تويت
التصوير الفوتوغرافي - وثائقي و اخبار - تاريخ - البحث والصناعة .. المرشد خطوة بخطوة للتصوير الفوتوغرافي
Documentary and news
Photography is generally regarded as truthful and accurate . Cameras document stolen property , damage and injury , and forensic detail as well as criminal acts . In a Court of Law such photographs are objective evidence . We talk of infallible . " photographic " memories , and we readily believe what we see in pictures . This is partly because the interpretation that goes into a photograph is not always as obvious as in a drawing or painting . We are most satisfied with " real " visual confirmation of events and situations . But as the camera is essentially only a tool in human hands , the pictures it produces can be as subjective and sometimes as biased as any other recording medium .
The first consideration of documentary pictures is that all the elements of good picture building should be concentrated into expressing the particular event . But also documentary and news pictures have a strong purpose or message to communicate . Documentary photographs taken during the exploration of the American West helped to persuade the American authorities to delimit Yellowstone National Park . Social reformers Jacob Riis and Louis Hine took photographs as evidence of child labor abuse and wretched housing conditions in New York in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century . Farm Security Administration photographers produced thousands of pictures to show the plight of Midwest farmers during the Depression in the 1930s . The success of these pictures is that they captured the facts and conveyed their message so well that public opinion was stirred and reforms were introduced .
The " frozen " quality of a still photograph can be more powerful than a newsreel . The Vietnam war is the most highly documented conflict in history , but of all the thousands of feet of motion picture film shot , often the most poignant records are still photographs . It is this power that has made the camera a vital piece of equipment not only for those who document events for historical or simply news purposes but also for those who want to stimulate changes or reforms .
Although visual evidence is hard to disbelieve , documentary and news pictures are rarely objective . The photographer usually expresses his opinion of an event through his photographs . If he is photographing bad housing conditions he can choose to dramatize them to make a more powerful image -he can choose to ignore or play down certain aspects . This bias in documentary and news photography can often be introduced in unexpected ways . The very presence of a photographer can sometimes encourage an event to happen , just for the camera . A political demonstration , for example , can become more violent when those involved realize that it will be recorded on film . Photographers are seldom responsible for the final way their work is presented and used . How a picture is cropped , its position in relation to other photographs , and the wording of captions can change , transforming or even distorting the original content .
The Camera and History The camera is a device for recording moments in time . The realism and detail of photographs can take you back to an earlier age , providing accurate historical documents of important events and everyday life . Until 1839 all visual records were drawings , engravings or paintings . We have photographs of the Civil War but not the War of Independence ; we can see how Lincoln really looked , but not George Washington . Queen Victoria was the first monarch to be recorded by the new process .
The Crimean War ( 1853-6 ) was the first conflict to be recorded by camera . The limitations of the process and the sentiment of the time influenced the way things were actually shown . The photographer - Roger Fenton - used a 20 x 16 ins camera and glass plates which had to be coated with light- sensitive collodion in a mobile darkroom immediately before exposure . He could not possibly show cavalry charging or the cannons firing because he had to use long exposure times . So Fenton's pictures are limited to scenes of the damage and carnage after battle , and groups of soldiers posed outside their tents . Similarly , most nineteenth century portraits and scenes are " set pieces " in the formal artistic style of the day .
The situation changed during the 1870s and 80s when hand cameras and faster , more sensitive photographic materials made it possible to take " instantaneous " pictures almost anywhere . Some museums were quick to see the importance of gathering photographs showing contemporary life , rather than the contrived , posed camera work which was then considered good enough for photographic exhibitions . Today these collections are valuable references , but often for reasons unforeseen at the time of taking the picture . They show the everyday clothes , the forms of transport , buildings and streets , the advertisements , even the attitudes and manners of the time .
Uses of photography in research and industry
No center for medical , industrial or scientific research would be properly equipped without photographic facilities . Medical research cameras are attached to various sorts of microscopes to record bacteria and viruses within our bodies . Because photographic materials are sensitive to X - ray wavelengths as well as visible light , X - ray radiographs can be made of the internal parts of our bones . X - ray sources linked to computers can record on film selected cross - sections of any part of the living , human body , enabling doctors and specialists to diagnose accurately physical complaints .
X - rays are also used in industry for detecting cracks , faulty casting and welding , and fatigue in metals . No aircraft would be test - flown without special photographic cameras first monitor- ing its fuselage . In map making , aircraft ( and satellites ) carry cameras able to record the layout of ground detail with great precision . Pictures from pairs of cameras are analyzed by lasers and fed through computers to read out as contour maps .
Minute printed circuits of very great complexity can be produced by photography . A large scale drawing of the circuit is photographed and then reduced down to micro size and printed on to a metal surface which is etched to form an electrical circuit . Circuits like these are now built into cameras , and practically every form of compact electronic device .
The words you are reading now have been exposed from a master negative of alphabet characters on to a large sheet of photographic film . The machine which does this works like a very sophisticated typewriter , using light instead of ink . The film is then exposed on to a light - sensitized metal surface , and from this the book is finally printed . Illustrations are shot on high- contrast film that reduces everything to either black or white . The film is developed , producing a line negative from which the plate for printing is made .
Photography and scientific research The ability of the camera to " freeze " movement is invaluable to the scientific study of motion and change . It can provide information on anything from the formation of a wave of water to the strength of a material . The picture above shows the progressive disintegration of three balloons which have been burst by a single bullet .
Photography and X - rays Photographic materials can record X - rays enabling the camera to take " pictures " of the internal structure of visually opaque objects . These images can be of aesthetic and scientific interest , such as that of the
snake , shown left . The cross - section of the human body , above , was produced for medical diagnosis , using a computer . It shows the human abdomen , with the kidneys and spine clearly visible .
Taking your own photographs
As a method of making pictures photography can be used by everyone - it does not require either drawing or scientific skills . Thousands of " snapshots " are taken every day by non - experts , without any artistic knowledge or commercial aim . Mostly these are simple personal records of people , places , and events .
Most people are dissatisfied with their photographs and conscious they could do better . Usually things could be improved by a little more experience of picture making , and more understanding of how the camera itself controls results . Of course there is a danger of going too far in both these areas . You might end up taking only " picturesque " images and ignore the camera techniques which could improve your results . At the other extreme , you may become so deeply absorbed in the way the camera actually works , so that your pictures are technically good but visually uninteresting .
Somewhere between these extremes there is room to learn more about photography , taking it to whatever level your time and interest allows . The pages which follow offer that choice . The information and advice they contain will give you ideas for improvements , suggest where you may be going wrong , show how you might develop your photographic ability . As a whole it aims to strike a balance between the processes and techniques , and the more subjective aspects of picture building . It does not intend to tell you which way you should choose to go . But it will show some of the options , then leave you to move forward using your own imagination and ideas .
Photography and History The pictures , right and bottom , are examples of the important part that photography plays in providing us with social and historical documents . The photographs of the Generals in the US Civil War and London in the 1890s , below , are permanent historical records .
Photography and news Since its earliest days the ability of the camera to record the instantaneous , newsworthy event was widely exploited . The pictures , above and right , show two such moments - the dramatic Hindenburg disaster in 1937 and the murder of President Kennedy's assassin in 1963 .
Documentary and news
Photography is generally regarded as truthful and accurate . Cameras document stolen property , damage and injury , and forensic detail as well as criminal acts . In a Court of Law such photographs are objective evidence . We talk of infallible . " photographic " memories , and we readily believe what we see in pictures . This is partly because the interpretation that goes into a photograph is not always as obvious as in a drawing or painting . We are most satisfied with " real " visual confirmation of events and situations . But as the camera is essentially only a tool in human hands , the pictures it produces can be as subjective and sometimes as biased as any other recording medium .
The first consideration of documentary pictures is that all the elements of good picture building should be concentrated into expressing the particular event . But also documentary and news pictures have a strong purpose or message to communicate . Documentary photographs taken during the exploration of the American West helped to persuade the American authorities to delimit Yellowstone National Park . Social reformers Jacob Riis and Louis Hine took photographs as evidence of child labor abuse and wretched housing conditions in New York in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century . Farm Security Administration photographers produced thousands of pictures to show the plight of Midwest farmers during the Depression in the 1930s . The success of these pictures is that they captured the facts and conveyed their message so well that public opinion was stirred and reforms were introduced .
The " frozen " quality of a still photograph can be more powerful than a newsreel . The Vietnam war is the most highly documented conflict in history , but of all the thousands of feet of motion picture film shot , often the most poignant records are still photographs . It is this power that has made the camera a vital piece of equipment not only for those who document events for historical or simply news purposes but also for those who want to stimulate changes or reforms .
Although visual evidence is hard to disbelieve , documentary and news pictures are rarely objective . The photographer usually expresses his opinion of an event through his photographs . If he is photographing bad housing conditions he can choose to dramatize them to make a more powerful image -he can choose to ignore or play down certain aspects . This bias in documentary and news photography can often be introduced in unexpected ways . The very presence of a photographer can sometimes encourage an event to happen , just for the camera . A political demonstration , for example , can become more violent when those involved realize that it will be recorded on film . Photographers are seldom responsible for the final way their work is presented and used . How a picture is cropped , its position in relation to other photographs , and the wording of captions can change , transforming or even distorting the original content .
The Camera and History The camera is a device for recording moments in time . The realism and detail of photographs can take you back to an earlier age , providing accurate historical documents of important events and everyday life . Until 1839 all visual records were drawings , engravings or paintings . We have photographs of the Civil War but not the War of Independence ; we can see how Lincoln really looked , but not George Washington . Queen Victoria was the first monarch to be recorded by the new process .
The Crimean War ( 1853-6 ) was the first conflict to be recorded by camera . The limitations of the process and the sentiment of the time influenced the way things were actually shown . The photographer - Roger Fenton - used a 20 x 16 ins camera and glass plates which had to be coated with light- sensitive collodion in a mobile darkroom immediately before exposure . He could not possibly show cavalry charging or the cannons firing because he had to use long exposure times . So Fenton's pictures are limited to scenes of the damage and carnage after battle , and groups of soldiers posed outside their tents . Similarly , most nineteenth century portraits and scenes are " set pieces " in the formal artistic style of the day .
The situation changed during the 1870s and 80s when hand cameras and faster , more sensitive photographic materials made it possible to take " instantaneous " pictures almost anywhere . Some museums were quick to see the importance of gathering photographs showing contemporary life , rather than the contrived , posed camera work which was then considered good enough for photographic exhibitions . Today these collections are valuable references , but often for reasons unforeseen at the time of taking the picture . They show the everyday clothes , the forms of transport , buildings and streets , the advertisements , even the attitudes and manners of the time .
Uses of photography in research and industry
No center for medical , industrial or scientific research would be properly equipped without photographic facilities . Medical research cameras are attached to various sorts of microscopes to record bacteria and viruses within our bodies . Because photographic materials are sensitive to X - ray wavelengths as well as visible light , X - ray radiographs can be made of the internal parts of our bones . X - ray sources linked to computers can record on film selected cross - sections of any part of the living , human body , enabling doctors and specialists to diagnose accurately physical complaints .
X - rays are also used in industry for detecting cracks , faulty casting and welding , and fatigue in metals . No aircraft would be test - flown without special photographic cameras first monitor- ing its fuselage . In map making , aircraft ( and satellites ) carry cameras able to record the layout of ground detail with great precision . Pictures from pairs of cameras are analyzed by lasers and fed through computers to read out as contour maps .
Minute printed circuits of very great complexity can be produced by photography . A large scale drawing of the circuit is photographed and then reduced down to micro size and printed on to a metal surface which is etched to form an electrical circuit . Circuits like these are now built into cameras , and practically every form of compact electronic device .
The words you are reading now have been exposed from a master negative of alphabet characters on to a large sheet of photographic film . The machine which does this works like a very sophisticated typewriter , using light instead of ink . The film is then exposed on to a light - sensitized metal surface , and from this the book is finally printed . Illustrations are shot on high- contrast film that reduces everything to either black or white . The film is developed , producing a line negative from which the plate for printing is made .
Photography and scientific research The ability of the camera to " freeze " movement is invaluable to the scientific study of motion and change . It can provide information on anything from the formation of a wave of water to the strength of a material . The picture above shows the progressive disintegration of three balloons which have been burst by a single bullet .
Photography and X - rays Photographic materials can record X - rays enabling the camera to take " pictures " of the internal structure of visually opaque objects . These images can be of aesthetic and scientific interest , such as that of the
snake , shown left . The cross - section of the human body , above , was produced for medical diagnosis , using a computer . It shows the human abdomen , with the kidneys and spine clearly visible .
Taking your own photographs
As a method of making pictures photography can be used by everyone - it does not require either drawing or scientific skills . Thousands of " snapshots " are taken every day by non - experts , without any artistic knowledge or commercial aim . Mostly these are simple personal records of people , places , and events .
Most people are dissatisfied with their photographs and conscious they could do better . Usually things could be improved by a little more experience of picture making , and more understanding of how the camera itself controls results . Of course there is a danger of going too far in both these areas . You might end up taking only " picturesque " images and ignore the camera techniques which could improve your results . At the other extreme , you may become so deeply absorbed in the way the camera actually works , so that your pictures are technically good but visually uninteresting .
Somewhere between these extremes there is room to learn more about photography , taking it to whatever level your time and interest allows . The pages which follow offer that choice . The information and advice they contain will give you ideas for improvements , suggest where you may be going wrong , show how you might develop your photographic ability . As a whole it aims to strike a balance between the processes and techniques , and the more subjective aspects of picture building . It does not intend to tell you which way you should choose to go . But it will show some of the options , then leave you to move forward using your own imagination and ideas .
Photography and History The pictures , right and bottom , are examples of the important part that photography plays in providing us with social and historical documents . The photographs of the Generals in the US Civil War and London in the 1890s , below , are permanent historical records .
Photography and news Since its earliest days the ability of the camera to record the instantaneous , newsworthy event was widely exploited . The pictures , above and right , show two such moments - the dramatic Hindenburg disaster in 1937 and the murder of President Kennedy's assassin in 1963 .
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