So, you are into digital photography. Do you know what a digital camera is?
Since digital photography is fairly new, let’s start with the very basics.
First, let’s look at the very minimum that is required for a camera. You might find this referred to as a shoebox or pinhole camera.
The first requirement for a camera is to have a light tight box. Inside the box is placed a light sensitive substance. This is done in some place where no light will hit the light sensitive substance. The box is then sealed in such a way that no light can enter it.
You now have a camera - a light tight box with a light sensitive substance inside it.
The other component that is required is a way to let light into the box so that it strikes the light sensitive substance.
Now, you take the box outside and point the side of the box that is opposite the light sensitive substance toward the subject that you want to take a picture of. Holding the box as still as possible, stick a pin into the side that is pointing toward the subject.
Remove the pen after a few seconds and seal the hole so that light can no longer enter the box. The light sensitive substance has been exposed and is ready for processing.
Thus, a camera consists of a light tight box, a light sensitive substance, a method to let light into the box, and then shut the light out again.
Advance a bit and put the light sensitive substance inside a light tight roll and you have a roll of film. Fix the box so that it will take the roll of film, roll it out, and then flatten it out. Replace the pen with a shutter mechanism to control how much and how long the light will strike the film. Add a way (a lens) to focus the light onto a piece of the film and you have the makings of a modern camera. Improve everything. Automate as much of the process as possible.
Advance several years and replace the film with a digital sensor to collect the light and you have a digital camera. Add a few years of sophisticated research and technology and you have a modern digital camera.
They come in all kinds of shapes and forms and they will take excellent pictures. In a film camera, all of the information required to produce the picture is contained in the film. In a digital camera, everything required to produce the picture is contained in the sensor.
Now, all that is needed is some way to process the information and produce a picture. Darkroom equipment is used for the film process. Computers, editing software, and a printer are used for the digital process.
In both the film and the digital world, the cameras have become so advanced that we call some of them point and shoot cameras.
But, great photography is not about point and shoot. It is about you, the photographer, controlling all aspects of the photographic process so that a great photograph is the end result.
A digital camera is a tool that the photographer uses to make photographs. It is a light collection device. It is a device that takes pictures. The photographer must determine the elements that are necessary to make the photograph.
In some cases, you, the photographer, may decide to use the point and shoot method. In other cases, you will decide that you need to control some aspect of the process. That is why the photographer makes the photograph, not the camera. The camera can handle the technical aspects; the photographer must handle the artistic aspects - to include but not limited to composition, control of light, depth of field, etc.
Whether you use a film camera or a digital camera, the end product will be the result of the decisions that you make. Digital photography is about you. Digital photography is great when you become involved in the process.
More on Digital Photography information at http://www.digitalphotohelps.com/
Copyright 2007 by Lonnie Minton, All rights reserved.
Tags: composition, digital camera, digital photography, digital sensor, photographer, pictures, take photographs
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