Photography Magazine

Did you know that the first people to use a camera-like apparatus (the camera obscura) were in fact artists who needed to trace out the image of the landscape (or whatever subject before them)? Once they traced out the outline of the scene, they could go home and make their image at peace, with the right perspectives. After this, the eventual and logical next step was to try and capture the ‘tracing’ on a paper rather than hand-draw it. And this is what led to the birth of the classic black and white process we are so very familiar with today. Many different light sensitive processes and chemical coatings were used and experimented with until the silver halide was accepted as the most dependable. This is what we shall speak about…

 

The black and white photo chemical process involves three basic steps (be it paper or negative) - developing of the light sensitive material/ a water bath and finally making it a permanent impression using a fixing chemical. The black and white process is a fairly simple one compared to the later color chemical procedure, and can easily be undertaken in the comfort of a light tight room at your house. One of the most common developing agents or ‘developers’ as they are commonly called, was the D-76 chemical. You can purchase it at photo markets all over the world. Apart from this developer you will need to get a bit of ‘fixer’ or simply a small amount oh hypo crystals to begin processing your own black and white negatives or prints. Of course you will need three trays for the three stages of the process - developing, water wash and fixing.

 

Take the exposed film out of the camera in a light tight room. Take care that the room is completely light tight. Even a speck of a light leak can ‘fog’ your film and make it appear overexposed and over softened. As an alternative one could always use a developing tank to process an entire roll of film.

 

The film tank can develop an entire roll of film, and all you need is to load it in the dark, after which the lights can be turned on. Whatever method you choose, leave your film in the developer for about 5-7 minutes (check the developer packing for accurate instructions), after which the film needs to be immersed in a water bath for about 5-7 minutes. In case of the developing tank, you may agitate the tank mildly to ‘wash’ the film well. Once this stage is past, remember - the film is already developed but it is still light sensitive, which means it would eventually turn black if exposed to light. So - the final stage of fixing in the fixer (or hypo crystals) removes the light sensitivity of the film, and thereby ‘fixing’ the image. The lights can be turned on after about 6 minutes in the fixer, after which it is recommended you leave it immersed for another 10 minutes.

Since the launch of digital camera, enjoying photography has become a common hobby. Digital cameras are easy to use and affordable. Amateurs have started to use digital cameras more often while professionals use the DSLR or digital SLR.Cameras as we all know, is used for recording images. Point-and-shoot cameras record still images, video cameras are used for recording movements as the name suggest while digital cameras can record both still images and moving pictures. They have become popular because you can capture various emotions, colors, motions and much more.The most commonly used still camera is the 35 mm and it gets its name from the 35 mm film that is used. A basic camera digital or point-and-shoot consists of primarily six basic components. The components are: •

• Viewfinder 

The viewfinder enables a photographer to see the subject. There are basically two types of camera viewfinders. The first type will allow you to look through the lens of the camera while the other will enable you to view at a plane parallel to the camera lens. Viewfinders are there in all single lens reflex (SLR) cameras, point-and-shoot cameras and a few digital cameras.  

 

• Focusing mechanism

SLR and DSLR cameras have another mechanism called the focusing mechanism, which is normally not there in Point-and-shoot cameras. Normally you can focus well using the viewfinder itself but SLR has focusing meters. The second option is to pick up a camera with a removable prism. Professionals also use the Hartmann Mask for focusing purposes. Hartmann Mask was initially devised and used for telescopes. Most cameras these days have auto focus mechanisms that have made focusing much easier.

 

• Shutter

The camera shutter is a device that enables light to enter through the lens for a small period of time to enhance the exposing of photographic film. There are two positions for fitting camera shutters: The different types of shutters used in modern day cameras include leaf shutters, diaphragm shutters, focal plane shutter, projector shutter and central shutters.

 

 

 

• Lens

This is considered to be the most important part of the camera. It is a far more important than the glossy dials and other advanced features that are a part and parcel of modern day digital cameras. A basic camera lens comprises of multiple elements that will help you to add a creative element to your photography. The multiple elements in a camera lens help in directing light to the camera sensors so that it can get a high clarity of the object being shot. The main aim of the lens and its multiple elements is to reduce any kind of aberrations. One of the frequently faced problems is that of chromatic aberration, which can lead to blurring and difficulty in color alignment. This problem arises when the lens is of poor quality.The second most important aspect of a lens is the focal length. The focal length helps in determining the magnification of a subject. It plays an important role in SLR or DSLR cameras. If you buy a wide angle lens then the focal length will be smaller and for a tele-zoom lens, the focal length will be larger. Apart from this, focal length of a camera lens will also determine the depth and the perspective of any image. Here are the different types of focal lengths commonly used in SLR cameras:

Focal Length between 21-35mm: Wide Angle lens: This is used for landscape photography

Focal Length between 35-70mm: Normal lens. It is used for standard/hobby photography

Focal Length between 70-135mm: Medium Telephoto: This is mostly used for Portraiture

Focal Length between 135-300+ mm: Tele Zoom. This is used for wildlife, nature, birds and sports photography

 

• Body

The body of the camera helps in limiting the amount of light that exposes the sensitive film.

 

 

 

 

 

• Films

 

 

 

 

Films are used mostly in SLR and point and shoot cameras. There are different types of films available in color or black & white. Color films include slow films (25-64 ISO), medium films (100-200 ISO), fast films (400-1000 ISO) and ultrafast films (1600-3200 ISO).

There are many other independent and well as in-built parts, which play an important role in the final composition but are considered as secondary factors.