One of the biggest advantages of electronic imaging is time. After a photograph is taken, it can be transmitted anywhere in the world in a matter of seconds. This makes images available immediately. This immediacy is both critical and valuable to civilian media teams and military organizations. With electronic imaging, there is no film processing or printing. What you need to do is activate a transmitter and send it.

Several methods of transmitting electronic images are used. One method of transmitting the image is using the Sony Digital Information Handler with the Kodak DCS 100. The Sony Digital Information Handler is a digitizer and transceiver that can be connected to a phone line or uplinked to a satellite. This unit uses a still-video camera and 2-inch floppy disk.

Another method of transmitting images is by use of the Kodak DCS 200. This unit can be hooked to a laptop computer, such as a MacIntosh Powerbook, to accomplish the same methods of transmission.

Companies, such as Harris Corporation and Phototelesis Inc., have built rugged, portable image processing workstations that are compatible with standard U.S. Navy communication systems and encryption devices. These devices provide a secure means for transmitting tactical intelligence images worldwide.

One problem you may encounter when attempting to transmit images is locating a clear phone line or an available satellite. A clear phone line is necessary to ensure that a good image is transmitted.

Another factor you must consider when transmitting images is the amount of time you are tying up the circuit. The larger the file size, the longer it takes to transmit the file. It is good practice to compress files before transmission. When files are received at the other end, they can be decompressed without loosing quality.

You can see the major advantages of electronic imaging. Images that used to take days or even weeks to obtain can now be obtained in minutes.

ETHICS AND THE ELECTRONIC IMAGE

The adoption and popularity of electronic imaging raises important ethical questions. The altering of images has existed since the beginning of photography.

Figure 3-14.-The cloning device was used to replicate a helicopter in this image.

But, such manipulations have never been easy to achieve and were very time-consuming. However with electronic imaging, you can create images and manipulate images easily, completely, and it is virtually undetectable. Electronic information, unlike traditional photography, can be modified radically without loss of resolution or evidence that the information has been altered.

Official Navy images must be truthful. Most electronic images require some type of enhancement or manipulation, but you must not deceive the viewer when creating electronic images for official purposes. Some types of image manipulation are morally acceptable and others are not. You must have a clear understanding of what is considered deception.

"Deception" may be described as an intentional act to mislead someone to a false conclusion. Deception exists when a person is misled by an outright lie or by failing to provide a person with the relevant truth.

When manipulation of an image creates a false depiction of reality or when manipulation of an image fails to disclose some relevant piece of reality, the manipulation is deceptive.

To help you determine whether an action on an electronic workstation is ethical, you should draw a distinction between image manipulation and image enhancement. The following two scenarios are provided to help you arrive at the difference between image manipulation and image enhancement.

1. An obviously overweight male LCDR comes into the portrait studio for a full-length photograph. This photograph is for use for a promotion package. It is neither acceptable nor ethical for you to manipulate this person's image by stretching and slimming his body or superimposing his head on an image of a physically fit body. Removing a reflection from his glasses is an acceptable enhancement since it does not change his overall natural appearance.

Figure 3-15.-Magic wand used in PhotoStyler to isolate the silhouette image.

2. You shoot a head-and-shoulder portrait of the new commanding officer. After pulling up the image on the monitor, you notice a smudge of lipstick on her teeth. It is acceptable and ethical for you to remove the lipstick from her teeth because this does not change her appearance. However, it is not ethical for you to straighten a crooked tooth because this changes her natural appearance.

Currently, official instructions and guidelines are nonexistent for electronic image enhancement or manlpulatlon. Therefore, it is important for you to have high, personal, and ethical standards. Unlike conventional silver-halide photography where photographic prints can be compared with the original negative, digital images can be retouched or changed with absolutely no evidence of modification.

Figure 3-16.-Color correction tool used in PhotoStyler.