Did You Know?

Did You Know what sepia is?

Did You Know what black and white is?

Did You Know what color is?

A digital camera is an electronic device used to capture and store photographs electronically in a digital format. In digital cameras the light sensitive medium is a silicon chip covered with a regular pattern of very small light sensitive circuits. When a few photons hits one of these it causes a few electrons to flow in a circuit. These electrical signals are then amplified and converted into a digital format.

Each cell in most sensors is covered by a red, green or blue filter (RGB), so that only light of that color can reach it. The 'raw' image that contains the digital values for these separate RGB sites is then mathematically converted into pixels values for red, green and blue at a particular point.

Lens quality also has an important influence on the image quality - there is little point in having a high resolution digital conversion of an unsharp optical image. Lens quality can only really be assessed by practical tests, but the better known camera and lens makers can generally be relied on to produce good quality.

Most digital cameras use memory cards of one kind or another to store the images you take. These can be taken out of the camera and replaced by other cards. Several different card types are in use and are not interchangeable.

Sepia tone is a type of photographic image in which the picture appears in shades of brown, as opposed to grayscale in a black-and-white image. Very old photographic prints beginning in the 1880s were produced in sepia by adding a pigment made from the Sepia cuttlefish, found in the English Channel. To the positive print of a photograph the chemical process involved, converts any remaining metallic silver to a sulphide which is much more resistant to breakdown over time. This is why many old photographs are sepia toned. Sepia-toned images are heavily associated with the 1800s and "that old-time feel.” Many photographs of the American Old West were recorded in sepia tones. For example Edward Weston's photos of Carmel, The Kansas scenes in The Wizard of Oz were in sepia tone and also Wings of Desire movie by Wim Wenders is filmed in mostly sepia.

Photography was black-and-white or shades of sepia. Color photography was originally rare and expensive, and early on often less true to life. Color photography became much more common in middle of the 20th century, and has been getting more and more common since. Black-and-white remains a niche market for photographers who use the medium for artistic purposes. For amateur use, Kodak manufactures a black-and-white disposable camera. Special films are produced today which give black and white images using the ubiquitous C41 color process.
Today black-and-white media often has a "nostalgic," historic, or anachronistic feel to it. This is also true of black-and-white photography, where many photographers choose to shoot in solely black-and-white since the stark contrasts enhances the subject matter.

Why are things colored?

Why is the sky blue? Why is fire yellow? What about flamingos or emeralds?
Scholars have learned that all the colors in the universe originate from a mere fifteen fundamental physical causes. These causes appear over and over, lending color to the world around us. Color plays a vitally important role in the world in which we live. Color can sway thinking, change actions, and cause reactions. It can irritate or soothe your eyes, raise your blood pressure or suppress your appetite. Like our senses of taste and smell, color helps us to understand the world around us. As a powerful form of communication, color is irreplaceable. Red means "stop" and green means "go." Traffic lights send this universal message. It helps us survive as a species, and appreciate works of art.