In the year 1837, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce and Louis Daguerre
invented the Daguerreotype. In this procedure, the photograph was taken by
using an iodine-sensitised silver plate and mercury vapour. To make a
daguerreotype, a sheet of silver plated copper would be polished to a mirror
finish. The sheet would then be treated with fumes in order to make its surface
light sensitive and exposed in a camera. The image of the subject posing for
the photograph would be made visible by fuming it with mercury vapour. Then to
remove its sensitivity to light, it was treated with a liquid chemical
treatment followed by a rinse and seal of the photograph behind a glass in a
protective enclosure. This was the first practical process to obtain a
photographic image. The government of France purchased the patents of this
invention and released it as a gift, free for all to use. This event took place
on August 19, 1839. And thus tomorrow, the entire world including Goa will be
celebrating World Photography Day.
With the onset of the digital age came the digital camera. This
invention made the idea of capturing memories far more feasible than that of
the method used when the first World Photography Day was celebrated. The
digital camera has a sensor to detect a subject and then accordingly produce
the image and when done right, the best of memories can be obtained through
this creative process. The emergence of smart phones has also given many Goans
the opportunity to capture any moment that they want to. Such is the power of
the digital age. But what makes a good photographer? And what about the usage
of photo filters such as the ‘Prisma’ filter that has really caught up in the
state. “In the past, photography was enhanced in a dark room. In this age of
photography, boosting colours and profile correction is acceptable. But
changing the reality of a picture is not,” says Antonio Pacheco, a photographer
based in Goa who travels around the country on new assignments.
“Digital sensors do not give you the exact colour like the way
it was obtained through film in the past,” says Harsh Kamat, a photographer
based in Goa and doing his further studies in photography itself in Lisbon. He
continues, “Digital sensors capture the closest colours and not the actual
colours. So colour correction is a must as it leads to producing the actual
image while filters will saturate the colours. Filters such as Prisma and so on
cannot be termed as photography. It would come under visual or applied arts.”
According to Harsh, photography requires a human element behind the camera to
capture the right picture.
Prasad Pankar, a prominent fashion photographer of the state,
says that there are filters available for DSLR users for various utility and
effects and that there is nothing wrong in using them. “When it comes to
filters available on different apps, obviously one will make maximum use of it.
I personally do not use any of them. One has to keep in mind that it is the
generation next that is mostly into mobile photography and they want to
experiment with the new things. In fact, they wait for such innovations and
there is no harm in it at all.”
