AIMEE ROTHWELL PHOTOGRAPHY
The Role and Advancements of the Camera
The focus of my essay will be the camera and photography, more specifically the role that the camera has played in allowing us to view the world around us. The camera has ultimately provided proof that without it, the human eye is not advanced enough to witness or we would not otherwise believe. Advances in modern technology have aided the camera in being equipped with different settings for different types of image, if you were to envision a particular image, you would most likely be able to create it on a phone or digital modern camera. In 1963, the use of the traditional box camera was beginning to decline. The camera’s that we see today such as the DSLR, Camcorders and even the phone camera, would never have been imagined.
On newer, modern cameras, we have settings such as video, slow motion, continuous shot and time-lapse. Similarly, we also have the ability to view images just seconds after they are taken, whereas with the box camera, we would have had to wait until it had been fully developed. Through these immediate images, we are able to prove the existence of certain things and to prove to others that events have occurred. Major tragic events such as 9/11 may not have been fully believed by people outside of America as people would not have been able to witness it first hand. Humans can be very sceptical when it comes to new technology as they may not believe what they see. Through technological advances, there are a lot of editing apps, therefore people were not believing the still images that they could see, however through videos, people were able to see living things moving on their screen to show that it had not been edited. This all shows how the camera played an important role in making true events more well known and believable.
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Movement used to be one of the hardest things to capture through still images, however with developments in camera settings such as aperture and shutter speed, exposure and ISO, we are able to manipulate and get the most out of our images. Moving objects have now been made easier to photograph though being able to control the shutter speed and exposure.
Horse in Motion- Eadward Muybridge
It is speculated that Muybridge created this series of images to prove to a friend that all four of the horses feet leave the floor when they gallop. He took this series of images by lining cameras along the edge of the field and linked them to a trigger as the horse ran over. Legend has it that Stanford wanted to settle a $25,000 bet by proving that horses "flew.” Stanford had retired to the life of a country horse breeder, and he wanted proof of what his eyes told him was true. (Alfred R, 2009) This was revolutionary when using the camera to prove things such as this. Contact sheets such as this, have been used by many photographers, usually to choose which image is best. Through this layout, the viewer can see the progress of images in the series and compare, contrast and evaluate the images presented. It is clear that this image shows a contrast between science and art. This is due to the scientific debate of the back story and the creativity of the image. Despite being a photographer, Muybridge considered himself more of an inventor. He discovered the zoopraxiscope, an early device for displaying moving images. In a sense, he could be considered and inventor of photography, as some of his discoveries were photography based.
Despite the image having 2 subjects, the focus is drawn to the horse as it is bigger and fills the majority of the frame. The compositional aspects of the image appear to have been well thought out as everything is aligned and positioned in an eye catching way. This image was chosen as I like how Muybridge has captured every aspect of this fast moving horse. When Muybridge attempted this, he placed twelve cameras along the field and set them all off as the horse trotted past. New techniques such as continuous shot and fast shutter speeds are now used by many modern photographers as it has been a fairly recent development so people are trying it out. With advancements in phones, photography is widely and easily accessed by people of all ages, therefore more people are trying these new things. Companies have to keep up with this, so will try inventing new techniques so they can outperform their rivals. This particular piece is considered the most influential piece as after a decade, it had inspired motion pictures and gave photography a new purpose, to create images of things not visible to the naked eye. The image being in black and white shows the age of the image, nowadays we have the option for black and white or colour which just shows the development in technology.
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Only photography has been able to divide human life into a series of moments, each of them has the value of a complete existence. - Eadward Muybridge
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Bullet Through an Apple- Harold Eugene Edgerton
This image appeals to me as a bullet is generally faster than most other objects, however a small camera would be able to capture this. When Edgerton attempted this image, he used a flash duration of a millionth of a second. This was done in 1964, when the more modern camera was less common. This was impressive for that time as this was only a recent development.
The blue backdrop of the image creates a contrast between the red of the apple, making the viewer divert their attention to the apple. The shutter speed was fast enough to go off before the apple completely split in half. He also managed to capture the juice of the apple firing out. This is my favourite of his images as I feel as though there is a lot to focus on and a tonne of colours. The bullet is very fast moving which is impressive to catch perfectly on camera. There is a part of the main image in every third and everything is aligned in an appealing way. Edgerton was best known for his use of stroboscopic flash. A skill in which, with a slow shutter speed, you can shoot multiple successive movements within a single picture, similar to stop-motion pictures. In stroboscopic flash, set the flash output, number of flashes, and flash frequency (number of flashes per second = Hz)." (Setters S, 2016). The stroboscopic flash enables the image to be continuously taken, to capture every frame of movement. This is an advanced photography technique as you need to adjust multiple settings in coordination, in order to achieve this effect.
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In many ways, unexpected results are what have most inspired my photography. - Harold Eugene Edgerton
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Milk Drop Coronet- Harold Eugene Edgerton
This image was chosen for the compositional aspects. At first glance, the viewer could be confused as there is the splash but the droplet is still in the air. This leaves us to think whether he has dropped two droplets at a time and this is the second one. However, it would be difficult to get just the one drop out of the carton. This image leaves the viewer with many questions. Hence, why I find it so interesting. Like the Bullet through and Apple image, this has been set out compositionally with the subject of the image perfectly in the center. I would imagine that this would have been difficult to set up as it is unpredictable and out of your control. This shows the development of the camera as it is faster than the pull of gravity on a light object. The camera is used in this way for other things, such as proving that a slinky toy defies gravity when you let go of it, therefore, emphasising the role of the camera as no one would believe it. In this case people may not have believed that such a small droplet could cause such a big splash, which proves the importance of photography. The lack of colour in the image makes it more interesting as we would typically associate black and white images with the older version of the camera, however the feature used is a modern development. The colour image enables the viewer to see what he is actually using. The use of the red bottom creates a contrast between the milk and the background, this enables the viewer to clearly see the splash and the next droplet coming down. This is interesting as it differs from the mystery of the black and white version as we can clearly see every aspect of the image.
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Don't make me out to be an artist. I am an engineer. I am after the facts, and only the facts. - Harold Eugene Edgerton
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Back Dive- Harold Eugene Edgerton
The image is interesting as Edgerton perfectly captures every frame and the stages of the dive. At first glance this looks like a normal image, however if you look closer, the face is not lined up correctly. This would be comedic to the viewer as it was not intended. Compositionally, the head seems to stay in a similar place, with the body of multiple frames, layered in the middle. This is impressive as the person had to time it correctly and keep in the frame as best they could. I also like how the image is structured, there is nothing other than the subject that will divert your eyes, so the intention of the image is clear. Overall, the image turned out impressively and shows the development of the camera as this would have been done digitally, through functions of the camera such as exposure, iso, which would have created the stroboscopic flash, a technique used in many of his images. This effect was harder to do before the modern version of the camera was invented, therefore proves the development of the camera. I think that this image could have been made more interesting, had Edgerton captured the person landing too as it appears he has not done that. This adds to the mystery of the piece because as a viewer, we are unaware whether this was done intentionally. The main focus of the image is the person’s legs as they are contrasting with the black background. In most images of people, their face is the main focus of the image, making this one unconventional to the time it was created.
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The role and development of the camera has played a huge part in technological advances as we have been able to manipulate this system into new developments such as phones and computers. This has also helped ordinary people to harbour their own skills and share images through media platforms, hoping to inspire others.
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Bibliography
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Alfred R, (2009), June 15, 1878: Muybridge Horses Around With Motion Pictures, Available at: June 15, 1878: Muybridge Horses Around With Motion Pictures | WIRED , [26/11/20]
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Settera S, (2016), An Introduction to Stroboscopic Flash, Available at: An Introduction to Stroboscopic Flash (the-digital-picture.com) [29/11/20]