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"Pictures, regardless
of how they are created and recreated, are
intended to be looked at. This brings to the
forefront not the technology of imaging, which
of course is important, but rather what we might
call the eyenology (seeing)." From ~ Henri
Cartier-Bresson |
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"Simply look with
perceptive eyes at the world about you, and
trust to your own reactions and convictions. Ask
yourself: "Does this subject move me to feel,
think and dream? Can I visualize a print - my
own personal statement of what I feel and want
to convey - from the subject before me?" From ~
Ansel Adams |
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"The very secret of
life for me...was to maintain in the midst of
rushing events an inner tranquillity. I had
picked a life that dealt with excitement,
tragedy, mass calamities, human triumphs and
suffering. To throw my whole self into recording
and attempting to understand these things, I
needed an inner serenity as a kind of
balance." ~ Margaret
Bourke-White |
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Quick Definitions
!!
MEGAPIXEL =
One-million pixels, a unit of measurement in an
image. This number will determine the quality of
the image. Think of it as the number of dots in
your picture. A low density of dots will result
in a poor image.
DPI= "Standing for
dots per inch, this refers to the resolution of
an image. The higher the DPI, the better the
detail of an image. It is a measurement of the
number of dots found in a one-inch square of an
image."
IMAGE FORMAT = "This
is the manner in which digital images are
stored. There are numerous ways to store an
image, and the most popular are jpeg, gif, tiff,
bitmap and the more complicated raw files. You
can identify which format is used by looking at
the end of the file name after the period. For
example, picture.jpg is a jpeg
file."
PICTBRIDGE = "This is
a universal direct-print standard adopted by
most digital camera manufacturers. It allows
digital camera users to connect directly to
printers which have this feature to print
without the use of a computer
liaison."
SOURCE: Michael Carr
at about.com
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Digital Photographer's
Resources
Digital Photograph from NASA
"One hundred and sixty years after the
invention of photography, an enemy rose above
the horizon. Digital imaging threatened to sweep
away film, make the darkroom redundant, and
exile the hard-won craft skills of
picture-making. In a short time, the threat grew
as numerous new enemies appeared, in the shape
of more and more digital cameras, scanners,
image-manipulation software, and the Web, all
banding together to raze conventional
photography to the ground.
Photographers watched with steadily
increasing apprehension, but the threat turned
out to be the best friend photography could have
hoped for. Instead to opposing conventional
photography, digital technologies have in fact
revitalized whole swaths of photographic
practice. Traditional techniques--in use of both
the camera and lens, as well as darkroom
manipulations--fully retained their relevance as
the foundation upon which many digital advances
were based; this is reflected in references to
film-based techniques. Indeed, the union of
conventional photography with digital technology
has turned out to be incredibly fertile,
providing us with new worlds of practical,
creative, and enjoyable potentialities."
~~Tom Ang. Digital Photographer's
Handbook. 3rd Edition. London: Dorling
Kindersley, 2006.
In photography, digital is to film as HD
DVDs are to video cassettes; but, for those who
have not yet fully entered the digital age, this
page points to some of the resources available
to ease the entry into the wide world of digital
photography. Many of these resources are online
sites that explore and explain some of the
possibilities of digital photography or provide
lists of software to help you in the process,
but there are also lists of print sources for
those of you who would still rather curl up with
a book than with your computer.
If you have not yet purchased a digital
camera, think carefully about what you want to
do with your camera. Do you simply want to get
better photos of family gatherings and the
places you visit and then share them
electronically or do you expect to try you hand
at a new form of artistic expression? In any
case, the first step is to thoroughly explore,
and play with, all the possibilities of the
particular camera you will use. It is not just
the number of pixels to be considered but the
whole range of capabilities. The software that
comes with the camera will undoubtedly allow
simple cropping and a “quick fix” to adjust
color and eliminate red eye.
More complex manipulations of visual
elements require additional software packages
with costs that vary greatly, as do their
capabilities. Photoshop Elements, at just under
$100, will probably allow for all the
enhancement and manipulation required for most
amateur photographers, including those
experimenting with faux-photography. Before
investing in the complete Adobe Photoshop and/or
Corel Painterr, be certain that these powerful
software packages are necessary and appropriate
for what you want to accomplish. Some software
is so complex that the amount of both time and
money involved may not be worth the
investment. |
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Outstanding
Opportunities to Learn
Adobe Photoshop Basics Course
Online or send for email copy! It will only
help if you have Photoshop on your computer.
Adobe Photoshop Elements Basic
Course Oline offers free tutorials for the
use of this software.
About Life: The Photographs of
Dorothea Lange: This curriculum offered
electronically through the Getty Museum, which
focuses on Dorothea Lange and her photography,
helps photographers to visualize history and
explore their own creativity through art and
writing activities. This also gives you access
to the Getty for additional
resources.
In looking for a comparative chart of
cameras and other media you will find ViewScore: A Product
review to be quite useful.
Kodak Education Site. This site
includes excellent details and courses on
digital imaging.
Although primarily designed for young
people, this website offers a great deal
of sound help if you are willing to browse
through the website to find needed
information.
Selected
Museums for Digital Photography
MOCA: The Museum of Computer Art
MOCA is one of the most heavily-trafficked,
comprehensive, frequently-updated and respected
computer art museums on the Web. Extraordinary
images using a variety of
technologies.
The George Eastman House of
International Photography and Film The
photography collection includes more than
400,000 photographs and negatives dating from
the invention of photography to the present day.
The collection embraces numerous landmark
processes, objects of great rarity, and
monuments of art history that trace the
evolution of the medium as a technology, as a
means of scientific and historical
documentation, and as one of the most potent and
accessible means of personal expression of the
modern era. More than 14,000 photographers are
represented in the collection, including
virtually all the major figures in the history
of the medium.
Australian Center for Photography,
Paddington, Australia Established in 1973,
it is the ACP's mission to promote and enrich
the understanding of photo-based art in
Australia and this is achieved through a dynamic
mix of exhibition, education and
publication.
International Center of
Photography,New York The International
Center of Photography is a museum, a school and
a center for photographers and photography.
ICP's mission is to present photography's vital
and central place in contemporary culture, and
to lead in interpretation of issues central to
its development.
Kiyosato Museum of Photographic
Arts, Kiyosato, JapanThe Museum embraces
photographic art made in the affirmation of
life. Work from all countries from 1900 to the
present is represented.
American Museum of
PhotographyThis is a virtual museum with
with outstanding exhibits including "How the
Camera Learned to Lie." Their site presents
the text and photos to make the points most
clear.
Maya-Archaeology.org
Maya-archaeology.org covers Mayan, Olmec,
Teotihuacan art, architecture, deities,
hieroglyphic writing and the latest digital
photography, 35mm film and flatbed scanner
technology for recording the artifacts and
pyramid-temple and palace architectural remains
of these fascinating ancient civilizations. New,
helpful hints to improve the quality of your
photography, especially for professional
photography in museums or on archaeological
expeditions.
Selected
Books for Digital Photography
Aaland, Mikkel. Photoshop CS2 RAW:
Using Adobe Camera Raw, Bridge, and Photoshop to
Get the Most out of Your Digital Camera.
O'Reilly Media, Incorporated, 2006.
The primary focus of Photoshop RAW is, as the
title suggests, Photoshop editing technique:
automating RAW workflow, correcting exposures,
extending exposure range, manipulating grayscale
and working with the new DNG (Digital Negative)
open standard that Adobe supports.
Ang, Tom. digital photographer’s
handbook. 3rd Edition. London: Dorling
Kindersley, 2006.
Clear and jargon-free text that demystifies
technical elements in digital photography.
Excellent images to support directives.
Beardsworth, John. Photoshop Blending
Modes Cookbook for Digital Photographers.
O'Reilly Media, Incorporated. 2005.
Photoshop Blending Modes Cookbook for Digital
Photographers is the only recipe-format book
that covers blending modes specifically for
digital photographers.
Beardsworth, John. Photoshop Fine Art
Effects Cookbook: 62 Easy-To-Follow Recipes for
Creating the Classic Styles of Great Artists and
Photographers. O'Reilly Media, Incorporated.
2006.
The book tells you all you need to know to
turn your original digital photographs into
images that mimic the styles of great
photographers and painters. From advice on how
to develop an eye for appropriate subject matter
to 62 detailed recipes that demonstrate exactly
how to create an "original" van Gogh, Vermeer,
Edward Weston, or Andy Warhol (among others),
this book is an authentic guide to understanding
and simulating the work of great artists-and a
whole lot of fun.
De Wolfe, George. George DeWolfe's
Digital Photography Fine Print Workshop. New
York: McGraw Hill, 2006.
Renowned photographer and lecturer George
DeWolfe shares his established, straightforward,
and effective method for shooting, editing, and
printing high-quality black & white and
color digital images in this full-color book. He
explains his "16-bit workflow" technique for
taking great digital pictures, preparing them on
a computer, and consistently producing beautiful
fine art prints. You'll also learn how to set up
a successful "closed loop" environment--one in
which the photographer does everything on his or
her own, sending nothing out for
development.
Kenworthy, Chris. Photoshop Filter
Effects Encyclopedia. Ilex Press Ltd,
O'Reilly Media, Incorporated. 2005.
Careful instructions on the creation of
digital effects.
Digital Photography
Magazines
The websites below are the official sites
for printed magazines, but these online sites
themselves provides a wealth of information
including reviews, tips, and buying guides,
articles, tutorials, and examples of outstanding
photographs. If you like what you see on the
website, check your news stand to compare the
hard copy content. Magazines from the UK have
been included because their site is so useful,
even if the print version may not be readily
available.
Digital Camera: Guide to
Electronic Photography and Imaging
Digital Camera: The Magazine for
Today’s Photographer
(The home of both Popular
Photography & Imaging and American PHOTO
Magazines)
Shutterbug: Tools, Techniques
& Creativity
What Digital Camera: The UK’s Best
Digital Photography Magazine
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