CHAPTER 11 BASIC PHOTOGRAPHY

How much does a Navy journalist need to know about photography? Some JOs are expert photographers, while others resort to asking imaging facility personnel for photographic coverage of an event.

The fact remains that you will be tested on your knowledge of photography. At some point in your career, your supervisor will expect you to know the fundamentals of photography, to take news photographs with good composition, to use standard Navy darkroom equipment to process exposed film and to produce contact and projection prints.

If you can do these things already, you have a very important trait needed in the JO rating - versatility However, if photography is not your strong suit, pay particular attention to the information in this chapter and the one that follows ("Basic Photojournalism," Chapter 12). Also, there is nothing like hands-on experience. Ask a senior JO for some on-the-job training or contact the nearest Navy imaging facility for instruction.

NOTE: This chapter is intended to aquaint you with the basic concepts of photography. For more detailed information, consult the Photography (Basic) and Photography (Advanced) TRAMANS.

THE PHOTOGRAPHIC PROCESS

LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Identify the basic process of photography.

The basic equipment required for the photographic process, as shown in figure 11-1, includes the following components:

A subject

Alight source

A camera

Photographic film

Chemicals for processing film

A printing device

Photographic paper . Chemicals for processing paper

SUBJECT

The subject can be anything. If it can be seen, it can be photographed. Just as there must be light to form an image, there must be a subject from which to form the image.

FILM

Film, as defined in this chapter, is a light-sensitive emulsion of silver halides suspended in gelatin and coated on a transparent and chemically neutral base, usually cellulose or polymer plastic. The choice of film type is determined by the size and the sensitivity required by both the camera and the nature of the light to be used. During the exposure, silver halide crystals in the emulsion undergo anionic change forming a latent image that can then be reduced to a visible and usable image through a complex chemical process.

CAMERA

The camera is essentially a lighttight box with an optical system at one end and an image support at the other. Additions to the basic camera have been made to improve focusing the image, viewing, controlling the amount and duration of light entering the box, film changing or rolling and range and exposure calculators. While these improvements are valuable, they are not absolutely essential to the photographic process. A picture can be made with a coffee can if it has a pinhole atone end and a support for film at the other.

FILM PROCESSING

The processing of film to convert the latent image into a stable, visible image for use in printing requires you to carry out the following four basic steps:

Developing or converting exposed silver halides to metallic silver - the black or dark portions of the visible image

Fixing or changing the silver halides unaffected by the developing to soluble salts

Figure 11-1. - The photographic process.

Figure 11-2. - The 35mm single-lens reflex (SLR) camera.

Washing to remove the soluble salts and residual chemicals

Drying the film for handling

Once these steps have been completed, you have a negative ready for printing.