Sunday, June 28, 2009

Photography_What is It?

Something about Photography

The word ‘Digital’ has become very popular in every field during the last two decades. Photography is also not left behind in the flow of digitization, as this is benefiting people with more opportunities of speed, comfort and other technical facilities due to which people are adopting this digital technology faster in their daily lives. As a result of this the work which took a whole day before, it is completed with in an hour with the advent of digitization. Even earlier in case of film photography the snaps were taken and it took nearly 24 hours to develop the negative into photograph. But now-a-days as soon as the digital camera clicks, the pictures come immediately with the help of computer science and the best picture can be selected for printing. It must be noted that digital photography id hugely in photojournalism or press photography and almost every print medium uses digital camera for its speed and instant result.

With the birth of photography in 1839, conventional photography had covered a long journey to reach to its mature stage. 20th century witnessed the use of TLR and SLR in photojournalism. But from 1960s the inclusion of electronic flash, motor drive, auto focus lenses, and other instruments made the task of photojournalism much easier by adding a new zeal to photography. Then came the digital technology in photography in 70s and by 90s the digital photography became quite popular but in a country like India the cost of purchasing a digital camera was nearly out of reach and so, everyone could not afford a digital camera even if they wished. But in the recent decade the price has been lowered down for different reasons.

Communication is a process of sender, vehicle and receiver. News paper, radio, television, music, film, book, web, advertisement, and public relation these all are means of communication. Pictures are very important component of these means of communication. In every communication process we can see the use of pictures, be it still or movie. We can see it even in the web medium. Photographs can make any communication more effective. We cannot see any print publication without a picture. Photographs are more effective and believable than a written document. A news paper without any picture is like a garden without flower.

‘PHOTOGRAPHY’ as hear this word, we think that photo captured in a friendly picnic, in a family function, or any festival or tour photos of sea beach, hill where photos are captured without any labour and thinking. Only click the button and next day give the film roll or memory chip to the photo lab and get the print within two or three hours. Now it became simpler. This facility is also available in Mobile phones. Just press the button of your phone and get the image. How easy is it !!

But really is it so easy? Dose any question arise in your mind that where the word ‘Photography’ comes from? How a picture is captured within a fraction of seconds? In digital there are no film rolls, then where the captured picture is saved and how?

There are so many people who want to know the answer of these questions. Like these questions there are many more which knocks me. Thus I am started my search in the field of Photography. In the year 2004, I had attended a photography workshop and that broadened my vision about the subject. Since then I have taken up photography seriously. With the constant persuasion in this field, today I feel it is a passion for me. I have also been wondering to switch my passion into a profession. With my education in photography, simultaneously with Journalism offers me options of becoming a Photojournalist. I will be able to enlarge my knowledge in this field through this study. Along with the career development opportunities this sector will be satisfy my urge to know more about photography in general and digital photography in particular. Digital Photographic Systems is a growing technology and it is yet to mature. It is also a fast changing process. With these difficulties those who have adapted to the new technology, a majority of them are working on a trial and error basis. Different makes of hardware have different special characteristics. There are not many books available to learn the process properly. A book that is two years old proves to be of no use for the fast technological changes that has taken place by then. There are very few institutes in the country that devote to the teaching of photography as a subject and teaching digital photography is even rarer. Young aspiring students intending to take photojournalism as a career finds it difficult to learn and step forward into this profession. Keeping in mind the above mentioned conditions I intend to dig into the process of digital photography – from its historical developments to the present state of affairs. I also like to assess the future prospects, conditions of adaptability and its expected percentage, keeping in view the constraints in our socio-economic conditions.

During my master degree course I did my specialization on Photojournalism. This time also I find a person who teaches me the three of photography from root. After completing my masters I came to Delhi and join the photographic course in The School of Fototechnik. After completing the photographic course I feel that the faculty of this photographic school, Mr. T. Dasgupta is a one of the best teacher of photography in India. The way Mr. Dasgupta teaching is very difficult to teach but easier to learn photography. As a student of a communication I never saw such kind of good communicator as well as a teacher in my life. The course fee of this institute is very much reasonable in compare to the other photographic institute in India. If any one really wants to studying photography, my suggestion is meet Mr. T. Dasgupta at least one time.

Photography is a process of recording visible and invisible images with the action of light. The word ‘Photography’ comes from two Greek words – ‘PHOTO’ – it means ‘LIGHT’ and ‘GRAPHOS’ or ‘GRAPHIN’- it means ‘WRITING’. So photography means writing with light. Thus photography is the method of sketching with the light like painter with the brush. Famous British scientist Sir John Frederick William Harschel suggested the mane ‘PHOTOGRAPHY’ to William Henary Fox Talbot in a letter dated 28th February in 1839. Light is an electromagnetic energy which passes through a straight line. It is seen that, in a dark room when sunlight passes through a Pin-hole, an inverted image is created on the opposite side of the pin-hole in the dark room which is called Optical Principal.




June, 2009 Saurav Chakraborty
Freelance Photographer
New Delhi
Ph: 09818502567
To be continued………………………………………………………………..