufacturer of the camera, whereas an off-brand or knock-off flash is manufactured by someone else to specifications for a camera’s features. The main concern in buying a knock-off or an off-brand flash is that it may not perform with all of the same feature functions as a brand name flash unit or it may not perform under certain conditions at all. You will also have to contend with the possibility that knock-off brand flash may damage your very expensive camera equipment. The positive side is that you may find a high quality off-brand flash from a respected manufacturer that will perform at a high standard of quality at significant price savings.
Just be sure to take some test photographs to make certain that your new flash unit will work properly and as expected in its various picture and imaging modes before you take important pictures, like weddings....
BATTERY TESTING: BE SURE YOU TEST YOUR FLASH BEFORE USING THEM:
Test and fire your flash before you prepare to actually begin taking pictures using the flash. Count the number of seconds it takes for it to recycle in the ready mode to fire again, the ready-light to come on, if it takes more than 15 seconds, you probably need new batteries. If you are using the new high quality lithium or rechargeable nickle-cadmium or rather NiCd batteries and the ready to use light does not come on after 10 seconds, then the batteries should be replaced with new or fully charged batteries. Fill flash is what you use when you have a light source and you wish to use the flash to fill in the shadows from the main source of lighting. An example of fill flash lighting is someone wearing a hat outside on a sunny day, the face will have a shadow or under someone's nose in the noon day sun.
USAGE OF A TRIPOD FOR THE SLOWER SHUTTER SPEEDS OF YOUR CAMERA:
If you will be using a fill flash in daylight and your shutter speed is less than 1/60 sec, you should be sure to use a tripod support to avoid the blur from camera shake. Most people will shake and extreme settings of the camera will show this.
UNWANTED FLASH REFLECTIONS AND OTHER HOT SPOTS:
One should be aware of reflective shiny surfaces when taking pictures. Glass, bright polished metals, glossy waxed wood and other shiny surfaces in a picture scene will bounce the light from your flash right back at you. This condition will create what is known as a “hot spot” in your picture and this is usually noticed when the surface is photographed straight on. A polarized filter is useful for taking pictures when glass is involved, like an aquarium or window. Take the picture at an angle and you should be alright and do not forget the filter.
The flash hot spot is always a common mistake for a beginner due to the fact that they do not see the reflected light when they are taking the picture. A studio modeling lights or an always on video camera light will show you the reflection prior to the shot and the photographer can reposition themselves, unlike an electronic flash that is dark until it fires. Reposition yourself 30 or 45 degrees when you see that your camera and the flash are facing a reflective surface so that the flash lighting strikes it at an angle that won’t reflect it back into your lens.
STORING YOUR FLASH UNIT:
Remove the batteries to prevent battery leakage problems and always use alkaline batteries or the new Nicad or lithium batteries. Insert fresh batteries into it once a month and then fire the flash several times to recharge the capacitor and keep it in good storage and condition.A capacitor is an electronic device to discharge elctricity and is used in televisions and other devices.
Store the flash unit in a cool, dry place. This is to be sure there is no chance of mold or mildew forming in it. Never keep it in the car in summer time. Don’t stow it near volatile chemicals that release vapors that can harm it, such as camphor or naphthalene, and keep it away from the electro-magnetic waves from televisions and radios.
FLASH SAFETY:
1) Never Expose an electronic flash unit to any water, including but not limited to, rain or salt spray at the beach, this could cause an electric shock or set the unit on fire. Most flash units are not waterproof, and will corrode if water gets in.
2) Touching the front of the flash unit lighting head during its usage can burn.
3) Never Fire a flash into someones eyes of at close range as this may damage the retina of their eyes, leading to partial or complete blindness. Never do this to a baby or infant, I have and use a flash diffuser for this.
4) Never disassemble or try to take your flash unit apart and don’t attempt to repair it. high-voltage circuitry can cause electric shock and death.
LCD PANELS:
If your flash has an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) view panel, be sure to view it straight on, it will be difficult to read when viewing it from the side.
LCDs can become dark or black at temperatures of 140°F (60°C) and higher, and at cold temperatures below 41°F (5°C) slow down LCD’s. The LCD display will return to normal at room temperature - 68°F (20°C).
Photography as an invention
Photography is an invention of technology and it has become the most universal means of pictorial communication and of artistic expression that the world has ever known. It has the ability to overcome differences in language, cultures and geography. Photograph's are specific and realistic, where music and the related arts can only be in the abstract or generalization. Photography has been used as a scientific tool, and has the precision in making visual records which is beyond the capability of mankind without the technology of the camera. The history of photography is a matter of the growth of technology and innovation and the imagination of mankind.
The world first learned about the first fixed photographs in the year 1839. This is the that year the Daguerreotype and the Collotype were used to make pictures as they were introduced to the public. Both the Daguerreotype and the Collotype were able to make pictures quickly, easily and with little skill or training. The man credited with the invention of the Daguerreotype was a Frenchman by the name of Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre. Prior to this there were no fixed pictures or rather photographs. The pinhole camera, or camera obscura was used to trace an image by an artist and this was a very early form leading to the invention of the fixed photograph.
The world first learned about the first fixed photographs in the year 1839. This is the that year the Daguerreotype and the Collotype were used to make pictures as they were introduced to the public. Both the Daguerreotype and the Collotype were able to make pictures quickly, easily and with little skill or training. The man credited with the invention of the Daguerreotype was a Frenchman by the name of Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre. Prior to this there were no fixed pictures or rather photographs. The pinhole camera, or camera obscura was used to trace an image by an artist and this was a very early form leading to the invention of the fixed photograph.
The Daguerreotypes were basically mirror-like images of silver coated copper plates that were polished and then put on top of a box with some iodine. The fumes from the iodine formed by a chemical reaction with the silver on the plate to form silver-iodine, which is a light-sensitive chemical. The Daguerreotype plate was exposed in a camera to light and then the plate was put over mercury and heated. This mercury fixed the image of the light sensitive silver-iodine and the Daguerreotype image appeared as it formed on the surface of the plate. Many of the people who saw the Daguerreotype process thought it was a form of magic. There are still examples of the Daguerreotype in museums today for people to enjoy.
William Henry Fox Talbot, who was an English scientist and great scholar, is credited with the invention of the Collotype. This imaging process was very similar to Daguerre's but in 1840 William Talbot improved upon it by using paper in the early primitive camera until it darkened until he brought out the latent image to be processed by development and fixation. This process reduced the exposure time needed to become a matter of a few seconds as compared to minutes or hours. The first fixed photographs could take hours for an image to form and only fixed objects, like buildings, were used as subjects. The hours long exposure time was impractical for portraits, as the people, who were the subjects could not sit still for hours and the photography would be blurred. William Talbot named his new photography process the talbotype.
The American civil war in the mid 1860's saw a great number of pictures of the carnage and horrors of war and the many faces of death. This was due to the advent of photography and the ability to fix the images to be recorded. The early flashes used a magnesium mixture to create light for the camera to be able to record the images. Photography could capture an image and could convey an emotion that was worth a thousand words...
In 1888, the first modern automatic camera was introduced by George Eastman with his Kodak camera. It originally had enough film to produce one hundred pictures. The original Kodak originally had a fixed shutter speed that was factory set to 1/25 of a second. This early camera had a fixed focus lens that could produce a fairly clear picture of a subject at up to eight feet away.The Kodak camera has became an American tradition among amateur photographers.
"you press the button, we do the rest," George Eastman said as he put the first easy to use camera into the hands of a picture hungry world. George Eastman made a complicated photographic process very easy to use and almost accessible to anyone with the money. The early Kodak's were used by newspaper photojournalists and professional photographers alike.
Many do not know this but Kodak invented what is known as the first digital camera. Texas Instruments is credited with inventing the digital image sensor that was used in modern digital camera's today. For $24 anyone could purchase the early Kodak camera which came with a leather strap as well as a carrying case to protect the camera from the elements. $24 dollars was a fortune during this time period and was a considerable investment. The cost of the Kodak camera paid for the first roll of film and its development. When you were finished taking pictures with your Kodak you sent the camera to Kodak where the film was developed and you could send ten dollars and you got a new roll of film and this included development and processing of the new roll of film. The early camera's used a film that would flex as it was not made of copper plates, like the early photographs.
Most early photography was based upon silver as the light-sensitive compound.
The first celluloid type film was first introduced in 1895. This film was composed of nitrocellulose and it was extremely flammable. Movies were a collection of film stills that were shown quickly and this early film decomposed and many original early films were lost to history in this manner. Celluloid film was phased out in the 1930's with the advent of what is known as safety film that did not catch fire easily. Color photography was revolutionized in 1935 with the advent and introduction of Kodachrome film by the Kodak corporation.
William Henry Fox Talbot, who was an English scientist and great scholar, is credited with the invention of the Collotype. This imaging process was very similar to Daguerre's but in 1840 William Talbot improved upon it by using paper in the early primitive camera until it darkened until he brought out the latent image to be processed by development and fixation. This process reduced the exposure time needed to become a matter of a few seconds as compared to minutes or hours. The first fixed photographs could take hours for an image to form and only fixed objects, like buildings, were used as subjects. The hours long exposure time was impractical for portraits, as the people, who were the subjects could not sit still for hours and the photography would be blurred. William Talbot named his new photography process the talbotype.
The American civil war in the mid 1860's saw a great number of pictures of the carnage and horrors of war and the many faces of death. This was due to the advent of photography and the ability to fix the images to be recorded. The early flashes used a magnesium mixture to create light for the camera to be able to record the images. Photography could capture an image and could convey an emotion that was worth a thousand words...
In 1888, the first modern automatic camera was introduced by George Eastman with his Kodak camera. It originally had enough film to produce one hundred pictures. The original Kodak originally had a fixed shutter speed that was factory set to 1/25 of a second. This early camera had a fixed focus lens that could produce a fairly clear picture of a subject at up to eight feet away.The Kodak camera has became an American tradition among amateur photographers.
"you press the button, we do the rest," George Eastman said as he put the first easy to use camera into the hands of a picture hungry world. George Eastman made a complicated photographic process very easy to use and almost accessible to anyone with the money. The early Kodak's were used by newspaper photojournalists and professional photographers alike.
Many do not know this but Kodak invented what is known as the first digital camera. Texas Instruments is credited with inventing the digital image sensor that was used in modern digital camera's today. For $24 anyone could purchase the early Kodak camera which came with a leather strap as well as a carrying case to protect the camera from the elements. $24 dollars was a fortune during this time period and was a considerable investment. The cost of the Kodak camera paid for the first roll of film and its development. When you were finished taking pictures with your Kodak you sent the camera to Kodak where the film was developed and you could send ten dollars and you got a new roll of film and this included development and processing of the new roll of film. The early camera's used a film that would flex as it was not made of copper plates, like the early photographs.
Most early photography was based upon silver as the light-sensitive compound.
The first celluloid type film was first introduced in 1895. This film was composed of nitrocellulose and it was extremely flammable. Movies were a collection of film stills that were shown quickly and this early film decomposed and many original early films were lost to history in this manner. Celluloid film was phased out in the 1930's with the advent of what is known as safety film that did not catch fire easily. Color photography was revolutionized in 1935 with the advent and introduction of Kodachrome film by the Kodak corporation.
Polaroid made its land camera and it had instant prints that were introduced in 1948. Mr. Land was the inventor of the camera and Polaroid brought his camera to market. Today almost all photographic film consists of a silver bromide compound on an acetate film. Virtually all photographic paper is based on silver bromide for various paper. In the 1920's photographers became able to use a handy compact camera that could take pictures in dim light. The first of these dim light capable cameras was the Ermanox that had the slogan of "What you can see, you can photograph."
Filters can change the color and the texture of the subject being photographed and are used for various special effects. Modern digital photography and digital editing software, like photoshop, has rendered filters to the back seat of film stills photography. Soft focus has the purpose to produce a slight blurring of the focus, and creates an optical distortion. This photographic technique is very useful in glamour portraits and weddings. When you have a subject with less than perfect features, then soft focus filters are very useful. You do not want a sharp picture of a middle aged bride or grandmother with all of her wrinkles. So you would use a soft focus diffuser filter to soften out the facial blemishes in the subject. This is in stark contrast to the sharp pictures that you can take with children portraits and family portraits and I use this technique in South Florida and Ft. Lauderdale and the Palm Beach area for family pictures and portraits.
Photography is not only used for an art form, it can also be more than just a job, but a true profession. In the field of photography there are many chances to carve out a lucrative and satisfying career. Some people make a decent living by taking pictures and they are known as true professional photographers. Just because you buy a good camera, does not make one a photographer. The pictures the professional takes are used in TV, magazines and newspapers.There are many occupations in the photography field. For example: wedding and portrait photographers, architectural, fashion and modeling photographers and the many other countless jobs there are in creating and maintaining cameras, and film and developing of film. Many people pay a photographer for glamour photography and for sensational portraits of them to display at their house and to send to modeling agencies.
The artistic part of photography quickly developed into motion pictures. A motion picture was a film with many still film frames on it. The first films were about industry and paid for by big companies in industry. The films were usually about the company and industry that produced it.The names of some of the very first such movies were the Story of Coal. The Story of Wheat. The Tea Industry, and Pottery Making. The films were used as a source of entertainment. The public was amused and informed by the films.It would not be long for independent film makers to realize that companies would pay them to make films. By 1915 the nontheatrical film business was in full blown operation and a whole new industry was born and developed into modern day Hollywood. New technologies contributed to the steady progress of the film cinema. Modern new inventions, such as portable 35 mm projector, that had its own retractable base were to show up on the scene of history. During the 1915 World Fair, which was held in San Fransisco, many films were shown that were sponsored by industry and businesses. The movie industry amused and educated the public at large then and to this day.
Another important advancement in the movie making business was the development of 16 mm sound film. This effectively killed the silent movies and the stars that were in them. Many of the silent film stars had voices that were not pleasing to the audiences and their careers died suddenly. They were victims of modern sound technology. During World War II, the film business saw great improvements over the quality of these talking movies and films. Various new modern filming techniques were used such as long,medium and closeup shots, the use of various angles for subject and camera movement, and cuts to differing scenes helped to keep the attention of the viewer. When a film was well constructed and produced the viewer is unaware of the movie making techniques involved. If a film is not made well, if the camera movements are not steady and the cuts are not precise, or if the visual time and space continuity are illogical, the viewers concentration lapses and he becomes bored and easily distracted. The overall effect of the film is substantially reduced.Most of the makers who made war time training films came from the Hollywood entertainment industry or newsreel companies.
The field is constantly expanding, particularly in the area of scientific investigation, space experimentation, atomic energy, missiles and aeronautics (Encyclopedia of Photography 1807).
"In its first short century and a quarter, photography's scope has been enormously expanded. Pictures which only a few decades ago seemed beyond the camera's capability are now within
the reach of all. But as the scope expands the tradition stays the same. Yesterday's photographer would be amazed that picture can be taken in 1/1000,000 of a second, but put a camera in his hand and he would know exactly know how to use it. Behind our present techniques, and behind our ways of seeing the world, lie the experiments of thousands of photographers who took up the camera because they believed that with it they could best say what was in their minds, and, in a few instances, in their hearts" (quoted from The Encyclopedia of Photography 1754).
Sources:
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/corp/historyOfKodak/buildingTheFoundation.jhtml?pq-path=2217/2687/2690
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_photography
www.duenow.com
Filters can change the color and the texture of the subject being photographed and are used for various special effects. Modern digital photography and digital editing software, like photoshop, has rendered filters to the back seat of film stills photography. Soft focus has the purpose to produce a slight blurring of the focus, and creates an optical distortion. This photographic technique is very useful in glamour portraits and weddings. When you have a subject with less than perfect features, then soft focus filters are very useful. You do not want a sharp picture of a middle aged bride or grandmother with all of her wrinkles. So you would use a soft focus diffuser filter to soften out the facial blemishes in the subject. This is in stark contrast to the sharp pictures that you can take with children portraits and family portraits and I use this technique in South Florida and Ft. Lauderdale and the Palm Beach area for family pictures and portraits.
Photography is not only used for an art form, it can also be more than just a job, but a true profession. In the field of photography there are many chances to carve out a lucrative and satisfying career. Some people make a decent living by taking pictures and they are known as true professional photographers. Just because you buy a good camera, does not make one a photographer. The pictures the professional takes are used in TV, magazines and newspapers.There are many occupations in the photography field. For example: wedding and portrait photographers, architectural, fashion and modeling photographers and the many other countless jobs there are in creating and maintaining cameras, and film and developing of film. Many people pay a photographer for glamour photography and for sensational portraits of them to display at their house and to send to modeling agencies.
The artistic part of photography quickly developed into motion pictures. A motion picture was a film with many still film frames on it. The first films were about industry and paid for by big companies in industry. The films were usually about the company and industry that produced it.The names of some of the very first such movies were the Story of Coal. The Story of Wheat. The Tea Industry, and Pottery Making. The films were used as a source of entertainment. The public was amused and informed by the films.It would not be long for independent film makers to realize that companies would pay them to make films. By 1915 the nontheatrical film business was in full blown operation and a whole new industry was born and developed into modern day Hollywood. New technologies contributed to the steady progress of the film cinema. Modern new inventions, such as portable 35 mm projector, that had its own retractable base were to show up on the scene of history. During the 1915 World Fair, which was held in San Fransisco, many films were shown that were sponsored by industry and businesses. The movie industry amused and educated the public at large then and to this day.
Another important advancement in the movie making business was the development of 16 mm sound film. This effectively killed the silent movies and the stars that were in them. Many of the silent film stars had voices that were not pleasing to the audiences and their careers died suddenly. They were victims of modern sound technology. During World War II, the film business saw great improvements over the quality of these talking movies and films. Various new modern filming techniques were used such as long,medium and closeup shots, the use of various angles for subject and camera movement, and cuts to differing scenes helped to keep the attention of the viewer. When a film was well constructed and produced the viewer is unaware of the movie making techniques involved. If a film is not made well, if the camera movements are not steady and the cuts are not precise, or if the visual time and space continuity are illogical, the viewers concentration lapses and he becomes bored and easily distracted. The overall effect of the film is substantially reduced.Most of the makers who made war time training films came from the Hollywood entertainment industry or newsreel companies.
The field is constantly expanding, particularly in the area of scientific investigation, space experimentation, atomic energy, missiles and aeronautics (Encyclopedia of Photography 1807).
"In its first short century and a quarter, photography's scope has been enormously expanded. Pictures which only a few decades ago seemed beyond the camera's capability are now within
the reach of all. But as the scope expands the tradition stays the same. Yesterday's photographer would be amazed that picture can be taken in 1/1000,000 of a second, but put a camera in his hand and he would know exactly know how to use it. Behind our present techniques, and behind our ways of seeing the world, lie the experiments of thousands of photographers who took up the camera because they believed that with it they could best say what was in their minds, and, in a few instances, in their hearts" (quoted from The Encyclopedia of Photography 1754).
Sources:
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/corp/historyOfKodak/buildingTheFoundation.jhtml?pq-path=2217/2687/2690
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_photography
www.duenow.com
The Camera: Mechanics and construction
The Camera:
Mechanics and Construction
By: Robert H. Walker
The camera is defined as a electro-mechanical device and an apparatus for taking pictures or photographs, or electronic digital images. The camera is basically a lightproof housing through which light is reflected off an object or a subject and an image is focused and recorded on a digital sensor or on photographic film through a lens that focuses the light.
There are many different camera types that are being used today:
35 mm Film
Medium Format
Large Format
Digital Imaging
all cameras are more or less advanced variations of the very first camera
Nearly all cameras are made up of the same basic components:
Camera body (the lightproof box)
Camera lens and a shutter to control the amount of light reaching the light-sensitive medium (Digital or Film)
Camera viewfinder to look at the scenic view that you wish to shoot
Focusing mechanism be it fixed or variable
Still Cameras
Focus and Composition of the Scene:
All cameras use a glass or plastic lens for the focusing of the light to take an image, except for pinhole cameras, which focus the image on the film through a tiny hole. The focal length of a lens, i.e., the distance between the rear of the lens (when focused on infinity) and the film, determines the angle of view and the size of objects as they appear on the film or digital imaging sensor. The light projected image is focused on the digital image sensor or the film by adjusting the distance between the lens and the electronic media or light sensitive film.
These types of cameras were used originally to photography fixed objects, like buildings, as they had a very long exposure time. Sometimes hours were required for the exposure and this was far too long to take an image of someone as they would move and the image would be blurred. This problem was solved by new chemical solutions for the recording of the images and by having the subject of the portrait put their head into a type of brace to prevent movement.
If you want to be a pinhole photographer then all you must do is build a home made do it yourself pinhole camera. The pinhole camera is very good with perspective as there is no lens distortion to content with. The hole should be perfectly round and the size of the hole is very important in the construction of the camera. The depth of field is in a pinhole camera is basically infinite. This does not necessarily mean that everything will be in proper focus. The distance from the aperture of the camera and to the film plane in relation to the infinite depth of field will determine if everything is in focus or out of focus.
The f-stop is very important to the function of the camera. The f-stop of the pinhole camera may be computed and calculated by dividing the diameter of the circular pinhole into the focal length of the pinhole camera. The diameter of the pinhole can be determined by knowing the diameter of the pin, needle or drill bit used to make the pinhole. The definition of the focal length is the distance from the pinhole to the film.
Basically you take a box or any container punch a pinhole and then attach film to the opposite end and then you have your camera. If you wish to be a pinhole photographer then you should see the following websites for more information.
See the Wiki article here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinhole_camera
Excellent advice on making the pinhole camera here: http://www.mrpinhole.com/
There is a world pinhole camera day: http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/index.php
Mechanics and Construction
By: Robert H. Walker
The camera is defined as a electro-mechanical device and an apparatus for taking pictures or photographs, or electronic digital images. The camera is basically a lightproof housing through which light is reflected off an object or a subject and an image is focused and recorded on a digital sensor or on photographic film through a lens that focuses the light.
There are many different camera types that are being used today:
35 mm Film
Medium Format
Large Format
Digital Imaging
all cameras are more or less advanced variations of the very first camera
Nearly all cameras are made up of the same basic components:
Camera body (the lightproof box)
Camera lens and a shutter to control the amount of light reaching the light-sensitive medium (Digital or Film)
Camera viewfinder to look at the scenic view that you wish to shoot
Focusing mechanism be it fixed or variable
Still Cameras
Focus and Composition of the Scene:
All cameras use a glass or plastic lens for the focusing of the light to take an image, except for pinhole cameras, which focus the image on the film through a tiny hole. The focal length of a lens, i.e., the distance between the rear of the lens (when focused on infinity) and the film, determines the angle of view and the size of objects as they appear on the film or digital imaging sensor. The light projected image is focused on the digital image sensor or the film by adjusting the distance between the lens and the electronic media or light sensitive film.
In most 35-mm cameras, this is done by rotating the lens which adjusts the focal length. With twin-lens reflex and larger view cameras, the whole lens and the panel are moved closer to or further away from the film. To view a subject for composing a picture, almost every camera has some kind of a viewfinder. Modern 35-mm single-lens reflex SLR cameras place the viewfinder screen in a special housing on the top of the camera body.
On the inside of the SLR camera there is a movable mirror that reflects the image from the lens to the viewfinder screen for viewing and focusing. As you prepare to take the picture it then flips out of the way when the shutter is tripped, so that the image hits the film or the digital sensor instead of the imaging viewing mirror. The mirror for the viewfinder will automatically return to its place after the exposure has been made.
Range finding cameras causes the object to be viewed by two separate windows; one views the subject scene directly and the other window contains an adjustable optical mirror device. When this device is adjusted by rotating the lens, the image entering through the lens can be brought into display with the image from the direct view focusing the object on the film. This range finding technique has been used since WWII in submarines and military applications for close estimations of distances of targets. It is very accurate for optics and is slowly being replaced with laser rangefinder's in military applications where tolerances are very tight.
Controlling the Amount of Light Entering into the Camera Body
The maximum opening in the lens through which light enters the camera will indicate the speed of a lens. The speed of the lens is controlled by an iris (eye) diaphragm.
The iris of a camera acts the same like the iris, the dark part of your eye, and it is a set of metal blades that form a circular hole in the center area at the base of the lenses and whose diameter can be made larger or smaller. The shutter controls the amount of time that light is allowed to enter your camera.
There are two basic types of shutters:
Leaf-type
Focal-plane.
The leaf-type shutter uses a ring of overlapping metal blades, which are similar to those of the iris diaphragm. It is usually placed between the lens elements, but sometimes it is placed behind or in front of the lens. The focal-plane shutter is located just in front of the film or digital imaging sensor plane and has one or two cloth or metal curtains that travel vertically or horizontally across the film frame. By adjusting the shutter speed, the proper amount of light needed for a good exposure can be obtained.
Features of Modern Film and Digital Cameras
Most of today's 35-mm cameras incorporate a rapid film-transport mechanism, lens interchangeability, and a built-in light meter. All digital cameras have built in light metering capability. Many also have an automatic exposure device where the shutter speed is regulated automatically to produce the "correct" exposure. Accessories include filters, which correct for deficiencies in film sensitivity; flash bulbs and flash mechanisms for supplying light; and monopods and tripods, for steady support.
Range finding cameras causes the object to be viewed by two separate windows; one views the subject scene directly and the other window contains an adjustable optical mirror device. When this device is adjusted by rotating the lens, the image entering through the lens can be brought into display with the image from the direct view focusing the object on the film. This range finding technique has been used since WWII in submarines and military applications for close estimations of distances of targets. It is very accurate for optics and is slowly being replaced with laser rangefinder's in military applications where tolerances are very tight.
Controlling the Amount of Light Entering into the Camera Body
The maximum opening in the lens through which light enters the camera will indicate the speed of a lens. The speed of the lens is controlled by an iris (eye) diaphragm.
The iris of a camera acts the same like the iris, the dark part of your eye, and it is a set of metal blades that form a circular hole in the center area at the base of the lenses and whose diameter can be made larger or smaller. The shutter controls the amount of time that light is allowed to enter your camera.
There are two basic types of shutters:
Leaf-type
Focal-plane.
The leaf-type shutter uses a ring of overlapping metal blades, which are similar to those of the iris diaphragm. It is usually placed between the lens elements, but sometimes it is placed behind or in front of the lens. The focal-plane shutter is located just in front of the film or digital imaging sensor plane and has one or two cloth or metal curtains that travel vertically or horizontally across the film frame. By adjusting the shutter speed, the proper amount of light needed for a good exposure can be obtained.
Features of Modern Film and Digital Cameras
Most of today's 35-mm cameras incorporate a rapid film-transport mechanism, lens interchangeability, and a built-in light meter. All digital cameras have built in light metering capability. Many also have an automatic exposure device where the shutter speed is regulated automatically to produce the "correct" exposure. Accessories include filters, which correct for deficiencies in film sensitivity; flash bulbs and flash mechanisms for supplying light; and monopods and tripods, for steady support.
Simple box cameras are fixed-focus cameras with limited or no control over exposure. Twin-lens reflex cameras use one lens solely for viewing while the other focuses the image on the film. Other popular cameras are compact 35-mm rangefinding cameras, 126 cartridge cameras, and the sub miniature cameras, which uses 9.5-mm film. Digital cameras use Photoshop for filters quite often and have the most advanced features, in my opinion.
Development of the Camera
Some claim that the very first camera was invented during the times of the Greeks, others say an Arabic man invented this camera. It was basically a dark box large enough for the viewer to stand inside; with a small hole in one side. An inverted (upside down) image of a scene was shown on the inside of the darkroom. An artist then traced the image and this was considered the origin of the camera obscura. The first diagram of a camera appeared in a manuscript written by Leonardo da Vinci in 1519, even though he did not claim the invention as his own. Joseph Nicéphore Niépce first achieved the recording of a negative image on a light-sensitive material in 1826. He coated a piece of paper with asphalt and exposed it to light on the inside the camera for eight hours. This was not practical for portraits of people as they could not stand still for that long and the image would be blurred. So buildings were the first images recorded with these types of devices. Even though different kinds of devices for making pictures had been invented as early as the 1860s, E. J. Marey built the first motion picture camera in 1887. In 1889 the great scientist and inventor Thomas Edison invented the first successful camera. However, cinematography was not accessible to amateurs until 1923, when Eastman Kodak produced the first 16-mm safety film. Bell & Howell introduced cameras and projectors that used 16-mm reversal safety film.
Sources:
The Encyclopedia of Photography (1971);
The Focal Encyclopedia of Photography (1972);
The Duenow.com website;
Howstuffworks.com
Development of the Camera
Some claim that the very first camera was invented during the times of the Greeks, others say an Arabic man invented this camera. It was basically a dark box large enough for the viewer to stand inside; with a small hole in one side. An inverted (upside down) image of a scene was shown on the inside of the darkroom. An artist then traced the image and this was considered the origin of the camera obscura. The first diagram of a camera appeared in a manuscript written by Leonardo da Vinci in 1519, even though he did not claim the invention as his own. Joseph Nicéphore Niépce first achieved the recording of a negative image on a light-sensitive material in 1826. He coated a piece of paper with asphalt and exposed it to light on the inside the camera for eight hours. This was not practical for portraits of people as they could not stand still for that long and the image would be blurred. So buildings were the first images recorded with these types of devices. Even though different kinds of devices for making pictures had been invented as early as the 1860s, E. J. Marey built the first motion picture camera in 1887. In 1889 the great scientist and inventor Thomas Edison invented the first successful camera. However, cinematography was not accessible to amateurs until 1923, when Eastman Kodak produced the first 16-mm safety film. Bell & Howell introduced cameras and projectors that used 16-mm reversal safety film.
Sources:
The Encyclopedia of Photography (1971);
The Focal Encyclopedia of Photography (1972);
The Duenow.com website;
Howstuffworks.com
-------------------------
Pinhole Cameras
The definition of a pinhole camera is a camera without any kind of a lens. Lenses in a good camera are usually constructed of glass or in the inexpensive cameras lenses are usually made of clear plastic. The pinhole camera does not use anything for a lens. These were the very first original cameras made in the history of photography. The very first pinhole cameras were not even loaded with film and only projected an image in a dark room with the light from the outside coming in through the pinhole. This is the origin of film stills photography.
The image in a pinhole camera is inverted or upside down on the area that the image in projected. The wikipedia has an excellent article about this and an image to explain this and a picture is worth a thousand words. I have the Wiki link at the bottom of this article.
I built a pinhole camera for observing a solar eclipse when I was a child and you can safely watch the image of the moon as it crosses the path of the sun. These types of devices were originally called camera obscura and it is a Latin word meaning "dark chamber" and this is where we get the word darkroom. Before the advent of film, artists would trace the images projected through the pinhole as a more permanent record. Later on metal plates with various silver compounds would be used to record the image and were the ancestors of what would become film photography, these metal plates used to record images are generally credited to Louis Daguerre.
The basic tenets and principles of the camera obscura have been known for over one thousand years. Some claim that Ibn al-Haitham (Al-Hazen) had constructed a functional camera obscura in the 10th century. Its was used as a drawing aid and could very well have been used by familiar artists by as early as the 15th Century, Leonardo da Vinci described a type of the camera obscura in his Codex Atlanticus writings. Such cameras were later built and used by William Fox Talbot and Louis Daguerre, a French inventor, for creating the very first photographs.
The image in a pinhole camera is inverted or upside down on the area that the image in projected. The wikipedia has an excellent article about this and an image to explain this and a picture is worth a thousand words. I have the Wiki link at the bottom of this article.
I built a pinhole camera for observing a solar eclipse when I was a child and you can safely watch the image of the moon as it crosses the path of the sun. These types of devices were originally called camera obscura and it is a Latin word meaning "dark chamber" and this is where we get the word darkroom. Before the advent of film, artists would trace the images projected through the pinhole as a more permanent record. Later on metal plates with various silver compounds would be used to record the image and were the ancestors of what would become film photography, these metal plates used to record images are generally credited to Louis Daguerre.
The basic tenets and principles of the camera obscura have been known for over one thousand years. Some claim that Ibn al-Haitham (Al-Hazen) had constructed a functional camera obscura in the 10th century. Its was used as a drawing aid and could very well have been used by familiar artists by as early as the 15th Century, Leonardo da Vinci described a type of the camera obscura in his Codex Atlanticus writings. Such cameras were later built and used by William Fox Talbot and Louis Daguerre, a French inventor, for creating the very first photographs.
These types of cameras were used originally to photography fixed objects, like buildings, as they had a very long exposure time. Sometimes hours were required for the exposure and this was far too long to take an image of someone as they would move and the image would be blurred. This problem was solved by new chemical solutions for the recording of the images and by having the subject of the portrait put their head into a type of brace to prevent movement.
If you want to be a pinhole photographer then all you must do is build a home made do it yourself pinhole camera. The pinhole camera is very good with perspective as there is no lens distortion to content with. The hole should be perfectly round and the size of the hole is very important in the construction of the camera. The depth of field is in a pinhole camera is basically infinite. This does not necessarily mean that everything will be in proper focus. The distance from the aperture of the camera and to the film plane in relation to the infinite depth of field will determine if everything is in focus or out of focus.
The f-stop is very important to the function of the camera. The f-stop of the pinhole camera may be computed and calculated by dividing the diameter of the circular pinhole into the focal length of the pinhole camera. The diameter of the pinhole can be determined by knowing the diameter of the pin, needle or drill bit used to make the pinhole. The definition of the focal length is the distance from the pinhole to the film.
Basically you take a box or any container punch a pinhole and then attach film to the opposite end and then you have your camera. If you wish to be a pinhole photographer then you should see the following websites for more information.
See the Wiki article here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinhole_camera
Excellent advice on making the pinhole camera here: http://www.mrpinhole.com/
There is a world pinhole camera day: http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/index.php
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)