Robin Paul

The Art and Science
of Digital Photography

MEETING DATE: June 20, 2014

Digital photography has truly democratized the field of photography. To-day digital cameras are not only affordable, many compact cameras are fairly inexpensive. Also, most cell phones and tablet computers these days come with built-in digital image making capabilities. Technology has made it possible to take decent snap shots with digital cameras without any knowledge of photography or understanding of the camera itself.

Serious amateur photographers and photography enthusiasts, however, need a deeper knowledge of the underlying technology of the digital camera as well as a fuller understanding of the capabilities of this technology.  The knowledge and understanding are essential in order to take full advantage of digital photography for creating images that truly fulfill the vision of the photographer.

In this talk, Robin will take a brief look at the history of digital photography, give an over view of digital camera system using digital single lens reflex (dSLR) camera as a model, explain the important role sensor and image processor play, and describe how the technology relates to ISO, image resolution, dynamic range and tonality of digital images. Easy to use image editors allow digital photographers to achieve results that were unthinkable for most amateur film photographers. Robin will show examples of some difficult image capturing situations and explain how digital image editors can help simplify image making in such situations.

The material presented at the talk will make you better understand the science behind your digital camera and help you create better photographic art. Your photography experience will become even more enjoyable.

Robin is an electrical engineer retired from AT&T Bell Laboratories. Before joining AT&T, he spent several years working at the Computer Systems Division of Perkin-Elmer Corp. in Tinton Falls , NJ .  He has been a loyal BCUG member since November 2009. He is a member of our group that refurbishes computers at Family Resources every other Thursday. Robin is always willing to help when needed.