Within the Darkroom: Basic Photography Info   

There are three major concerns to remember when discussing the topic of photography, whether attempting personal or paranormal photos. The three are film, light, and your camera. Photography, putting it simply, is how these three items relate to each other to produce a finished product such as a slide or print. In this issue we are going to take a quick look at these three topics, how they relate to producing photos, and briefly define them.

Cameras - There are many different types of cameras, SLRs, Medium -formats, digital, disposable, Polaroid, etc.. They come in different styles and shapes. All cameras have a lens, an aperture, and a shutter. An aperture is basically a hole within the lens of the camera. This hole allows light to pass through the lenses. The wider the opening of the aperture the more light that passes through. Smaller opening less light. Think of it like an eye. The aperture is like the pupil of the lenses. On a camera where you can manually adjust the settings, you can control the aperture by setting the F-Stop (the aperture control). Some cameras, such as "point-and-shoots", do not allow you to adjust any of the settings. They are preset and encased in a simple to use camera. Don’t mistake this for meaning these cameras are not helpful or useful, to the contrary they can be invaluable. "Point-and-shoot" 35mm or digital cameras do not need you to fumble with settings or try and get your subject into focus. They are also great for travel and can be managed easy. The draw backs are they do not allow you to zoom in or out on a subject and the photo quality is normally grainy especially when enlarging the finished photo.

Film - This is what goes in the camera to give you the finished product. Film react to the light that it gets exposed to from the camera. The more light the film gets exposed to the brighter the image will be. The higher speed films are more sensitive to light, so a 800 speed film is better than 100 for concerts or a late night hunt where there may be little if any natural light. The higher the speed the faster the film can catch a moving object, so again 800 would be better for a sporting event or a moving subject than a 100 speed film. The 100 would be blurry if the subject was moving. The types of film include black & white, color for prints, and color for slides. There are a few other types such as those designed for an Kodak ADVANTiX 35mm. However, the film and camera can only be used together. You can’t use ADVANTiX film in a regular camera and vice versa. Of course digital photography normally uses a disk instead of film. Each type of camera and film has advantages and disadvantages.

Light - You capture your subject’s image on film by exposing the film to light. Too much light can ruin and overexpose a photo. Too little light and your picture will be black and unusable. In photography, light can be measured and controlled through a camera’s F-Stop (the amount of brightness the aperture lets in) and Shutter Speed (How long the shutter stays open. The shutter blocks all light from exposing the film. When you press the button the shutter opens giving the film a brief flash of light).

It is these three items working together that can help you take better pictures as well as to help us understand what those weird images are that we "caught". That odd white blur in the corner of the photo may be an apparition but it may also be an overexposed part of the film. In understand these three basic concepts we can start to look at our photos with a more aware eye, we can also be prepared for taking pictures out in the field and still judge the outcome fairly.

A few other suggestion for when you are aiming to take photos out in the field:

1. Always make sure your lens is clean! This is important to make certain the "ghostly" image isn't lint or dust particles.
2. Always take more than one shot of your intended picture. If you feel you have something, shoot a couple of pictures one right after another. This will allow you to rule out most abnormalities that may develop on the film.
3. Check the negatives for scratches or water spot, this can occur through developing. (A quick word on development: Some 1 hour and send away photo labs do not develop film they think is underdeveloped, overexposed, or blank. Inform the lab that you want prints of all film, no matter the picture. This will allow you to see thing they might have written off as blank or damaged film. Hey, you never can tell.)
4. Always make certain your film and equipment are in good condition. Checking everything one last time may put your mind at ease when you have the final shots.
5. Don’t smoke on a hunt. Besides being a hazard...you know, you get scared and start a fire...smoke will show up on film as a strange image. You’ll think you have a hazy and smoky ghost when all you really have is cigarette smoke.

Remember to have fun with it and when you get your photos back remember to look carefully. When an something can not be explained logically what we have left is the unknown.

Nikki aka WitchLight - March 30, 2002