Photography: From Film to Digital
Photography is defined simply as taking photographs. In a bit more technical terms, photography is the capturing of light to create a two dimensional image on a medium such as film or digital media.
Photography can be a pursuit of pleasure or a pursuit of financial gain. Whether you do photography as a hobby for the sake of your own enjoyment or do photography as a professional pursuit, the quality of your photographs will influence how much benefit you get out of it.
Photographic technology has been rapidly advancing in recent years. During the film camera era, advances were slow. But in the digital camera era, the advances in technology have been rapid.
“Once the 35mm film SLR camera was the camera to own but now, there are digital SLR cameras like the Canon Rebel Xti that give the photographer great results with less frustration than their film counterparts” says Minneapolis photographer Bob Dale.
Digital photography, black and white photography, and color photography have all been popular photography forms for over a decade.
Black-and-white photography is often referred to as monochrome photography. Black-and-white photography is not just the original photography style; it has remained an artistic photography style. Though color photography has been around for many decades, the special contrasts created by black-and-white photography continued to be used for their artistic appeal. “Today Black-and-white photography is associated with “fine art” photography, as in the style of Ansel Adams landscape photos or the George Hurrell style of Hollywood portraits” says professional digital photographer Bob Dale.
It should be noted, however, that monochrome photos are not always strictly black and white; there are other hues as well based on the processed used. For instance, the Cyanotype process is used in monochrome photography that results in blue and white images, instead of black and white.
While mainstream color photography technology has only been around for several decades, color photography could be captured by scientists to some extent as early as the middle of the 19th century. Early color photography simply faded over short periods of time, but by 1861, James Clerk Maxwell managed to develop a permanent color photograph. These first color photographs were taken by three separate cameras capturing three separate colors.
It wasn’t until 1907 with the introduction of Autochrome that color photography took off. In 1932, Agfa introduced Agfacolor, a color film. In 1935, Kodak came out with Kodachrome, the first modern integrated tri-pack color film, which significantly simplified film processing. In 1963, Polaroid introduced the instant color film.
Digital technology now allows images to be captured in digital form. These images can be manipulated by other digital technology devices, rather than requiring manual film work. With a memory card, you can easily store thousands of pictures in digital form.
As you can imagine, photography that is done in digital form can be easily saved, manipulated, and shared with digital electronics. Instead of dealing with tedious chemical and image transfer processes, you can simply print your pictures straight from the digital media or from your computer.
Wedding photographers and portrait photographers find digital SLR cameras to be particularly indispensable. Photographs can be quickly printed out as proofs for customers to look over and make quick decisions about which photographs they wish to purchase.
Wedding photography is a complex form of portrait photography that requires the camera to have special capabilities that only digital SLRs have, such as making adjustments in low-light situations without a flash. The photographer also needs to be able to take great photographs of the dress, cake, and guests and quickly review them to make sure they’re good before the opportunity passes by them.
Owning a digital camera is now easier than ever. The price for an entry-level camera has dropped significantly over the past few years, and this can be attributed to increased competition among digital camera manufacturers. There are small digital cameras that cost under $100, and these are great for the casual photographer who just wants to take pictures of friends and family.
When you find that digital photography is fun, but your camera doesn’t do as much as you want to do, it is time for a digital SLR camera that can deliver professional quality photography. You may even find yourself a digital photography professional before long.
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