Saturday, April 18, 2009

Photography---A New Fad Or A Thriving Human Interest



Hi guys....Been awhile since the last post.Sorry i havent been able to post as much as i would have liked.Have been rather busy with work and all plus basically,i wanted to make sure my blog focus on good content and not just any topic.Substance & quality is important i feel and not just blog just for the sake of blogging.



Basically,today,our topic of discussion shall be on Photography.I'm not sure about people in other parts of the world,but here in Singapore,suddenly Photography seems to have become a new fad.Lots of people seem to have taken an interest into Photography and its kindda common to see teens and young adults bouncing around town with a camera in tow and just snapping away at will.I kindda wondered,well,since its sort of the "IN" thing this days,let's do some research on it and do a blog post on Photography.Besides,it's something i've been interested in since i was a teenager but i cant say i'm an expert in it.So here then now,starts our journey into the wonderful world of Photography......




What is Photography?

-Photography is the process,activity and art of creating still or moving pictures by recording radiation on a sensitive medium,such as a film,or an electronic sensor.Light patterns reflected or emitted from objects activate a sensitive chemical or electronic sensor during a timed exposure,usually through a photographic lens in a device known as a camera that also stores the resulting information chemically or electronically.Photography has many uses for business, science,art and pleasure.

In all but certain specialized cameras,the process of obtaining a usable exposure must involve the use,manually or automatically,of a few controls to ensure the photograph is clear,sharp and well illuminated.The controls usually include but are not limited to the following:


Focus- the adjustment to place the sharpest focus where it is desired on the subject.

Aperture–adjustment of the iris,measured as f-number,which controls the amount of light passing through the lens.Aperture also has an effect on focus and depth of field,namely,the smaller the opening aperture,the less light but the greater the depth of field--that is, the greater the range within which objects appear to be sharply focused.The current focal length divided by the f-number gives the actual aperture size in millimeters.

Shutter speed–adjustment of the speed (often expressed either as fractions of seconds or as an angle, with mechanical shutters) of the shutter to control the amount of time during which the imaging medium is exposed to light for each exposure.Shutter speed may be used to control the amount of light striking the image plane;'faster' shutter speeds (that is, those of shorter duration) decrease both the amount of light and the amount of image blurring from motion of the subject and/or camera.

White balance–on digital cameras,electronic compensation for the color temperature associated with a given set of lighting conditions,ensuring that white light is registered as such on the imaging chip and therefore that the colors in the frame will appear natural.On mechanical, film-based cameras,this function is served by the operator's choice of film stock or with color correction filters.In addition to using white balance to register natural coloration of the image, photographers may employ white balance to aesthetic end,for example white balancing to a blue object in order to obtain a warm color temperature.

Metering–measurement of exposure so that highlights and shadows are exposed according to the photographer's wishes.Many modern cameras meter and set exposure automatically.Before automatic exposure, correct exposure was accomplished with the use of a separate light metering device or by the photographer's knowledge and experience of gauging correct settings. To translate the amount of light into a usable aperture and shutter speed, the meter needs to adjust for the sensitivity of the film or sensor to light.This is done by setting the "film speed" or ISO sensitivity into the meter.

ISO speed–traditionally used to "tell the camera" the film speed of the selected film on film cameras, ISO speeds are employed on modern digital cameras as an indication of the system's gain from light to numerical output and to control the automatic exposure system.A correct combination of ISO speed,aperture,and shutter speed leads to an image that is neither too dark nor too light.

Auto-focus point–on some cameras,the selection of a point in the imaging frame upon which the auto-focus system will attempt to focus.Many Single-lens reflex cameras (SLR) feature multiple auto-focus points in the viewfinder.




There are alot more other functions,but if i'm gonna list them all down,u might end up dozing off even before u finish reading this blog post.So,i shall spare u through all those tons of details. =)

Now,there are many ongoing questions about different aspects of photography.It has been concluded that photography is a subjective discipline “to photograph is to appropriate the thing photographed.It means putting one’s self into a certain relation to the world that feels like knowledge,and therefore like power”.




Photographers decide what to take a photo of,what elements to exclude and what angle to frame the photo.Along with the context that a photograph is received in,photography is definitely a subjective form.




Photography is one of the new media forms that changes perception and changes the structure of society.Photography is both restricted and protected by the law in many jurisdictions. Protection of photographs is typically achieved through the granting of copyright or moral rights to the photographer.






Now without further a due,below are some some videos i've got for you guys to explain alittle about Photography and deepen your understanding about this great art.