Photography, from the Greek word “Photos” (light) and “Graphis” (drawing) literally means “Drawing with Light”. In the modern world it is simply capturing images with a camera*, be it with silver-based** technology (commonly called film) or much more commonly nowadays, using digital technology. These images can then be used in different ways according to the needs and goals of the photographer.
Camera
From the Italian term “camera obscura” meaning dark room. Some artists, as early as the 16th century, used an optical system, including a mirror and a lens, to project an image of an object or landscape, on a canvas or a sheet of paper, in order to easily reproduce the image in a drawing.
Silver based
We talk about film photography as Silver-Based Technology because in most cases the photographic emulsions (coatings) on film are made from silver salts that are light-sensitive.
Digital
In the digital camera, a light-sensitive computer chip called a sensor, evalutes the intensity of light falling on it and captures this intensity as digital data, e.g. numbers.
Did you find this article interesting? Or that it is flawed in some way? Please let me know what you think below! Your comments are invaluable to me and will help me improve this site!
© Charles Martel 2015