如今，大部分人使用的智能手機都有拍照功能，想要拍攝和儲存數碼相片是件很容易的事。不過，從最開始的暗箱式相機到需要沖洗底片的膠片相機，從黑白相片到彩色相片，人們拍照的工具和方式經過瞭兩百年的發展和演變。本期 “隨身英語” 聊聊攝影技術的演變過程。
詞匯：photography 攝影
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.
詞匯表
smartphone 智能手機
set up 設置
storage 儲存
capture 拍攝，捕捉
film cameras 膠片相機
camera obscura 暗箱
project 投映
upside down 上下顛倒的
faint 虛的，不清晰的
projector 投影儀
treat （用特殊物質）處理
colour photo 彩照
filter 濾鏡
frame 相框
digital 數字的
negative 底片
inverted 顛倒的
film 膠卷
expose to 暴露於…
process 沖洗加工（底片）
photographic paper 相紙
develop 沖洗（底片）
manipulate 處理，修飾
測驗與練習
1. 閱讀課文並回答問題。
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. 選擇意思恰當的單詞或詞組來完成下列句子。
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. 閱讀課文並回答問題。
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. 選擇意思恰當的單詞或詞組來完成下列句子。
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?
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填表領取25分鐘真人外師課＋英文程度分析
