Digital Imaging

Abstract

From the earliest days of photography in the 1820s, the still image has been used to record and preserve scenes and events for posterity. The use of photographic film involved elements of photochemical processing to develop and stabilize images. The development of digital cameras in the late 1990s was one of the most significant transitions from traditional processes to ones which were often entirely digital. This was faster, cheaper, and more accurate than chemical processing, and also allowed significant opportunities for subsequent image editing, manipulation, or other forms of processing. This gave the photographer much greater flexibility in the production of final images. It changed the traditional photographic industry completely. It also raised the interesting and relevant question of the meaning of the final image, if it represented some form of advancement from the initial image of the person or scene that was initially photographed. The subsequent development of relatively low-cost mobile phones with integrated cameras and increasing capability in terms of function and resolution provided a further platform for the expansion of low-cost digital imaging. They enabled the recording and storage of both still and video images. Smart phones enable such images to be immediately shared across the Internet using photo-sharing and social web sites. The motion picture industry has also been transformed by the utilization of digital technology. It has enabled more efficient and cheaper copying, distribution, and projection processes for main stream movies, as well as allowing the direct addition of digital special effects during movie post-production. At the same time, digital technology has continued its onward march. Streaming media allows digital content to be downloaded via the Internet, giving more flexibility for the viewer, and challenging traditional distribution mechanisms. Variants on the traditional digital camera have been developed, such as the light-field camera, which captures the intensity of light in a scene and the direction of the light rays. It has the capability to change the focal distance and depth of field after a photograph is taken. Although photography remains a significant art form, and there are many exhibitions which display the work of famous photographers (including those who use modern digital technology as part of their work), todays smart phones have also made photographs more ubiquitous and transitory and many have become an integral part of the social media landscape. Photography and imaging has to a significant extent been redefined from its origins. However, digital media has raised ongoing issues such as copyright, digital media rights, and fair use which are proving difficult to resolve.