Camera Phones

Almost all mobile phones have cameras on them now days. The most popular type of mobile phone in the UK today in the Iphone 6 which has an 8 megapixel camera which is a good quality. Now everyone can take high quality photographs with the small devices that we carry around everywhere. Now days no one has the problem of forgetting to bring a camera with them.

The first mobile phone with a camera was the J-phone which was sold in Japapan in 2000. Since then camera phones have became more and more popular through the years and now every phone has one. Most camera phones have a fixed lens, the ability to focus, flash, filters and even things like panorama. Now with social media we can instantly share our photographs with the world straight after taking them. The camera phone has a had a large effect on the camera industry. Now people don’t feel the need to spend money on cameras. Why would they need to spend a lot of money on an item that they will have to carry around and take time moving pictures from their camera to their computer when they can just use the phone that they have anyway?

The Nokia Lumia 1020 has one of the best cameras, here are some of its qualities:

CPU: 1.5GHz Snapdragon MSM8960 dual-core
Camera: 41MP PureView
Display: 4.5-inch AMOLED PureMotion+, 768 x 1280 resolution
Capacity: 32/64GB internal, no microSD
Dimensions: 130.4 x 71.4 x 10.4 mm
Weight: 158g
Extras: Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11n, NFC

I like the fact that everyone has cameras with them now as people can capture any moments of their lives easily but I also think it is a shame that the camera industry has to suffer.

Sources: 

http://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/mobile_tracker/

https://www.apple.com/uk/iphone-6/specs/

http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/best-camera-phone-6-handsets-tested-904250

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camera_phone

http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/mobile/phone/lumia1020/

The Polaroid Camera

The Polaroid is a recognizable type of camera. What differentiates it from other cameras? Well, with a Polaroid you can print off a picture out of the camera as soon as you have taken it. The first Polaroid was created in 1947 by the American scientist Edwin H. Land. Before the Polaroid, when you took a photo you would have to wait until you filled up all the film on your camera then get it developed. This lengthy process was happily avoided as the Polaroid essentially has a tiny dark room inside of it and can print images out instantly.

But how do these cameras work? It’s all in the film. As soon as you press the button on your camera the shutter quickly opens and closes to catch the picture. It takes in the light and prints it onto a silver compound.  This is when the photo develops. On the film there are three silver compounds. These compounds are sensitive to blue green and red light. There are four chemicals waiting to react. The developer layer, the acid layer the timing layer and the image layer. The chemicals get set off by reagent. Reagent is a substances used in a chemicals to detect, measure, examine or produce other substances. After you take a picture and the image is captured on the silver compound the Polaroid film is sent out through two rollers. These rollers push the reagent onto the white plastic borders onto the silver compound.  The reagent then causes the four layers to react, this then causes the silver compound layers to process. Producing blue, green and red light pattern which turns into an image.

The Polaroid camera became less and less popular as digital cameras and mobile phones have become more popular. I think the Polaroid is a very interesting invention and I think it is interesting how they were invented in the 1940s and are still being produced today.

Sources:

http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php/Polaroid_Camera

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2400059/Return-Polaroid-Fujifilm-resurrects-iconic-camera-print-card-sized-photos-instantly.html

The Brownie Camera

The Brownie camera was introduced in 1900. The first model was a very simple cardboard box with a lens. It took 2 ¼ inch square pictures on 117 rollfilm. It was very easy to use and was first priced at £1.

The Brownie was well known for being cheap and accessible, their slogan was "You push the button, we do the rest." The camera was named after a famous children’s cartoon so the camera would appeal to kids but it turnd out to be popular with all ages.

With such immediate success Kodak went on to produce many new versions of the Brownie including the Six-20 Flash Brownie and the Brownie Starflash. They went on to give much better picture quality and included features like a flash.

Here are some pictures taken with Brownie cameras:

 

Photographer: Peter Clarke

I think that popularity of The Brownie Camera was very significant for the world of photography because they made taking your own pictures easy and cheap, meaning more people could try photography.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownie_(camera)

Celebrity Photography

Celebrity photography is a subsection of portrait photography and photojournalism. It is simply pictures of celebrities! There are three main sections of celebrity photography; celebrity portraiture, event photography and paparazzi photography.

Celebrity portraiture is when a photographer creates a set and photographs a celebrity. These photographs are usually used for press, as journalists can use these in their articles for magazines and blogs ect.

For big events such as award ceremonies and premieres you need photographers to document the event and take pictures of the celebrities to share with the world. This is what the red carpet is essentially for, for celebrities to walk out and be interviewed and photographed.

Paparazzi's tend to be looked down on as they are known for being intrusive or rude. If you are a paparazzi your job is to photograph celebrities whilst they are out and about to sell to publications. But most of the time these celebrities don't want to be photographed and won't wait for pictures to be taken. Also paparazzi's sometimes intrude on celebrities personal events such as weddings or they will sneak onto their property.


A celebrity photographer that I like is Martin Schoeller. Martin Schoellar is an acclaimed photographer who has photographed many people from Barack Obama to Angelina Jolie to Robert De Niro. He has become famous for his "hyper detailed close-ups" which are portraits with stong lighting and as you can imagine and very close-up. He also does a lot on conceptual photography. Here are some examples of his works:

Photographer: Martin Schoeller

Photographer: Martin Schoeller

Photographer: Martin Schoeller

Although I'm not particularly interested in celebrity photography as a whole, I really like Schoeller's work because he takes a very different approach to this genre. He focuses more on the art of photography than making the celebrity look good.

Sources:
http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/jesse-eisenberg-celebrity-portraits-martin-schoeller
http://www.awwwards.com/creative-celebrity-portrait-by-martin-schoeller.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celebrity_photography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Schoeller

Portrait Photography

Nothing can show emotion and feeling through an image like a face. Portrait photography is a genre of photography where the picture is of a face but can include the rest of the body and the photographer can bring in other elements to the picture as well.  Portraits can be used to document people, remember faces and create art.

I think one of the most influential Portrait photographers is Steve McCurry. He is an American portrait photographer. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1950. McCurry grew up wanting to be a filmmaker but instead went on to study Theatre Arts and then got a job as a photographer for the Penn State Newspaper. After this, he became a freelance photographer and went out to India. He began his career when he crossed into Afghanistan immediately before the Soviet Invasion. His photographs from this time were shared around the world. He went on to work in other wars in places like Iran, the Philippians and Afghanistan. He takes a different approach to most war photographers. He focuses more on the after effects and more specifically the people war effects.

He said: “Most of my images are grounded in people. I look for the unguarded moment, the essential soul peeking out, experience etched on a person’s face. I try to convey what it is like to be that person, a person caught in a broader landscape, that you could call the human condition.”

He is most well-known for his photograph called Afghan Girl:

It was first published in National Geographic. It was taken in a refugee camp near Pakistan and is become a very famous picture. The matching colour of the girl’s bright green eyes and the wall behind her and her striking stare make this photo extremely memorable. 

I think portrait photography is interesting because so much can be said through an expression. In the case of ‘Afghan Girl’ it can move people and tell them about things going on in the world but we can also look back from portrait taken years ago to see how the human race has changed.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_photography#Senior_Portraits

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_McCurry

http://www.boredpanda.com/top-10-photographers-for-travel-portraits/

Photojournalism

You can say a million words through a photograph, you can tell a story through an image and you can bring out feelings through a picture. This is what photojournalism is essentially for; to evoke emotions and inform you on an issue or event. Just like how an author for a newspaper or magazine will go out to gather information on an event such as a celebration, premiere or a war, a photographer will go out too. Photojournalists can have the power to remove themselves from whatever situation they are in to get a good picture. Some photographers go into some of the most harrowing war zones and have to get up close and personal with conflict to share with the masses.

There are many famous photographs that have opened the eyes of the public to issues around the world, this being one of them:

Photographer: Stuart Franklin Magnum

This photograph is of Tienanmen Square where a student stood in front of tanks in protest. It was taken in a time of oppression for China and gave this picture gave the Chinese people hope.

A famous Photojournalist is Robert Capa. He was born is Hungry in 1913 and is famous for documenting five wars: the Spanish Civil War, the Second Sino-Japanese war, World War 2, the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and the First Indochina War. He revolutionized photojournalism as he took a different approach to others of his time. He got close to the danger without taking a removed approach showing what these experiences would have truly been like.

Photographer: Robert Capa

Here is a photograph taken by Capa of the 16th Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division landing on Omaha Beach in 1944. This photograph shows how close he did get to the danger. He famously said "If your photographs aren't good enough,your not close enough."

Photojournalism can be quite a controversial subject for some people. For example a photographer could be in a war zone and have to go up to a grieving mother and take a  close up picture of her tear stained face while she is sobbing over the loss a family member, her home or a  friend. Most photographers can’t even ask for permission because of the language barrier. It is also argued whether or not it is ethical to take pictures of dead or injured people, some saying that it is important to show the seriousness of what is happening while others say that it is disrespectful to the people in the photos.

 Another controversial issue with photojournalism is how truthful these pictures are. A photographer can leave in or take out anything they want in a photograph. Now days with Photoshop it is now easier than ever to alter a picture to make it more effective. Not necessarily as truthful. 

I think that photojournalism is vital for truly telling people what is going on in the world and is also very useful for looking back in history to see accurate depictions of famous events.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Capa

http://www.robgrimesphotography.co.uk/people-who-inspire-me-robert-capa/

http://www.worldsfamousphotos.com/2007/03/21/tiananmen-square-1989/

Street Photography

Street photography is a genre of photography that is exactly what you think it is, photographs taken in the street. These photos are usually in an urban setting and depict objects or people going about their daily lives but with an artistic edge. Good street photographers can pick out unique or interesting occurrences that they see and photograph them in time, as everything (especially in busy streets) moves quickly. 

An influential street photographer that I like is Eric Kim. He is a popular photographer with a large online presence, he has a blog with advice for other street photographers and his own portfolio, a youtube channel and other online profiles. He has helped many other aspiring photographers through his many tutorials and work shops. This is an example of one of his pictures:

I like this picture because Kim has captured an interesting looking woman by chance and without set up. I also like the light coming trough her hat, creating a lens flare. The triangle created between the three faces and the triangle between he woman's hands and face lead your eye around the picture and is aesthetically pleasing.

Problems with street photography are that everything is moving quickly so you have to be quick with deciding whether or not to take the picture, from what angle, the list goes on. Therefore you can't stop to choose the perfect aperture and shutter speed. Another problem can be privacy, you are allowed to take pictures pictures of people on the street but they might not always react well to being in your photos. You don't know how everyone will respond when you take a picture of them. When asked if he gets any bad reactions from people taking pictures of them he said:

'Believe it or not, the majority of the reactions I get from photographing strangers are quite positive. My rule of thumb is whenever I photograph somebody, I make eye contact with them after, smile, and say "thank you".'

I like street photography because it can capture a quick moment in time that can tell a story. You see many interesting characters in the photographs and can encourage you to see things in a different light.

Sources:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/0/21532400

http://www.streethunters.net/blog/2014/03/26/10-most-influential-active-street-photographers/

http://www.adammarelliphoto.com/2012/06/introduction-to-street-photography/

http://erickimphotography.com/blog/