Essay about Darkroom vs. Digital Photography

A reoccurring topic of the essays, concerning photography, discussed during the course is the future of professional photographers/photojournalists. Some believe that the easily accessible spread of amateur photography can and has put a strain on the works of professionals. However, with magazines such as National Geographic still in print after over a century, it raises some questions. Though the spread of information, and thus photography, has increased the platforms and need for professional photographers and photojournalists still exists.

Throughout all of high school my friends and I spent the majority of our days in the art room. It was always assumed that there would be at least a few of us there at all times, starting our days there, being excused by our teachers to go there during class, during lunch, between every class, and then for hours after school. The art room was practically a second home to all of us. With the best high school art program in the state paired with a school of students who have been taught to appreciate art all throughout school; amazing, talented, passionate art teachers; and extremely dedicated art students who, on top of normal classes, were taking on very intense art courses, those who invested the time became quite advanced art students.

The photograph is a very powerful medium. The French painter Paul Delaroche exclaimed upon seeing an early photograph “from now on, painting is dead!” (Sayre, 2000). Many critics did not take photography seriously as a legitimate art form until the 20th century. With the

Between the use of film or digital photography, film is the more effective method when looking for originality and creativity. With the adoption of digital photography, the younger generations, as well as the older and more current photographers are becoming lazy. These groups must recognize that the art of the photograph is being jeopardized by the digital camera and the camera phone. For the current photographers as well as amateur photographers, this essay will serve as testimony to film as well as other chemical methods, and how they shouldn’t be ignored, but preferred. The digital era has had a massive impact on the art world and all of its mediums, but for photography this impact has resulted in the removal of the human from the photograph making process. This intimate process is what makes it an art form. All of films imperfections and unique qualities, as well as its monetary value and scarcity are just a few factors that have made it so precious. To replace this entire process with a microchip is offensive and undermines the importance of the process that is needed to make a photograph. Anyone can take a picture but you must make a photograph, and this skill is being simplified to a digital camera. The impact of the digital era on photography has hindered the process of making a photograph; painting the art form obsolete in today’s society.

Photography is a word derived from the Greek words photos light and to draw. A scientist called Sir John F.W. Herschel, which was in 1839, first used the word. It was a method which was all about recording images by using light or radiation on a sensitive material. The first known camera was created by Alhazen also known as who lived around 100AD he invented the first pinhole camera this camera was used to capture the movement of the sun. Photography was explained to be the science and art of documenting photographs by capturing light on a light sensitive material which included film or an electronic sensor. Light could be reflected from objects which could expose a chemical or electronic material during a timed exposure which is typically used through a camera which can store the information chemically or electronically. The first photograph was take in 1827 taken by Joseph Nicephore Niepce who made the first photograph

(Bellis, 2009) Nevertheless, the main selling point of digital cameras was the convenient way that they could be stored. Every exposure is almost instantly saved to a removable disk drive, which remarkably expired the use of darkroom processing. It was convenient, less time was needed to produce an image, making it particularly appealing to journalism. The photograph has since then become an instant process. Combined with the invention of the Internet, and booming industry of personal computers, the newer technology would expire its predecessor. There are billions of photographs on the Internet, comprising the largest most diverse photo collection ever assembled. We have access to imagery from all over the world, using key words and hash tags to catalogue imagery and content; we can see what is happening without being there. The introduction of digital photography has enabled photographers to record terabits of imagery which can be stored in minute places, meaning the coverage that we have of the modern world is greater than ever. Unlike the formats that Henri Cartier-Bresson used, where each roll of film, or negative slide needed storing in a large physical place, under controlled conditions, an archive of objects. Automation came with digital photography, its combination of digital components allowed the camera to automatically detect light qualities, and

Dark room photography is a very interesting thing to learn about. It was very different from digital photography, therefore it intrigued me. I was sad that I wasn't here to learn all about due to my absences, but from when I was here, I enjoyed what we were doing. I was really surprised with the amount of time it took to develop the pictures and how many different chemicals it took to start the process of developing the photos. I was also extremely surprised with how easily photos were ruined and destroyed. In digital cameras, there is no chance for photos to get jammed or ripped, only deleted. One thing I learned during this project was that it has to be really dark for the photos to develop right. That surprised me because it was basically

Art critic Robert Hughes once said, “People inscribe their histories, beliefs, attitudes, desires and dreams in the images they make.” When discussing the mediums of photography and cinema, this belief of Hughes is not very hard to process and understand. Images, whether they be still or moving, can transform their audiences to places they have either never been before or which they long to return to. Images have been transporting audiences for centuries thanks to both the mediums of photography and cinema and together they gone through many changes and developments. When careful consideration is given to these two mediums, it is acceptable to say that they will forever be intertwined, and that they have been interrelated forms of

While the original Daguerreotype started a massive surge on photography, two later inventions turned photography social phenomenon that became ingrained in our lives today. The first of these inventions is called the “calotype” process. invented in 1839 by William Henry Fox Talbot this method of photography involved exposing chemically treated paper, producing a “negative” that could be redeveloped. This allow for multiple copies of the same image to be printed, and is the predecessor to modern film photography. The next major breakthrough in the art of photography was the portable camera. Before its inception, most photos were taken using a large, cumbersome device that worked as a camera and darkroom for developing glass plates coated with a sticky collodion solution. (film photography was

For years, the rage in photography has been color. The old black and white methods of taking pictures were all but forgotten. Over the past little while, new interest in the black and white photos has surfaced. One has to admit there is something magical about these.

In 1888, George Eastman made the first light and portable camera under the company name Kodak (Graham 28). These cameras gave people the ability to take a photo almost anywhere. The cameras had to be sent back to the factory so the photographs could be printed. Twenty years after Kodak’s first camera, they produced an improved camera, called “Brownie”. The Brownie was simple to use, making the art of photography boom. Flash cameras did not appear until the 1930s, letting people take pictures in areas with dim or little lighting. In 1947, Edwin Land invented the instant camera. Land got the idea after his daughter asked to see her picture after he took her photo. The next step in improving the camera was by making it digital, which was done in 1975 by a Kodak employee. As the camera gets smaller and simpler to use, the quality of the photographs it produces gets better.

Digital art is a general term for a range of works by the artists who use digital technologies as a major part of the processes of creation and representation (Paul, 2006). Specifically, digital technology refers to the application of computers as media and partners for the artists in creating art works. However, digital industry is often a vague term and does not clearly define the final form of the art work. In his book called Art of The Digital Age, Wands (2006) has classified digital art works based on their final tool to digital prints, sculpture, installations and virtual reality, performance, music and art of sounds, video and animation, software, databank, and the art of gaming. He says although many digital arts including digital picture

What is a photograph? The simplicity of taking a photograph leads many to ponder its artistic value. Yet, it is undeniable that there are some photos that cause an emotional reaction deeper than simply observing a recorded point in time. Surely, there are photographs that cause more reaction than some modern art pieces. There seems to be two types of photographs. The first classification is the ‘time capture’ photo – an image with the sole purpose of recording a particular event or point in time. The second nature of a photo carries a ‘deeper meaning,’ which has the ability to change the observer’s mood and cause a reaction. But what distinguishes these two varieties? There are a

However as the authors stressed, probably more significant than the change in how images are produced, distributed and used, are the ideas to which the changes are giving rise and how digital imaging is challenging and changing traditional ways of seeing and thinking. It seems that our traditional belief that ‘the camera never lies’ has been brought into question. It also appears important to consider who

The cinematographic camera industry emerged in fact more than 100 years ago, it was only until recently that significant digital changes took place, apart from minimal technological improvements. Before the invention of digital cameras the main medium for shooting a movie was on celluloid film in which the quality of the image was very high from the beginning. However these cameras had some inconveniences. The cinematographer would have to set the lighting and frame to the directors vision and make sure that it was right. He could not see immediately if the scene was shot as desired and this caused the workflow to be very complex and time consuming which most producers would see limited. The developing, processing, transferring, editing and conforming the film normally took a day and the director along with the cinematographer would sit