Analog photography
Encyclopedia
Analog photography is a commonly used term for photography
that uses a progressively changing recording medium, which may be either chemical process
based (e.g., photographic film
or plate
) or electronic
(e.g., vidicon
or CCD
sensor).
In a film camera that uses the gelatin-silver process
, light falling upon photographic emulsion
s containing silver halide
s is recorded as a latent image
. The latent image is subjected to photographic processing
, which makes it visible and insensitive to light.
In a video camera
or digital still camera
, the signal is captured with a video camera tube
or charge coupled device sensor, which sends the picture to be processed by the camera's electronics. The signal can be transmitted or recorded on a storage device for later playback.
, a popular clothing chain has picked up on the trend and now offers more than 60 product combinations relating to cameras most of which are film-based.
Polaroid used to be one of the most popular tools for analog instant photography, Facing the digital revolution, Polaroid stopped production of analog instant film in 2008. A company called Impossible Project acquired though Polaroid's production machines in order to produce new instant films for Vintage Polaroid cameras and to revive the analog Polaroid photography technique.
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
that uses a progressively changing recording medium, which may be either chemical process
Chemical process
In a "scientific" sense, a chemical process is a method or means of somehow changing one or more chemicals or chemical compounds. Such a chemical process can occur by itself or be caused by somebody. Such a chemical process commonly involves a chemical reaction of some sort...
based (e.g., photographic film
Photographic film
Photographic film is a sheet of plastic coated with an emulsion containing light-sensitive silver halide salts with variable crystal sizes that determine the sensitivity, contrast and resolution of the film...
or plate
Photographic plate
Photographic plates preceded photographic film as a means of photography. A light-sensitive emulsion of silver salts was applied to a glass plate. This form of photographic material largely faded from the consumer market in the early years of the 20th century, as more convenient and less fragile...
) or electronic
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
(e.g., vidicon
Video camera tube
In older video cameras, before the mid to late 1980s, a video camera tube or pickup tube was used instead of a charge-coupled device for converting an optical image into an electrical signal. Several types were in use from the 1930s to the 1980s...
or CCD
Charge-coupled device
A charge-coupled device is a device for the movement of electrical charge, usually from within the device to an area where the charge can be manipulated, for example conversion into a digital value. This is achieved by "shifting" the signals between stages within the device one at a time...
sensor).
In a film camera that uses the gelatin-silver process
Gelatin-silver process
The gelatin silver process is the photographic process used with currently available black-and-white films and printing papers. A suspension of silver salts in gelatin is coated onto a support such as glass, flexible plastic or film, baryta paper, or resin-coated paper...
, light falling upon photographic emulsion
Photographic emulsion
Photographic emulsion is a light-sensitive colloid, such as gelatin, coated onto a substrate. In silver-gelatin photography, the emulsion consists of silver halide crystals suspended in gelatin, and the substrate may be glass, plastic film, paper or fabric....
s containing silver halide
Silver halide
A silver halide is one of the compounds formed between silver and one of the halogens — silver bromide , chloride , iodide , and three forms of silver fluorides. As a group, they are often referred to as the silver halides, and are often given the pseudo-chemical notation AgX...
s is recorded as a latent image
Latent image
A latent image on photographic film is an invisible image produced by the exposure of the film to light. When the film is developed, the area that was exposed darkens and forms a visible image...
. The latent image is subjected to photographic processing
Photographic processing
Photographic processing is the chemical means by which photographic film and paper is treated after photographic exposure to produce a negative or positive image...
, which makes it visible and insensitive to light.
In a video camera
Video camera
A video camera is a camera used for electronic motion picture acquisition, initially developed by the television industry but now common in other applications as well. The earliest video cameras were those of John Logie Baird, based on the electromechanical Nipkow disk and used by the BBC in...
or digital still camera
Digital camera
A digital camera is a camera that takes video or still photographs, or both, digitally by recording images via an electronic image sensor. It is the main device used in the field of digital photography...
, the signal is captured with a video camera tube
Video camera tube
In older video cameras, before the mid to late 1980s, a video camera tube or pickup tube was used instead of a charge-coupled device for converting an optical image into an electrical signal. Several types were in use from the 1930s to the 1980s...
or charge coupled device sensor, which sends the picture to be processed by the camera's electronics. The signal can be transmitted or recorded on a storage device for later playback.
Popularity
Analog photography is frequently used as a title for those who are keen to work with, or do work with more traditional types of photography; dedicated online communities have been established in which like minded individuals together share and explore historic photographic practices. Analog photography has in fact become much more popular with younger generations who have become increasingly interested in the traditional photographic practice; sales in film based cameras began to soar and youth were seen to embrace some 19th century technology Urban OutfittersUrban Outfitters
Urban Outfitters, Inc. is a publicly traded American company that owns and operates five retail brands: Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, Terrain, and BHLDN....
, a popular clothing chain has picked up on the trend and now offers more than 60 product combinations relating to cameras most of which are film-based.
Polaroid used to be one of the most popular tools for analog instant photography, Facing the digital revolution, Polaroid stopped production of analog instant film in 2008. A company called Impossible Project acquired though Polaroid's production machines in order to produce new instant films for Vintage Polaroid cameras and to revive the analog Polaroid photography technique.
See also
- Analog signalAnalog signalAn analog or analogue signal is any continuous signal for which the time varying feature of the signal is a representation of some other time varying quantity, i.e., analogous to another time varying signal. It differs from a digital signal in terms of small fluctuations in the signal which are...
- DigitizingDigitizingDigitizing or digitization is the representation of an object, image, sound, document or a signal by a discrete set of its points or samples. The result is called digital representation or, more specifically, a digital image, for the object, and digital form, for the signal...
- Digital photographyDigital photographyDigital photography is a form of photography that uses an array of light sensitive sensors to capture the image focused by the lens, as opposed to an exposure on light sensitive film...
- Digital versus film photographyDigital versus film photographyDigital versus film photography has been a topic of debate since the invention of digital cameras towards the end of the 20th Century. Both digital and film photography have advantages and drawbacks...
- List of photographic processes