Examples of Positive Living in Roberto Benigni's Film <i>Life is Beautiful</i>

Roberto Benigni's extremely popular film Life is Beautiful is an exercise in absolute positivism, despite the progressively dismal setting and the disappointments its main characters must face. The principle character, Guido (played by Benigni), is a model of positive living. This extends, perhaps simply through contact with Guido, to his family-wife Dora (played by Benigni's wife, Nicoletta Braschi) and son Giosue (played by Giorgio Cantarini)-who carry core values shared by Guido throughout the film. Specific types of positive living as outlined by Loren Ford (2004) in his book "Human Relations: A Game Plan for Improving Personal Adjustment" portrayed in the film include: strong values; firm decision making; meaning through dedication and service to others; flow through creativity; love; and letting go (pp. 271-290).

Early on in the film we are introduced to Guido's charm and sense of humor in his absolute pursuit of his love, Dora, in an attempt to lure her away from her fiancé and convince her that he (Guido) is the right man for her to love. Guido displays unfailing optimism in this goal. His love extends after marriage, is bestowed upon their son, and remains in full effect even under the most difficult and horrifying of circumstances. His dedication to Dora is inspiring.

Furthermore, Guido's sense of purpose includes his responsibilities as a husband and father, and he serves his wife and son unfailingly. The movie ends with the family in a Nazi concentration camp, owing to the fact that Guido is a Jew. Ford (2004) writes that "To help, nurture, or serve others provides meaning for many individuals (p.276)." This is certainly true in Guido's case, and there is no more straightforward an example than his final sacrifice on behalf of his wife: he risks certain death to attempt to rescue her after making many attempts to contact her through various creative and comical means. He is, in fact, captured and murdered by camp guards. It is a bittersweet ending to a life defined by acts of altruism.

Guido also displays tremendous dedication to his goal of opening a bookstore, thereby finding meaning in the task of becoming a bookstore owner. When he relocates from the country to the city to find work, it is his ultimate desire. He works hard at other jobs he has no particular interest in performing, such as working at a hotel, until he is able to achieve his dream. It is his resourcefulness, optimism, and creativity that help him to be successful in all but his final major goals.

Another example of creativity is in how Guido finds "flow" in his life. Ford (2004, p. 283) relates how researcher Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi found that flow can be considered "the enjoyment we experience when we are engaged in mental and physical challenges that absorb us." Ford (2004) further explains how Csikszentmihalyi suggests that one method of achieving flow through creativity is in being creative problem solvers. Guido is the ultimate creative problem solver, thinking fast on his feet in all circumstances.

One example of this is in the "game" he devises when in the concentration camp to protect his son from the Nazis. He tells Giosue that the camp is part of a grand game, the prize of which is a genuine tank. He then gives Giosue a set of instructions, adding to the list as is necessary, to keep his son from suffering unduly. 

Another example of how Guido employs creative problem solving with respect to his son is in a poignant moment when Giosue inquires as to the meaning of the signs restricting the freedoms of Jews and dogs (degradation in itself). Guido explains how there is no real logic to this, and it is simply a random selection of groups of people and things. He makes light of it in an attempt to reduce any measure of distress.

Another method of positive living suggested by Ford (2004, p. 272) is values. Both Guido and Dora display unfailing values, never wavering even in the face of absolute adversity. Dora has the choice of abandoning her family or being taken with them by the Nazis, and still she remains true to her husband and son. She does this knowing it means she will end up in a camp herself. It is also an example of making a difficult decision, which is no strange concept to Guido, either.

Guido's last decision is arguably the most difficult decision any human must make: a decision of life or death. His choice to attempt to find Dora is one that comes with death, should he fail. He is aware of this danger when he tells his son to hide and attempts his bold goal. And yet he perseveres, decisively, and it is this courage that I carried with me from the scene, despite its painful end with Guido's death.

Guido's final actions are guided by immense love, and it is his love that brightens the world for those around him. He fairly well exudes love and passion, which I personally found to be deeply inspiring. Ford (2004, p. 286) talks about the importance of love in positive living, and there are few goals as noble as spreading love in the world. Guido does this by touching individual lives. This is, I believe, the best way that any of us can affect positive, loving change: by making the effort to bring love into even one life during the course of our own. Guido succeeds not only in the film, but in the audience. Benigni's brilliant character has touched countless viewers.

Finally, Ford (2004, pp. 285-286) discusses a difficult but important task in well-being and positivism: letting go-the ultimate act of forgiveness. It is one thing to accept an apology, or even to forgive those who have wronged us but not apologized, but it is quite another to give up the hurt and move on. This is the essence of letting go. I believe that one specific example of letting go is seen in the final moments of Guido's uncle's life. As he is facing death in the concentration camp, a female guard trips before him. He helps her, an act that seems mystifying when you consider that the Nazi's have sealed his fate. Yet I believe he has forgiven them and let go of the hurt. He has made peace and his compassion triumphs over any negative feelings.
This seminal film is in itself a way to live more positively! I challenge anyone to view it and not take away from it at least one lesson for living a more positive life. Whether that lesson is employed is up to the individual, but I believe this movie is as educational as Ford's text when it comes to demonstrating positive lives.


References

Ferri, E., & Braschi, G., (Producers), & Benigni, R. (Director). (1998). Life is Beautiful [Motion picture]. Italy: Miramax.

Ford, L. (2004). Human relations: A game plan for improving personal adjustment (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Art Box: A Great Way to Get Creative with Children

You've had it! If you hear, "I'm bored. What can I do? There's nothing to do!" or one more whine you'll surely put your head in the dryer and slam the door shut! Keeping kids occupied challenges the most stalwart of adults. Let's face it; we're no match for the leprechaun like stealth of the half-pint human who exhibits no shame while in pursuit of getting what they want. In this case, the want is something to do! Take a deep breath and grab the art box. Aren't you glad you planned for just this kind of rainy, I'm bored day?

The art box is alive with fun projects for little fingers and minds. The key to creating this mother's little helper is to keep it fresh and growing. First you'll need a box. Find a fascinating box, either plastic, heavy cardboard, or a Rubbermaid container. Make sure it's colorful, big and fun. After all, this is a special box, not you're ordinary run of the mill type of box filled with just paper and crayons. The art box I pulled together is a plastic one in primary colors of red, blue and yellow with a snap on lid and a carrying handle. It cost about $5.00 at a big box store.

Once you've found the perfect box you can begin filling it. There's no need to fill it all at once. The idea is to start with the basics: construction paper in lots of colors, crayons, markers, scissors, glue, and a sketchpad. These items can be varied depending on the age of the child. Washable markers are a good idea for the younger set along with small, scissors with rounded ends. Add to the box periodically so when it's opened there's something new inside. Play dough makes a great addition. Forget the molds and the fancy tools. Let the children just use their hands and imagination to create whimsical masterpieces. Toss in stickers from time to time, especially for upcoming holidays. Paints of all kinds can be added. Start with watercolors. Move on to tempra for the older kids, but always have finger paints for the little ones. Sidewalk chalk is a big hit in the summer and in the winter it can be used on large newspaper print. You can usually get the end rolls free or for a nominal fee from newspaper publishers.

Think out of the "box" when coming up with new ideas. Collect little treasures when out walking. Botanicals like small pinecones, straw flowers, dried grasses or try your hand at pressing flowers with your wee ones. These can be glued on to paper to make wonderful nature pictures. Tiny shells and sea glass collected from a trip to the beach will surprise and delight when the box is opened. Glitter, pieces of fabric in bright colors, ribbons and rickrack all get the creative juices flowing. At some point you'll want to add colored pencils, stencils, and a handy dandy ruler. A compass or protractor for the older children will acquaint them with these items as well as aid in the artful creativity that makes children everywhere smile. (At least for a while.)

Keep a look out for unusual items that you can add to the art box. Purchase various colors of tissue paper for paper flowers and roses or to be used in whatever way your child comes up with. Petal paper is a very special paper that is made with bits and pieces of flower petals, grasses and other gifts from nature. It's a bit pricey, but what a treat for the older children.

The more fascinating the items the children find in the box, the more special it becomes. Look around your home. You'll find items that make for interesting art projects like: cotton balls, colorful pastas, sponges, buttons of every size and hue, dryer lint (?) I was just kidding on that one. Keep a good supply of stickers of all kinds on hand to add when nothing else is available

The true key to the "special" box is to have little surprises inside that were not there the last time it was brought down from it's safe spot. This is not the everyday color jar filled with broken bits of crayons; this box is brought out when things become really dire. It's a "special" art box. The special box is only used at the table or easel. No preschoolers are allowed to take one item from the box and walk around with it. Again, the idea is to make it so special that it brings excitement and smiles to the faces of the bored and fretting. It's worked for me and I'm sure it will work for you as well. So get crackin' you never know when the clouds might appear on the horizon or your child's face. As adults, we seriously need all the help we can get. The special art box will give you a moment or if you're lucky, two or three to take a deep cleansing breath. Just look at their cherubic faces. "NOOO don't paint the cat!!!"

Six Tips to Help You Clean and Organize Your Photography Studio

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1. Photography Studio Organization - Use good old fashion hanging files.

Believe it or not, in this digital age, the classic green hanging folder is still a great organization tool. Using manila folders to organize your photography studio's bills, invoices, and receipts is a good start. It is a lost cause however, if you don't have an organized place to put them. The hanging folder is the perfect place to put them

Don't have a filing cabinet to put the hanging folders in? Not a problem. There are several options available at your local retail store. I prefer the clear Rubbermaid bins. They are about 8 inches wide. This means they are easily stored in closets or on a bookshelf. Since photography studio space is usually valuable real estate, these smaller file boxes might be the way to go.

2. Photography Studio Organization - File your files

A great way to keep your files organized is to keep a file of all your files. What do I mean by this? Keep a piece of paper in your photography studio with all of your file folders on with their names. If the folders have sub-folders, list those too.

This will let you see if you have folders that overlap so that you can condense your folders. For example, there is no point in having studio file and a studio equipment file.

You could have this list written on a piece of paper, but that would just be one more piece of paper to file. Try keeping this record in a word or excel document. That way you have one less piece of paper in your office and you can update it much easier when you add new folders and files.

3. Photography Studio Organization - Throw things away

For some reason most photography studio owners have a fear of throwing client paperwork and photos away. There are certain things that you just don't need to hang on to. If you are a digital photographer there is no reason to hold on to basic prints. Create a varity of back-ups and toss the prints. You can always re-print them. If you aren't a digital photographer and have a traditional photography studio, invest in a scanner. This way, if you must hold on to prints for color purposes, you can scan them and toss the print.

There are some things you need to hold onto though.

Tax items are one thing you should hold onto. You should save your tax returns forever. The rest of your tax reports and receipts should be saved for no longer than six years.

Throw away papers that you don't have an immediate need for, can get a copy of easy, or that don't have any tax or legal reason to hold on to.

If you feel like you need to hold on to all your photography studios paperwork, than try scanning it all onto a portable hard drive. Then you can throw all the papers away. It will take more time than growing through all the papers away, but at least the hard drive will take up less space in your office.

You can scan model's head shots for reference later. You can scan pose ideas from magazines so you don't have clipping all over your photography studio.

4. Photography Studio Organization - "Assorted" Folders

How many other, assorted, or misc files do you have in your photography studio? You know, the folder that you put everything in that you just don't know where else to put it. That isn't organization. Odds are you can just throw it away altogether. A good rule of thumb is, if you haven't needed it or touched it in a year then toss it.

5. Photography Studio Organization - Get rid of business cards

There are so many ways to organize all your business cards, model head shots, and contact information. There are plenty of ways to get rid of it altogether as well. A simple approach is to take the business card or headshot and tape it or staple it the file folder it is associated with. At least then it is filed away instead of in a pile on your desk or in a drawer.

There are lots of gadgets out there made for scanning in business cards to your computer. If you are a digital photography studio, you probably already have a scanner, put it to good use. If you don't have the money for one of these than just take some time to enter the contact information into your electronic address book. Outlook has a great address book or you could even use your email clients address book. Anything is better than having them just laying around waiting to get lost.

6. Photography Studio Organization - Use the computer

Try using your photography studio's computer as much as possible. Use it to make your to-do lists, create address books, file documents, and more. The more you keep or put into your computer the less you have in your photography studio.

As I mentioned before, there are plenty of gadgets out there that can help you scan your files into the computer. Take advantage of them!

Where to Find Great Black and White Photography Online

Photo Credit: celtics baby clothes

Black and white photography looks great in any décor. You can find just about anything, in any size, to match just about any room. Plus, the neutral tones of black and white photography ensure that it will match just about any color scheme. Here are some of the best places on the web to purchase black and white photography.

AllPoster.com

AllPoster.com is a fantastic site for cheap artwork. Now, cheap doesn't mean poor quality - quite the contrary, in fact. You can find just about anything - traditional paintings, classical art, black and white photography, large posters of bands, musicians, movies and more. They also offer framing.

My Top Pick: "City Street Signs" by Nelson Figueredo - $24.99 (Price doesn't include shipping and handling, or optional framing.)

Why I Chose This Piece: I love New York, more importantly - I love Broadway. Of course, Broadway and West 34th Street is practically the center of the theatre district. It's a great way to bring a little bit of Broadway right into my own home.

The Wall Art Store

This online store has a lot of fantastic, very 'artsy' black and white photos. They offer free shipping and all of the photos come framed, they even offer a few different selections for matting and frames. However, prices can run you from $55 dollars and all the way up to $919. Ouch. However, the quality is very high - so you can be sure you're getting your money's worth.

My Top Pick: "Stonehenge Sunrise" by Matthew De Haven - $50.00 (Price does not include shipping, handling or frame.
Why I Chose This Piece: I love Stonehenge, it's a fascinating place. The fog adds to the mystery of the structure and it's a great piece to add to a global photography collection.

Artful Home

This website offers a lot of wonderful photographs, but the prices run fairly average. The bottom line photographs start at $110 dollars and run up to several thousand dollars - so this isn't the most budget friendly site. However, if you've got the extra cash lying around, it's a great option and chances are you'll spend similar amounts at local art studios, especially if you live in a metropolitan area.

My Top Pick: "Winter Trees I" through Phoenix Galleries - $299.00 (price includes free shipping as well as framing and matting.)

Why I Chose This Piece: This particular photograph would be great for my fiancé's office. He loves the look of trees in the winter, so this is a great piece for him.

AbsoluteArts.com

Absolute Arts caters to the United States, the UK, China and more - and their prices range anywhere from $10 to $1,000,000. With more than 2500 works of art, you'll be sure to find exactly what you're looking for with this website.

My Top Pick: "Merced River Ice" by Ron Gallmeier - $330, Small; $665, Medium; and $1000, Large.
Why I Chose This Piece: Again, this is another piece I know my fiancé would really appreciate. Plus, I love the look of the water, the snow and the trees - so it's something we would both really enjoy in any room of our home.

So whether you've got $10 or $10,000 - you'll be sure to find the ideal pieces of black and white photography to fit your home décor and personal tastes.

The History of Photography

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Capturing and commemorating precious moments in time has been a need for humans since ancient times. All over the world Prehistoric men have meticulously painted countless cave walls depicting either hunting and sporting events or other significant moments of their time. Later civilizations across the globe operated in similar fashions constructing either elaborate paintings or laborious sculptures. Each painting or sculpture afterward would strive to appear more and more detailed as if attempting to attain that life-like quality of each moment being projected. Battlefield paintings are littered throughout countless history books and journals in multiple languages with the sole purpose of endeavoring to convey a message in which words alone could not express. It is impossible to imagine how much information has been lost in translation throughout time without the truly marvelous invention of the camera and photography. If important events such as the signing of the Declaration of Independence or the pilgrim's first Thanksgiving feast with Native Americans had been captured on film would they hold more important places in the minds and hearts than they do now? People may never know, but the importance and raw power of photography cannot be denied. Whether viewing a portrait or just a moment caught in time, never has the imagination been captured nor have emotions been pulled to the surface as by the captivating image of a photo.

It is important and necessary to understand and explore the origins, the historical figures, and advancements involved in photography's history before people can appreciate just how far this field moved and exceeded all expectations.

"Photography" is derived from the Greek words photos ("light") and graphein ("to draw"). The word was first used by the scientist Sir John F.W. Herschel in 1839. It is a method of recording images by the action of light or related radiation, on a sensitive material (Bellis, n.d.). Photography has played a crucial role in various societies the world over not only as an intricate art form but also as a significant part in our way of life. From its early beginnings to its key figures of inventors and innovators who ushered in the critical and the amazing technical advancements which have made photography the phenomenon it is today.

William M. Ivins was Curator of Prints at the metropolitan Museum of Art in New York from 1916 until 1946 and published a documentary on photography in 1953 which distinguished between the relationship of traditional techniques of hand-drawn printmaking (the woodcut, metal and wood engravings and lithograph) and photography. Ivins noted that historically, printmaking was not usually practiced as an art form as they are practiced today, but as a means of distributing visual information. Ivins argued that once you begin to examine prints (or pictures) in functional terms you discover that without them very few modern sciences would exist; technologies, archaeologies, and ethnologies. Each of these is dependent upon information conveyed by exactly repeatable pictorial statements (Crawford, 1948).

The idea of photography existed long before the camera was invented. The human urge to produce pictures that amplified the faculty of memory by capturing time is at the theoretical base of photography. Artist and inventors have sought after ways to expedite the picture making process and ultimately concentrated on how to repeatedly capture an image directly formed by light since ancient times. Around the fifth century the Chinese philosopher Mo Ti discovered that light reflecting from an illuminated object and passing through a pinhole into a darkened area would form an exact, but inverted, image of that object, offering a prototype of the pinhole camera. By the 10th century the Arabian mathematician Alhazen demonstrated how the pinhole could be an instrument and that images formed through the aperture became sharper when the opening was made smaller.

Leonardo da Vinci noted in 1490 the earliest surviving description of the camera obscura (dark chamber), which was a device designed to reproduce linear perspective. This was a prototype of the photographic camera and essentially a large dark room in which an artist physically entered. Light would emit through a small hole in one of its four walls and produce a distinct but inverted image onto the opposite wall which could be traced. The camera obscura was popular with artist because it could automatically modify a scene by compressing form and emphasizing tonal mass according to pictorial standards (Hirsch, 2000). In 1589 it was discussed that the use of mirrors could theoretically reverse the image that was reflected backwards into the camera obscura which is now the basis for modern-day single lens-reflex camera. By the 17th century camera obscuras were in frequent use by artist and also made portable in the form of sedan chairs (Bellis, n.d.).

Early in the 18th century the rising commercial class longed to procure the status of being commemorated in much the same pictorial style as of the rich. Multiple inventors had commercial incentives to harness the camera to portrait making, as less training would decrease the costs of making a picture. Machine-based systems for multiple copy production were on the threshold of replacing the outdated handmade methods. One such machine was the physionotrace invented by Gilles Louis Chretien in 1786. This device combined two inexpensive methods of portraiture, the cutout silhouette and the engraving. The operator would trace a profile on a glass using a stylus connected to an engraving tool which duplicated the gestures of the stylus onto a copper plate at a smaller scale. Although it was not a camera, the physionotrace reduced portrait making to a systematic mechanical operation and inevitably expanded the portrait market to the middle class.

In regards to the actual process of photography it was in 1727 Professor J. Schulze surmised that by mixing chalk, nitric acid and silver into a flask images would begin to appear in the presence of sunlight. He noticed a darkening on the sides of the flask which were exposed to direct sunlight and purely by accident was the initial creation of the first photo-sensitive compound (Bellis, n.d.).The first to experiment with in the production of images was Thomas Wedgwood from 1800 to 1802 using white leather impregnated with silver nitrate. It was known at that time that most chemical compounds of silver darkened on exposure to light. Wedgwood was able to produce reversed impressions of objects but was unable to make his pictures permanent by removing the unused silver salts after exposure. Joseph Nicéphore Niépce was the next experimenter and in 1816, even though he was able to produce reversed prints on this material and faint pictures on it in a camera obscura, he had little more success due to the paper eventually darkening. In 1822 he directed his attention to the problem of sensitizing metal plates. Niépce discovered that by coating a pewter plate with a varnish he could produce copies of engravings by placing them in contact with strong light and his coated plates and enabled him to etch his plates and them for printing. This process was later improved by his partner Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre who, after Niépce's death in 1833, established a workable process by exposure to the vapor of heated mercury.

"I have found a way of fixing the images of the camera! I have seized the fleeting light and imprisoned it! I have forced the sun to paint pictures for me!" These were the historical words of L. J. M. Daguerre spoken to Charles Chevalier at his Paris optical shop and reflect the driving desire to make permanent images through the action of light. (Hirsch, 2000, 10). Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, inventor of the first practical process of photography, was born near Paris, France on November 18, 1789. A professional scene painter for the opera, Daguerre began experimenting with the effects of light upon translucent paintings in the 1820s. In 1829, he formed a joint venture with Joseph Nicéphore Niépce to improve the process Niépce had developed to take the first permanent photograph in 1826-1827.

After several years of experimentation, Daguerre developed a more convenient and effective method of photography, naming it after himself - the daguerreotype. In 1839, he and Niépce's son sold the rights for the daguerreotype to the French government and published a booklet describing the process. The invention was announced to the public on August 19, 1839 at a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences in Paris and his process was used widely in Europe and in the United States. Daguerre's daguerreotype process required long exposure time and made portraits virtually impossible until in 1840 John Goddard cut exposure time in half by treating the plates with bromine and iodine. With this innovation and the development of new lens designs, made possible the idea commercial portraiture. The daguerreotype process went out of use to the general public in the 1850s due to tight patent restrictions which affected application and eventually became obsolete by 1860 (Coe, 1978).

During this time an English scientist, William Henry Fox Talbot, independently devised a camera based imagining process in 1834 using the light sensitivity of silver salts. He invented the salted paper print which was a printing-out process that allowed him to make images without the use of a camera of botanical specimens engravings, pieces of lace, and even solar photomicrographs. By first coating sheets of ordinary writing paper with sodium chloride, letting them dry, and then recoating them with silver nitrate he formed silver chloride which was more highly sensitive to sunlight and reduced exposure time tremendously producing spontaneous images without chemical development. In 1841 Talbot accidentally discovered a process for negative development that he patent under the name calotype. In this process, an exposed sheet of iodized paper was transferred to a darkroom and brushed with gallic acid until a potent negative was developed. It was then that the negative was contact-printed onto unexposed, salted paper in sunlight to form a positive. This process formed the foundation for silver-based photographic systems still in use today.

The negative-positive principle of the calotype process designed by Talbot and the popular daguerreotype were both truly remarkable for their times but not without limitations. A new process evolved from both but without their limitations and would eventually take their place and was referred to as wet-plate photography. It was a photographer's axiom that paper negatives advantages were outweighed by their disadvantages with their resolution limited of fine detail. It was realized that if glass was used the problem would not exist but it simply was not absorbent to carry the coating of light sensitive salts. In 1839 Sir John Herschel was able to produce an image on glass by precipitating silver chloride onto a glass plate and was later perfected by Abel Niépce de Saint-Victor in 1847 by using egg white albumen coated on the glass providing a suitable medium for sensitive salts. A new material for development called collodion was discovered by Frederick Scott Archer in 1851 formed through dissolving a form of gun-cotton in ether. A glass plate was covered with collodion and plunged into silver nitrate and then the wet-plate was loaded into and exposed in a camera. Immediately after exposure the plate was developed, fixed and washed. The collodion negative could record fine detail and subtle tones and also had the advantage of being more highly sensitive than either the daguerreotype and calotype processes. In contrast the gelatin dry plate was first developed by Dr. Richard Leach Maddox who used gelatin instead of ether vapor of the wet collodion plate due to his poor health. It was later perfected by Charles Bennett in 1878 by reducing exposure times drastically, retaining their properties, being easily manufactured and very sensitive.

Pertaining to film and photo depth, one of the most popular photographic novelties which went on display at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851 was the stereoscopic photograph. The mildly dissimilar vantage points provided by the eyes are combined in the brain to give an image in depth. If two photographs of a scene are taken from points of view separated by two about two inches, and are then viewed so that each eye receives only the image appropriated to it, the result is an apparently three-dimensional picture. This principle was first introduced by Sir Charles Wheatstone in 1832 but was not until Sir David Brewster in 1849 introduced an improved device using lenses that the stereoscope became really practical (Coe, 1977).

Another important milestone in photography is that of the photography of action. The early photographic processes were all relatively insensitive. It was impossible at that time to record moving objects without producing a blur on the plate. Specially designed lenses were utilized by Thomas Skaife in his cameras to pass 200 times more light than conventional landscape lenses. Skaife's 'Pistolgraph' camera was introduced in 1856 and after adding the required lens and a shutter powered by a rubber band allowed permitted exposures sufficiently brief to stop the action of slowly moving subjects. Sir John Herschel's name is synonymous with the term 'snapshot' which describes an instantaneous photograph. But it was Eadweard Muybridge who pioneered the process of motion picture photography using gelatin dry plates in the 1880s and eventually led the likes of Professor Etienne Marey and Ottomar Anschutz to document true animals in action. These individuals were often referred to as chronophotographers (Rosenblum, 1997).

Around the mid 1890s public interest began to peak over the publication of the results of chronophotography. This brought about the demand for the development of hand held cameras to replace the traditional and larger stand cameras. Even though small hand held 'detective' cameras were in circulation they were quite awkward and still required multiple cumbersome pieces of hardware that were an inconvenience to everyone but the most enthusiastic of photographers. Even though the dry plate relieved photographers from making their own plates they still had to process and print them requiring knowledge and necessary skills for the dark room. This was answered by the American bank clerk George Eastman who invented the Kodak camera. Eastman felt that photography was too complicated and stated that; "It seems that one ought to be able to carry less than a pack horse load."(Coe, 1978, 13). Though there were some 'detective' cameras that were reasonably small most were bulky. He developed a rolling mechanism and combined it with lightweight sensitive material and decided to construct a camera that would be small and simple to use. In 1888 the first Kodak camera with a celluloid roll-film was developed.

Around the 1850s, photography was viewed by some as a new medium of communication and became hard to discern between art and industry. Eventually it became apparent that photography was considered a business with a widening division of purpose between amateurs and professionals. The latter were motivated by market forces to develop profitable products while the amateurs pursued their personal inclinations and claimed the moral high ground of art, beauty, truth, relegating the professionals to the corner of crass commercialism. Many of England's most notable photographers abandoned their amateur status and turned professional. During the 19th century realism became a force in the arts. Realism sought to counter the idealized subject matter of Romantic and Neoclassical painting with direct and frank views of everyday life. As the public became acquainted with photography's veracity and ability to give significance to everyday experiences, their expectations about how reality should be represented and what subjects were worthy of depiction changed. Ironically photographs became artistic when they looked less photographic by utilizing retouching methods to appear more like a painting. Paintings, on the other hand, were thought to be more artistic if they portrayed more photographic detail. This contradiction resulted in neither medium being valued for its own inherent qualities. (Hirsch, 2000).

The evolution of the camera has advanced beyond all expectations from the digital mega pixel masterpieces we have today to their most earliest ancestors, the camera obscura. Dating back to ancient times, the camera obscura consisted of a pinhole in a contained box. The pinhole would allow light to pass through and project an image on the adjacent wall thus allowing artist to trace the captured image as it appeared at that moment. Niépce, Wedgewood, Talbot are credited with the first portable camera obscuras but it was Daguerre who designed the first cameras to be commercially produced on any practical scale.

The folding box camera, T. Ottewill's folding camera, and portable "dark tent" cameras all gave way to user friendly handhelds such as the momentograph and detective cameras in 1886, the unusual photosphere with its bell-shaped body and hemispherical shutter, the American Tom Thumb camera in 1889, and the Key camera. These box-form cameras eventually became less popular after 1890 and were replaced with collapsing and folding strut cameras.

Kodak sold these forms of cameras in which glass plates or roll films could be used. For a brief time a type of camera was introduced to appear as anything but a camera. The first 'concealment' camera to receive any publicity was Thompson's Revolver camera in 1862 which resembled a pistol. Another was Marion's Parcel Detective camera of 1885 which was supplied in brown paper and tied with a string to appear as a normal parcel and Ross's Photo scope in 1892 mimicked binoculars. Kodak cameras are credited in 1885 with introducing the ingenuity and the marketing of film development roll-film designs. In 1908 still photography was made practical by Audobard and Baradat with 35-mm film due to its small size and handling convenience. The development of Kodachrome, the first multi-layered color film took place in 1936 as did the development of Exakta which pioneered 35 mm single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras. In 1963 Polaroid developed the first instant color film while Instamatic was released by Kodak. Also in this year Nikon released the first purpose-built underwater camera thus changing the way the world viewed oceanography. As the world approached the millennia major advances in the field of computer technology swept the many nations and major advances in film development also transpired in the field of photography. Computer programs such as Adobe Photoshop was released to the public in 1990 and changed the way photography was perceived by allowing users to edit their own pictures. In 1992 Kodak introduced PhotoCD which permitted users to store their pictures on compact disc. In light of this new technology and with the arrival of digital cameras Kodak ceased all production of film cameras. And most notably, the cutting edge technology most familiar to the public is that of camera phones. These multifunctional cameras hit the market from Japan in 2000 and are changing the field of photography and availability unlike anything seen before (Greenspun, 2007).

Through the course of time and painstaking trial and error, the expansive field of photography had grown immeasurably from the exclusive dreams of a handful of visionaries determined to rival the skilled painters and bring to the public what only was available to the wealthy at that time. Cameras and photography have transformed from an artful pastime into an essential way of life touching it in all aspects the public could have never envisioned nor can foresee what will be next in its future.

Through presenting the history of photography in this research it is paramount to stress the importance and necessary to understand the origins of photography and appreciate the many designs that the camera has undertaken since its birth. The field of photography would have undoubtedly fell short in practical use, technological discoveries, and the art community would most likely have suffered a tremendous amount without the inventors and innovations of its past. The advancements involved in photography's history are all but unparalleled in its ingenious technology and reigns as a true marvel for all inventions. Far though as foreign lands may be and alien that other cultures may seem, with a better appreciation of photography our world could be closer captured instantly in snapshot.

References

Bellis, M. Historyof Photography and the Camera. Retrieved June 24, 2008, from www.about.com

Web site: http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blphotography.htm

Coe, B. (1977). TheBirth of Photography: The Story of the Formative Years 1800-1900. New York: Taplinger Publishing Company.

Coe, B. (1978). Cameras: From Daguerreotypes to Instant Pictures. New York: Crown Publishers.

Crawford, W. (1948). The Keepers of Light: A History and Working Guide to Early Photographic Processes. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Morgan and Morgan

Greenspun, P. (2007, January). History of Photography Timeline. Retrieved June 24, 2008, from

http://photo.net Web site: http://photo.net/history/timeline

Hirsch, R. (2000). Seizing the Light: A History of Photography. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.

Rosenblum, N. (1997). A World History of Photography. New York, NY: Abbeville Press.

Using Depth of Field for Photography

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It's one of the greatest tools available to photographers, it's easy to use, and yet it's among the least known and used abilities of a camera today. Pro photographers have used it for decades, but the amateur can use these same techniques without paying the professional price. It's called depth of field, and it's accessed through the use of the aperture.

The aperture, simply put, is the hole that light comes through in your camera. Light passes through the front of the lens, through a series of glass pieces, through a hole at the back of the lens, and into the camera. The aperture is the hole in the back of the lens, and you get to control this vital part of the camera, if you decide to want to bump up your pictures. You can place the camera on auto, and the camera will adjust its aperture, shutter and more to the situation it sees. By placing the camera in more manual modes, you take on powerful and personal control, and YOU get to decide what you want to create with your photographs.

An important factor here is lighting. Any photography relies heavily on the lighting that you are using, whether it be from the natural, ambient light around you, or artificial light, like a strobe or other flash unit. Especially while using natural light, it will be important to use a tripod to keep the camera steady while shooting. If you are shooting on a cloudy day, without much light, then the camera must compensate for less light by having a longer shutter speed, which it will do automatically in the mode I'll be explaining in a moment. A longer shutter speed means the camera won't be able to have a clearly focused picture without the use of the tripod.

Depth of field simply means the area of focus, or the area in the picture that is in focus might be a more accurate term. Photography is a two dimensional medium, having height and width, but it lacks depth, the third dimension. Your photography can create the illusion of that depth through a few easy camera settings. You may be asking yourself, why would I want to create the illusion of depth, and what is it good for? Part of the reason is to create a sense of emphasis. When you take a picture of a large area, with trees, birds, squirrels, people, rocks, etc, what is the thing or object that you are zeroing in on? Is there anything that you really want to emphasize to your viewer? If so, it's probably getting lost in the crowd of other things on the scene. The squirrels are so small you can barely see them, the people are walking their dogs, and the trees are swaying in the breeze. But what if you wanted to focus on the viewer on the flowers in the garden? When you create emphasis on an object, it strengthens your photo, and actually guides the eye of the viewer to that object. You could take pictures to create a story about that, as you can read in my article about photo stories. When you get in to take close-ups of the flowers is where the possibilities of great photography begin.

Emphasize the garden by focusing in on one or two flowers at a time. Grab a tripod, get down to eye level with them, and then get ready. Place your camera in a mode that allows you to change your aperture; the mode is usually called "A", or "AV" on some models. Film cameras can allow these changes too, on SLR models. They require you to simply change the f-stop manually on the aperture ring. On your digital camera, use your selector buttons to change your aperture. You'll see on your digital camera, most likely, a letter f, with the number on the readout on either the monitor, or the info panel on the top of the camera, or perhaps both areas. The f means f-stop, which is the name commonly used to describe the number of the aperture setting. The best way to emphasize a flower is to have only that flower in focus, and to have the rest out of focus. Change your aperture to a really low number, such as 2.8, 4, or 5.6. When the lens is at a low number like this, the lens hole is wide open, but it is creating a small area or depth of field; basically an inch or two will be in focus. Focus your camera, and shoot. Now, look at the camera, and look at your pictures. The one or two flowers should be in focus, but do you see how the background is fuzzy and out of focus? This is what is called a "shallow depth of field", and that comes from using a small number f-stop. That's because you've taken control of your camera, and changed the outcome! Because only the flower is in focus, and the rest is blurred out, you have guided your viewer to what YOU want to emphasize! You have used one of the most powerful tools available for a photographer to bring a new focus to your pictures. Try this with a lot of different scenes; look how the item is forced to really stand out for you because it's the only thing in focus.

Now, on the opposite end of the spectrum are the pictures that have the entire photograph in focus; such as a lighthouse standing out from the beach, with horseshoe crab shells in the immediate foreground. This is also done by changing the depth of field of your camera. Here, you again change your aperture, but this time place it on a high number like 16, 22, 28, etc. This is to create a large depth of field by using a small hole in the back of the lens. Again, you must use a tripod to keep the camera steady. Take a picture with something in the near foreground, such as a rock or the crab shells, and then compose your picture with a mountain or some other object some distance away, focus, and shoot. Remember to use the rule of thirds here for additional emphasis. As you'll see, both areas should be in focus, again showing the third dimension and creating the illusion of depth. This is a large depth of field.

It's a little known tool in the photographer's toolbox, but almost any camera made in the past four years will have some sort of ability to work with depth of field, whether they have a point and shoot or DSLR. Every photographer, of every level, has the ability, through practice, to create beautiful photographs that can rival those of the pros, by using the tools available with every camera. Use the strength of depth of field when you create the third dimension in your photographs, and add a new and incredibly
powerful personal dimension to your photography.

Photographer Interview: Break into Concert Photography

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Anthony Siciliano of Ramsey, NJ, was initially attracted to photography through some playful competition with his friends. Even when he realized his friends had no idea how to use their cameras, he stuck with it and earned recognition in photography and videography.

As a photojournalist and concert photographer his experience is transferring into his newest venture as part of Awesome Farm - a video production and photography business formed with his friends. At least with the friends that know how to use a camera.

Siciliano answered a few questions and gave some advice for fellow photographers looking to break in to photography, specifically concert photography and photojournalism.

What was your first camera?
My first DSLR was a Nikon D80 with the 18-70 mm lens. However, the first point-and-shoot that I bought for myself was a Pentax Optio S-40, which I still have. I really enjoyed taking pictures of flowers, but I was dissatisfied with the performance and results of my point-and-shoot (particularly, the shutter lag). I looked into DSLRs, and ended up purchasing the D80. Thousands of dollars, and much gear later, here I am.

What photographers - well known or unknown - inspire you?
I really have fun with concert photography, live shows where I bring back photos that give you a good sense of what happened during an event. A photographer that does this very well is Todd Owyoung. His website is http://ishootshows.com/. Not only does he get awesome results, but also he shares his wealth of knowledge with everyone, which I respect immensely.

Check out the Strobist blog as well. It features off-camera lighting and lots of DIY equipment at http://strobist.blogspot.com/.

Is there a certain piece of gear you could not live without?
I do not skimp on my gear, and it has definitely paid off. In my opinion, it is better to save up for a longer time and get better equipment, than it is to spend early on something else. Unfortunately, I am addicted to buying new things, which can get very expensive. I could not live without any of this stuff, but if I had to pick one lens, the one that does most of my work is the 18-70mm lens.

Do you have any goals in mind with your photography?
I hope that I will be shooting famous bands very soon. A lot of doing that is getting to know the people who run the events, and the people who manage the bands. So far, the most famous people I have photographed in concert are Kate Voegele, Jack's Mannequin and the rest have been local bands. Currently, I shoot for local newspapers. The pay is not very good, but it is fun and better than nothing at all. Doing this will help me get exposure.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to shoot concerts?
The gear that is best for concert photography, at least in my opinion, is fast lenses and cameras with high ISO abilities. It is deceptively dark inside most music venues. My 50 mm lens does a lot of work there, with its extremely fast 1.8 aperture. My other lenses that go down to aperture 2.8 are extremely important. Large wide-open apertures are important for catching performers in action, without blur. Someone that wants to shoot concerts should definitely invest in a 50 mm lens, and save up to buy other fast lenses. Many places do not allow flash during performances, and your brand-new flash unit will not do any good when security tackles you. Also, watch out for drunken people and mosh pits at shows, which is a good way to wreck your camera.

How did you get a job with your local newspaper? What skills does that require?
When I was doing physical therapy for my tendinitis, I met a photographer who was shooting some photos for a brochure. We got to talking, and she gave me the contact info of a local photo editor. The skill involved in photojournalism is the same most other photographers use, except more irritating. Not only do you have to capture good pictures, but also you have to do it consistently, and make sure you get people's first and last names. If you do not get their names, editors will not use your photos. That can be a big disappointment, after all your hard work. You also have to be versatile and ready for anything. Get to events early and scope things out. that is the best advice I can give. Coming in late and not getting a good spot makes things a lot more difficult.

What advice would you give new photographers?
The best way to learn photography is by doing. When I bought my camera, I barely knew how to use the thing. One great thing I think everyone should do is a Project 365. That is where you take one photo per day (at least) and write a little bit about it on your Flickr account or a photo blog. It will help you learn to shoot in all current situations as well as on days or times where you think a camera might not be convenient to have. Then, at the end of the year, you look back and see how much you have improved, as well as your year in a series of photos. Also, do not forget to take a break when you are post-processing your images. I got a bad case of tendinitis from using the computer too much, and it really puts a kink in your photography.

Where can people see your photography?
Check out my photography on my Flickr site at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/scis/ and soon at www.awesomefarm.com.