如今，大部分人使用的智能手机都有拍照功能，想要拍摄和储存数码相片是件很容易的事。不过，从最开始的暗箱式相机到需要冲洗底片的胶片相机，从黑白相片到彩色相片，人们拍照的工具和方式经过了两百年的发展和演变。本期 “随身英语” 聊聊摄影技术的演变过程。
词汇：photography 摄影
Now, pretty much everyone has a camera in their back pocket – in the form of a smartphone. It's easy to take hundreds of photos without needing to really consider set up or storage. And it's very hard to imagine that, at one time, capturing an image was an almost impossible process.
Going back even before traditional film cameras, there were camera obscuras. These were boxes with a small hole in them. Through one side, an image could be projected onto a wall on the opposite side of the box. However, the picture was upside down, very faint, and couldn't be captured in physical form – a bit like the images we see on modern projectors. In 1839, a French artist managed to work out a way to store and save photographs. He projected the image onto a shiny metal plate treated with chemicals. These images were in black and white. The first colour photo ever taken was of a tartan ribbon. The image was composed of three black and white photographs, each taken through a red, blue or green filter.
So, how did we get from these early photographs to the kind we put into a frame and keep? Before the digital revolution, an image was captured on a negative, and this method is still chosen by some photographers today. A negative is an inverted image on a small strip of glass or plastic film which can then be exposed to light and processed onto photographic paper. When this was the main source of obtaining physical copies of photographs, it was a lengthy process with customers having to take the negatives to a shop and wait for their pictures to be developed.
That was until digital photography came along in the 70s. Digital cameras captured images that could be saved as files and manipulated on a computer. Those are the kind of photos we take today on our phones.
So, don't take the camera in your pocket for granted. It's been years in the making.
词汇表
smartphone 智能手机
set up 设置
storage 储存
capture 拍摄，捕捉
film cameras 胶片相机
camera obscura 暗箱
project 投映
upside down 上下颠倒的
faint 虚的，不清晰的
projector 投影仪
treat （用特殊物质）处理
colour photo 彩照
filter 滤镜
frame 相框
digital 数字的
negative 底片
inverted 颠倒的
film 胶卷
expose to 暴露于…
process 冲洗加工（底片）
photographic paper 相纸
develop 冲洗（底片）
manipulate 处理，修饰
测验与练习
1. 阅读课文并回答问题。
1. What were some problems with images from camera obscuras?
2. How did a French artist store and save photographs?
3. True or False? The first colour photo was red, blue and green.
4. Why was obtaining physical copies of film photographs a lengthy process for customers?
5. What is different about digital photographs compared to traditional ones?
2. 选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。
1. We _______ films onto this big screen from this device.
capture project treat filter
2. I printed off the photo, _______ it and put it on the wall.
processed developed framed exposed
3. The picture is too _______ to see anyone's face clearly.
traditional upside down faint digital
4. I use my _______ to make calls, take photos and for using social media.
filter projector smartphone plate
5. I've run out of _______. Do you have any more?
negative film camera obscura photograph
答案
1. 阅读课文并回答问题。
1. What were some problems with images from camera obscuras?
The picture was upside down, very faint, and couldn't be captured in physical form.
2. How did a French artist store and save photographs?
He did this by projecting the image onto a shiny metal plate treated with chemicals.
3. True or False? The first colour photo was red, blue and green.
False. The first colour photo was composed of three black and white photographs, each taken through a red, blue or green filter.
4. Why was obtaining physical copies of film photographs a lengthy process for customers?
It was a lengthy process because customers had to take the negatives to a shop and wait for their pictures to be developed.
5. What is different about digital photographs compared to traditional ones?
Digital cameras captured images that could be saved as files and manipulated on a computer.
2. 选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。
1. We project films onto this big screen from this device.
2. I printed off the photo, framed it and put it on the wall.
3. The picture is too faint to see anyone's face clearly.
4. I use my smartphone to make calls, take photos and for using social media.
5. I've run out of film. Do you have any more?
