Light and lens photography in the digital age

416 Pages·2008·23.23 MB·English

L I G H T A N D L E N S
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L I G H T A N D L E N S :
P H O T O G R A P H Y
I N T H E D I G I T A L A G E
Robert Hirsch
AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON
NEW YORK • OXFORD • PARIS • SAN DIEGO
SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO
Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, Front cover: © Larry Schwarm. Burning Tree with Ryder Sky, Chase County,
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, Kansas, 2001. 29 × 29 inches. Inkjet print. Courtesy of Robert Koch Gallery,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written San Francisco.
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Back cover: © Nathan Baker. Photography Studio, from the Series People at
Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier’s Science & Technology Work, 2004. 40 × 50 inches. Inkjet print. Courtesy of Schneider Gallery,
Rights Department in Oxford, UK: phone: [phone], fax: (+44) Chicago, and Robert Koch Gallery, San Francisco.
1865 853333, E-mail:
Dedication
TO MY WIFE, ADELE HENDERSON, AND MY MOTHER, MURIEL HIRSCH, FOR THEIR LOVE AND
SUPPORT. IN ADDITION, TO ALL THE ARTISTS, WRITERS, AND TEACHERS, PAST AND PRESENT,
WHO HAVE INFLUENCED AND INSPIRED MY OWN ENDEAVORS.
“Here the ways of men part: If you wish to strive for peace of soul and pleasure, then
believe; If you wish to be a devotee of truth, then inquire.”
FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE
© Brian Ulrich. Indianapolis, IN, 2004. 40 × 52 inches. Chromogenic color print. Courtesy of Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Chicago; Julie Saul Gallery, New York; and Robert Koch
Gallery, San Francisco.
Contents
Preface ...................................................................................................................................................... xiii
Artist Contributors .................................................................................................................................... 1
CHAPTER 1 Why We Make Pictures: A Concise History of Visual Ideas ...................................................................... 3
The Grammar of Photography ........................................................................................................................................ 5
The Evolution of Photographic Imaging ......................................................................................................................... 5
Determining Meaning ..................................................................................................................................................... 6
BPS: Before Photoshop ................................................................................................................................................... 6
The Digital Imaging Revolution ...................................................................................................................................... 14
New Media ..................................................................................................................................................................... 16
Questions about Photo-Based Imagemaking ................................................................................................................... 16
Additional Information ................................................................................................................................................... 31
CHAPTER 2 Design: Visual Foundations ....................................................................................................................... 33
Learning to See: Communicating with Design ............................................................................................................... 33
Beginner’s Mind ............................................................................................................................................................. 33
The Design Process ........................................................................................................................................................ 34
The Nature of Photography: Subtractive Composition ................................................................................................... 34
Departure Point .............................................................................................................................................................. 35
Attention Span and Staying Power ................................................................................................................................ 35
Photography’s Privilege .................................................................................................................................................. 36
The Language of Vision .................................................................................................................................................. 37
Photography’s Native Characteristics .............................................................................................................................. 38
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T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
Design Principles ............................................................................................................................................................ 39
Visual Elements .............................................................................................................................................................. 46
References ...................................................................................................................................................................... 59
CHAPTER 3 Image Capture: Cameras, Lenses, and Scanners ........................................................................................ 61
The Role of a Camera ..................................................................................................................................................... 61
What Is a Camera? ......................................................................................................................................................... 62
How a Camera Imaging System Works .......................................................................................................................... 63
Digital Cameras .............................................................................................................................................................. 64
Types of Cameras ........................................................................................................................................................... 68
Choosing a Camera ....................................................................................................................................................... 74
Camera File Formats ..................................................................................................................................................... 74
Opening Files ................................................................................................................................................................. 77
The Lens System and Exposure ...................................................................................................................................... 77
Digital Camera Features ................................................................................................................................................. 90
Camera, Lens, Monitor, and Sensor Care ....................................................................................................................... 102
Scanners ......................................................................................................................................................................... 105
Frame Grabber ............................................................................................................................................................... 108
Storing Digital Images ................................................................................................................................................... 109
Living Photography: Authorship, Access, and the World’s Largest Picture Book .......................................................... 113
CHAPTER 4 Exposure and Filters ................................................................................................................................. 117
Exposure Basics .............................................................................................................................................................. 117
Filtering the Light .......................................................................................................................................................... 135
CHAPTER 5 Seeing with Light ...................................................................................................................................... 149
Natural Light .................................................................................................................................................................. 149
The Time of Day/Types of Light ..................................................................................................................................... 151
Artifi cial Light ................................................................................................................................................................ 160
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T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
Basic Lighting Methods .................................................................................................................................................. 161
Lighting Accessories ....................................................................................................................................................... 165
CHAPTER 6 Observation: Eyes Wide Open .................................................................................................................. 169
How We See .................................................................................................................................................................. 169
Why We Make and Respond to Specifi c Images ............................................................................................................ 172
The Effects of Digital Imaging ........................................................................................................................................ 175
Aesthetic Keys for Color and Composition ................................................................................................................... 178
Figure-Ground Relationships ........................................................................................................................................ 181
CHAPTER 7 Time, Space, Imagination, and the Camera ............................................................................................. 185
In Search of Time ........................................................................................................................................................... 185
The Perception of Time .................................................................................................................................................. 186
Controlling Camera Time ............................................................................................................................................... 187
Imaging Software Solutions ............................................................................................................................................ 213
References ...................................................................................................................................................................... 216
CHAPTER 8 Digital Studio: Where the Virtual Meets the Material World .................................................................... 219
Displaying the Image File: Transferring Image Files for Display, Web, or Print ............................................................. 219
Working with a Digital Negative: The Original Capture ................................................................................................ 231
True Resolution and the Real World .............................................................................................................................. 234
Making Photographic-Quality Prints ............................................................................................................................. 237
Images and the Computer Workstation ......................................................................................................................... 243
Software and Imaging Applications ................................................................................................................................ 247
Basic Digital Imaging Categories and Tools ................................................................................................................... 249
Common Toolbar Icons from Photoshop ....................................................................................................................... 251
The Computer as a Multimedia Stage: Moving Images .................................................................................................. 255
The Internet and the World Wide Web ......................................................................................................................... 257
The Digital Future .......................................................................................................................................................... 258
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