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Photography

Thu, 05/03/2007 - 04:41 — Rosalin

Synopsis
Photography as such is a very vast topic to cover in a few pages. So this first write up will be a very generic one and further particular details will be dealt with later one at a time.

Photography, the word comprises of two parts; Photo (means light) and graphics (means to write or to draw). So Photography is to write or draw with light. By dictionary definition it means - the process of producing images of objects on photosensitive surfaces. But I can define it in many other ways. Photography is a form of art, it is a way to capture memories, it is a medium for data storage, it is a form of expression - a medium to propagate one's thought.

History
The initial phase of capturing the image on a photo sensitive material dates back to 18th century. But the concepts of photography like, Camera Obscura (the dark room concept), Camera Lucida (the lit room concept) and Chemical process to create permanent images had been invented quite a few years back.

From the poisonous and hazardous materials being used as a coating on films to today's Digital Photography and SLR Camera's, it had been a long and adventurous journey in history of Photography, and it still has a long way to go.

Application/Usage
Photography's application are many, it is not just the medium to capture memories of our loved ones. Consider any one of these: Fashion, Advertising, Media (Photojournalism), Science, Law and Order management, Military operations, Weather Reports - all of them have a profound dependence on it. I would not be wrong in saying; it has become another form of art these days. Photography is a profession today where you get paid for your passion, unleashing your imagination, exploring the beauty of nature and one's creativity.

As said earlier it can be a very effective medium for data storage for experiments in different fields of science, visual medium getting the credit over data medium in several ways. For military and police this is again a data storage but in a altogether different way.

And we can not deny the remarkable presence of it through aerial/satellite photography. And all these application listed above are just a few branches tweaked from the bouquet.

Main Components
Now let us have a look at the ingredients that enables this amazing medium work out.

  • Optical Lens: It is what I would say is the heart of photography. It can be a simple convex lens or compound assembly of lens depending upon the functionalities of the camera. Few varieties of lenses:
    • Close up lens: short focal length, to take photos at short range or macro mode
    • Portrait lens: high aperture (opening through which light is passed into the camera)
    • Zoom lens: to magnify the image
    • Fisheye lens: having wider than normal angle of view, image is sharp at center and comparatively distorted at periphery
  • Photographic Film: It is a plastic sheet coated with photosensitive material, these days the material used is silver-halide crystals, which can form imprint on them when exposed to light. It works on this simple principle, object blocks the light coming through camera aperture and the form is imprinted in the film, which can be later processed through chemical substances to get an image of the object, called film developing.
  • CCD-Charge Coupled Device: CCD is the recording material or the image sensor used for Digital photography. As the name suggests, this is an integrated circuit consisting of coupled capacitors which are light sensitive. The capacitors are charged through photoelectric effect and electronic images are created.
  • Battery: They might never come into consideration when talking about photography, but not a single photograph can probably be taken without them. These converters of chemical to electrical energy cells come in rechargeable or disposable (non-rechargeable) types. Today's most of the digital/optical cameras are powered by 1.5 volt AA (alkaline) cells. Again this is a technology where lots of research is under way for optimizing the battery life and quality.
  • Memory stick: These are a type of flash memory module, used for storage in digital cameras.

There goes the main hardware component, and now a few concepts of photography.

  • Focus: It generally suggests how and where the parallel light rays converge inside the camera on the recording material, which mainly determines the quality/type of image formed. It focal length, or the length at which the parallel rays of lights seem to converge/diverge varies for different types of lens described above, changing the form of the image.
  • Aperture: It is the opening through which light is passed into the camera. The aperture can be varied using the shutter of the camera lens, thus changing the exposure of recording material to light.
  • Shutter speed: This is the speed with which diaphragm/ shutter of camera lens is opened/closed, thus determining the time for which the film/imaging sensor has been exposed to light. The aperture and shutter speed combined define the clarity and sharpness of the image.

Conclusion
So covering the few concepts and applications does not say it all. There is a lot more to go. But as said earlier the topic itself is too vast to even touch upon all the aspects of Photography. All I can say is this is just a welcome note to this lovely and intriguing world of Photography. There is lot more to explore, cognize and talk about.