Photography--A Review, Going Wild

At the technology conference, I attended Dr. Robert C. Wiseman's presentation on basic photography. Dr. Wiseman presented the audience with basic knowledge on how a camera works and why knowing how to use the manual camera settings in this age of modern automation is so important.

Dr. Wiseman sharing bits of wisdom

Dr. Wiseman showed the audience several samples of his photography work, most of which was done with film cameras and carefully produced in a darkroom. Dr. Wiseman showed us photos done with Kodak high-contrast film, which gives the picture a really neat black and white, textured look.

Near the end of his presentation, Dr. Wiseman showed us how to simulate the look that one gets with using high-contrast film in Photoshop with a digital photograph. One simply must adjust the brightness/contrast levels several times until the desired effect is reached. It was really interesting to see how to create that same effect without spending hours in the darkroom working with physical film. It made me realize how easy we have it today. Photographers in former times had to spend hours upon hours developing techniques that would give their photos a creative edge on the competition. What took them hours and maybe even days takes us a few minutes and a click or two in Photoshop.

While modern technology is wonderful, efficient and often simple to use, Dr. Wiseman's presentation reminded me that, though technological advancements are useful, there is still much that we can learn by examining and learning about the way things were done by photographers of the past. Wiseman mentioned that, to be a good photographer, a person must understand the way the camera works in order to produce creative, effective work.