Silent Devotion

Photography can be defined as the action of capturing photographs. In simple, yet technical terms, photography is the capturing of light and recording it onto another medium such as film or digital media.

Photography can be beneficial both for financial gain or personal pleasure. Those who do photography as a hobby find that it can be very fulfilling, while those who do it for a living can find that the better their photography is the more financially rewarding it can be.

Over the years the technology behind photography has advanced quite a bit. While advances were made during the film era, they were slow. Now, in the digital era, rapid advances have made the digital camera very popular.

“Once the 35mm film SLR camera was the camera to own but now, there are digital SLR cameras like the Canon Rebel Xti that give the photographer great results with less frustration than their film counterparts” says Minneapolis photographer Bob Dale.

Digital photography, black and white photography, and color photography have all been popular photography forms for over a decade.

Black-and-white photography is also known as monochrome photography. The early photographs and many photographs today are still in black and white. This type of photography continued to dominate for several decades even with the advent of color film, mainly because it was inexpensive and gave photographs that classic look.

It should be noted, however, that monochrome photos are not always strictly black and white; there are other hues as well based on the processed used. For instance, the Cyanotype process is used in monochrome photography that results in blue and white images, instead of black and white.

In the mid-1800s, experiments on color photography began. During this time, color couldn’t be fixed on the photographs and the color couldn’t be prevented from fading. In 1861, however, a physicist named James Clerk Maxwell took the first permanent color photograph. Back then, three cameras were used to take color photos, with the lens on each of the three cameras having a color filter in front of it.

More than 40 years later, in 1907, Autochrome color photography became possible for professional photographers. It was 1932 when Agfacolor film came out. Modern color film came out with the 1935 Kodachrome film. Another big moment in color photography was the introduction of ‘instant’ color film by Polaroid in 1963.

Digital technology now allows images to be captured in digital form. These images can be manipulated by other digital technology devices, rather than requiring manual film work. With a memory card, you can easily store thousands of pictures in digital form.

These digital photos can be easily handled, manipulated, shared, displayed, or printed. Simply hooking the digital storage device up to a computer or a printer will allow the photographs to be quickly printed out at as high quality prints.

Wedding photographers and portrait photographers find digital SLR cameras to be particularly indispensable. Photographs can be quickly printed out as proofs for customers to look over and make quick decisions about which photographs they wish to purchase.

Most wedding photographers now use digital SLRs in their wedding photography business because these cameras enable them to take pictures of the wedding ceremony discretely, without using flash. At the wedding reception, they can take high quality photos of the bride’s wedding dress, the wedding cake, and wedding guests with a digital SLR that has a zoom lens.

Owning a digital camera is now easier than ever. The price for an entry-level camera has dropped significantly over the past few years, and this can be attributed to increased competition among digital camera manufacturers. There are small digital cameras that cost under $100, and these are great for the casual photographer who just wants to take pictures of friends and family.

As you become more experienced in digital photography, you may want to bring your hobby to the next level with a more advanced digital camera. You may even want to make a living off digital photography.