Tutorial Two: Digital Imaging

Some of the ways that digital images are stored, transferred, and manipulated using information technology:

When I was a kid I grew up using a film camera that unless you took a lot of photos all at once using the full reel of photos( which for me took a long time) you couldn't see your photos till they were printed out. This is a big process of using a darkroom, with chemicals to develop them that you needed to know what you were doing to prevent damaging the photos, or you could take them to a photolab and then not know how many would turn out till you paid for them. These old photos had to be stored in packets, or photo albums which take a lot more time and energy to work with, and could be lost a lot easier, because you are not able to be stored easily, or as safely.
I'm pleased to say I've upgraded now and have a digital camera, which is SO MUCH better because with it I am able to see the photos as I take them, and if there are bad shots they can be deleted straight away on the camera, leaving you so many more good photos to take. Digital photos are so much easier to store as well, because they are able to be transferred into normal photos that you put in an album, or they can be put onto usb sticks, cd's, or put straight onto your computer where they can be manipulated using information technology programs that enable you to change and enhance different parts of the photo.

Some examples of hardware and software I am familiar with:

Hardware:
• Digital cameras
• Computers
• Cell phones
• Webcams
• Video cameras
• Ipods
• External hard drives

Software:
• Photoshop
• Macromedia dream
• Facebook
• Itunes
• Moodle/blackboard
• Emails
• Skype


Examples of using digital imaging to provide information and recording:

• Blogs - These as you can see are a great way of sharing, recording, and communicating information to other people. You can see by looking at the top of my blog that I have put in a badge which has enabled me to share some of my photos of places around Dunedin which I spend a lot of time at.

• Flickr - This is a site which enables people to share and store your photos. These photos can be kept private, or the person may want to make them public and then anyone is able to see them. The photos someone has on flickr can be transferred to peoples blog accounts.

• Youtube - This is a public site that enables people to share music and videos with others. Some of the clips on this site may have copyrights laws placed on them so it is not so easily used, but generally they can be downloaded onto computer systems, and peoples blogs so they can share them with others. An example of this can be seen in the OT rap video clip which I have downloaded onto my blog.

“A new technology is rarely superior to an old one in every feature” Discuss the pluses and minuses of using digital camera technology rather than traditional film based cameras:

There has been many debates about whether the new digital photos are better than the old traditional film photographs and here are some pros and cons for both style of photograph:
Traditional film camera photos:

Pros:
• Fun process developing photos
• Surprise of what you develop on photos
• Clearer colour tones

Cons:
• Can’t see photos till they are developed
• Photos can get damaged during development process
• Photos can be damaged easily trying to store them
• If you lose the negatives you can’t get the photos back
• You can’t get film rolls developed anymore, at shops

Digital Camera photos:

Pros:
• Can see photos immediately
• Can take way more photos
• Have instant photos
• They are transferable – so can be put on usb sticks, or straight onto your computer
• Have better aim and zoom
• Better quality photos
• They are really easy to take and process
• More people have access to them

Cons:
• Photos can be lost if the memory stick, CD’s, computer, or hard drive malfunction
• Need enough space to store all the photos
• Restricted life of storage devices e.g. cd’s
• Being able to post them on the internet means people can lose their privacy
• Digital cameras use non standardised batteries/cables

Ethical Issues:
As there is so much information technology available to us in society today, it is important to remember the ethical issues that surround the use of photographs. There are issues about making sure you get a person’s informed consent to use photos of a person, and is it the photographer or the person who is in the photo that owns it???
Another ethical issue is Privacy, because for some people seeing a photo of themselves up on an internet site can be a real intrusion into their life and privacy. So it is important to remember that getting a person’s consent before using a photo is essential. This is also the case if you take a photo in a public place with other people in it, you need to make sure you get everyone permission first off before you publish it online, in any form.

Photos in Occupational Therapy:
The use of photograph by Occupational therapist can really enhance their work and make it so much easier for them. Some examples of the ways photos can help are:
• When the therapist goes out to do a home investigation of what changes need to be made so client can go home, it’s is great if they can take some photos that they can take away with them thus enabling them to do follow-up work away from the clients house.
• Another good thing about photos is they are used in catalogues and show people what products are available to them, and what the product will look like. Here is a website that shows different types of wheelchair: http://www.wheelchairgear.com/