Thus photographic images took over
linguistic descriptions and became our diaries. As confusing as
this might sound, a camera turns into an extension of our eyes
(actually, only one), easier to use than language, and probably
more accurate. In some way, a camera is a compressed language
all set for the generation of visual sentences. If scientific
use of photography were not available, a great deal of effort
would be necessary to verbally describe what images from outer
space, from the powerful electronic microscope, or from under
the earth and under water, reveal to us. In Leonardo da Vinci's
time, the only alternative was drawing, and a very rich
imagination!
The camera has a built-in space concept, probably more explicit
than language has. This concept is asserted and embodied in the
geometry of the lens and is reflected in some of the
characteristics of photographic images. They are, mainly, two-
dimensional reductions of our three-dimensional universe of
experience, also influenced by light, film emulsion, type of
processing, technology and materials used for printing, but
primarily by physical properties of the lens used. Once our
spatial concept improved and progress in lens processing was
made, we were able to change the lens, to make it more adaptive
(wide angle, zoom) to functions related to visual experiences.
We were also able to introduce an element of time control that
helped to capture dynamic events.
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