Hanwen Hu

Feelings after reading:

In the article, the author focuses on explaining his understanding of digital imaging technology. One of the points that resonate with me the most is that he believes that although traditional mechanical photography and digital photography look similar, they are actually two completely different things. Different from the traditional chemical imaging process after mechanical photography, digital photography only needs to be transcoded and printed, which is actually a great convenience. And this fast process also reflects the “fluidity of data”.

I remember seeing mechanical photography when I was very young， I once follow the step after video cameras stored images on “film” and developed the film with a developer in the imaging room to complete the photo. I can still remember that dim and reddish environment, enough to make an unsuspecting child think he was on the set of some kind of horror or suspense movie. And the processing is not always perfect, the wrong processing method, the wrong proportion of the developer solution, an extra light source accidentally in the dark room…too many factors can ruin the photo. But digital photography is different. A simple video camera can adjust the exposure and focus automatically, and the post-processing can even be completed with the aid of a computer. A digital photo flows down the tide of data and comes straight into your hands. I’m a big fan of this clean and effective prop.

Of course, there is also a simpler version of mechanical photography. There was once a popular camera called “Polaroid” in China. It has a miniature “darkroom” that can be used to complete photos in the camera on the spot. However, due to the limitations of mechanical photography, a compact camera that achieves such a complex structure will undoubtedly not have a large storage space, which also prevents photographers from shooting as they wish. On the contrary, they must consider which scenes they want to shoot , After all, the film is only a little bit. Of course, digital photography also has its disadvantages. Too convenient post-processing makes it impossible for you to distinguish the authenticity of those photos in many cases. In many cases, a few post-production pictures can convince a large number of uninformed people that there is such a person or person on the earth. In this digital age, this may have far more serious consequences than we imagined.

Just let time tell about the future of digital photography.