L I G H T A N D L E N S This page intentionally left blank 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 Acquisitions Editor: Diane Heppner Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Associate Editor: Asma Palmeiro Developmental Editor: Stephanie Barrett (Application Submitted) Publishing Services Manager: George Morrison Project Manager: Kathryn Liston British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data Assistant Editor: Doug Shults A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Marketing Manager: Christine Degon Veroulis Cover and Interior Design: Maria Mann ISBN: 978-0-240-80855-0 Illustrator: Greg Erf For information on all Focal Press publications, Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier visit our website at www.books.elsevier.com 30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803, USA Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP, UK 08 09 10 11 12 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 Copyright © 2008, Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in China 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. permission of the publisher. 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: (+44) 1865 843830, 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 v i i 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 v i i i 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 i x