As beautiful as the images it produces, Photography is itself a beautiful creation that man has gifted his fellowmen. Photography is basically a process through which we can make pictures or make impressions of our surroundings by using light. This entire process of photography can be achieved using a device called a Camera. The first known photography is the Daguerreotype. It grew to popularity in the 19th century and became an innovation through which people could print their portraits. The only disadvantage being that only one photograph could be taken at a time.

Due to this disadvantage of the Daguerreotypes, photography went through another process of change as more and more people started looking for a way to replicate the images or portraits. Photographers also encouraged scientists and chemists to look for a solution so that multiple copies could be made available at a cheap price. This led to another innovation better referred to as the Talbot's process.

After almost 20 years of refinement and experiments, the modern photographic process was born in 1884. George Eastman was the man responsible for the photographic revolution that laid the foundation stone for the photography process as we see it today. Eastman’s dry gel was made solely for the purpose of replacing the photographic plate. Until now, the photographic plate was the only way of making a photograph and a cumbersome process. To add to the agony, a photographer had to carry multiple boxes of photographic plates and various toxic chemicals around with him all the time. George Eastman solved that problem. In July 1888, Eastman came out with his Kodak camera. It was launched in the market with a famous slogan: “You press the button, we do the rest”. Now people could buy this camera and use it, while the developing of the photographs was left for the chosen experts. In 1901, photography was available to the masses with the launch of the Kodak Brownie. This was the start of another era of photography.

Here is a timeline of events during the evolution of photography

5th-4th Centuries B.C.: Greek & Chinese philosophers were discussing the basic principles of the optics and the camera.

1664-1666: Sir Isaac Newton discovered that the white light actually composed of different colors.
1727: Johann Heinrich Schulze made an astonishing discovery that silver nitrate became dark when exposed to light.

1814: Joseph Nicéphore Niépce achieves the impossible. With his camera obscura, produces the first photographic image. Drawback: requires 8hrs of exposure time to get the image and the image is not permanent.

1837: The first daguerreotype invented by Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre was able to produce a fixed image that did not fade. The exposure to light also reduced considerably to just thirty minutes.

1840: The first American patent for photography was issued to Alexander Wolcott. The patent was for his camera.

1841: William Henry Talbot masterminds the Calotype process. This process was able to make multiple copies of a single photograph by using the negative-positive process.

Film camera: Taking pictures using a film camera vs. digital camera 

Are you still using film?  Maybe you are thinking of going digital but aren’t sure what you’ll gain or lose.  There are more differences between film and digital cameras to consider then just the medium, though the basic operation of both are very similar.

The first stage in taking pictures with film is the film itself.  Loading film into a modern camera isn’t as tricky as it used to be, but it’s still harder then simply sliding in a memory chip.  What type of film you use, however, can be a hard decision. 

More than most people realize, there are a lot of different films available.  Not only is the colour and black and white but also portrait films, tungsten films, daylight films and so on.  What a lot of us are used to is consumer grade film that tries to balance all of these in to one.  From there the photographer has to decide what film speed is needed.  100iso for sunlight and 400iso for indoors, perhaps.  In contrast, a digital camera is capable of making all of these decisions for you. 

Once the film’s in, taking the picture is similar in all camera types.  Choose an automatic or manual setting then point and shoot.  With the film camera, of course, the viewfinder is needed for composition.  On most film cameras—those that aren’t SLR—what you see in the viewfinder isn’t exactly what is seen by the lens.  The photographer must take extra care to make sure the subject is properly framed within the guidelines.  Digital cameras are wonderful because of the monitor that shows the photographer exactly what’s being taken. 

Film cameras win out on most digital cameras when it comes to speed of picture taking.  With a digital camera there is a lot of stuff that goes on from the time you push the button until the time you can push the button again.  The image has to be translated into something the processor can understand, then focused, captured, colour balanced and finally transferred to the memory chip.  This causes delays before the picture can be taken and after it’s been taken.  The resulting shutter lag is a common complaint.  A film camera only has to focus before the shot is captured and advance the film afterwards. 

When taking pictures on film the photographer always has to be more careful.  There isn’t a limitless chip at their disposal and each shot costs money.  Also, the quality of the picture can’t be previewed on a screen so it is very important for film users to plan ahead.

Film and digital cameras both offer a wide variety of similar accessories to help with photography.  Flashes and lenses are commonly interchanged but filters are also important.  Film users need to have physical filters available to help block out different kinds of light or to highlight parts of a scene.  While these can be used on a digital camera, it’s less necessary because of already built in filters.  Digital shots can also be taken RAW allowing the photographer to add filters and such later on.  The film user doesn’t have this luxury, again bringing us back to planning ahead. 

Both types of cameras are good and both offer their own benefits.  A lot of professionals are still choosing to use both, digital for some things and film for another.  For people just learning about photography and how film works the digital camera is often a great accessory to film in that it can be used to preview an idea before capturing it on celluloid. 

Birds have been inspiring us for centuries. They thrill us with their mastery of flight and their immense diversity. This guide will focus on improving your ability to capture these magnificent creatures in photographs

Copyright © Justin W. Moore. All Rights Reserved
Capturing bird behavior can add tremendous impact to your photographs, like this Killdeer doing its famous "broken wing" display to lure predators away from its nest.

Always Keep Your Subject's Well-Being in Mind
Avoid situations that put stress on your subject. If a bird is showing signs of stress, remove yourself as quickly as possible. Such was the case when I photographed the Killdeer shown above. I had already taken a few photographs when it began its "predator luring" behavior. Knowing this meant that a nest or chicks were nearby, I disengaged and left its immediate area.
Use Fast Shutter Speeds

Imogen Cunningham

Being of the most pronounced photographers of the twentieth century Imogen Cunningham is without a doubt one of America’s photo icons. Imogen Cunningham started photography in 1903, at the tender age of 20 taking studies at University of Washington in Seattle; a university that interestingly offered not courses in art history, interests she had vehemently pursued since childhood. In 1909, she managed to win a scholarship for foreign study and attended photographic courses at the Technische Hochschule in Dresden Germany. She never took many photos but instead, focused on her studies. She managed to visit Alvin Langdon Coburn in London while she was abroad and not forgetting Alfred Stieglitz before returning to America in 1910; visits that gave her great inspiration.

Once back in Seattle, Imogen Cunningham got to open her personal studio which won her huge acclaims for her portraiture and the pictorial work she displayed. Being very successful in that, she became a hot pursuit by the industry, where she photographed and displayed at Brooklyn Academy of Arts and Sciences. She was later to have her portraits shown at International Exhibition of Pictorial Photography in New York with her work being published by the famous Wilson's Photographic Magazine.

In 1915, Imogen Cunningham married an artist named Roy Partridge who had no problem with posing nude for her, photos that made their way to the Seattle Fine Arts Society. The photographs were critically praised but the society saw less of the images. She could only check on the pictures after 55 years. She later got three children, Randal Padraic and Gryffyd, later in 1920, settled at San Francisco at the work place city of her husband Roi. It was at the city of San Francisco, where Imogen Cunningham took on a keen skill refining her style illustrating her works of nature. She later became interested in botanical related art, especially in flowers, and thereafter, which drove to her interest in the magnolia flower between 1923 and 1925. Her attention later turned towards the landscape of insutries where she created several series of the art throughout Los Angeles and Oakland.

Four years later in 1929, Imogen Cunningham’s photos were nominated by Edward Weston to be included in the “Film und Foto” show in Stuttgart. Her interest changed once again and garnered a serious attraction in the human body, focusing her attention on musicians and other artists.). As a result, she was employed by Vanity Fair, taking photos of stars who would have their photos naturally with least make-ups.

In 1934, Imogen Cunningham went to New York to work with Vanity Fair. This however led to her divorce because of a disagreement she had with her husband regarding the time to travel. Her work relationship with Vanity Fair continued till 1936 when the magazine stopped being publicized.

She later did a bit of street photography making documentaries during the 40s. This was part of her part time jobs, where she would support her mainstream photography. Imogen Cunningham would later teach at the Carlifornia School of Fine Arts. Her love and practice of photography went on until June, 1976 where she met her demise at the age of 93.