Monday, November 19, 2001		Article

Career that requires camera and software
Sumesh Raizada

TILL a few years ago, historians would have been worried about preserving old priceless photographs, say of Mahatma Gandhi in his childhood, or of Stalin sitting along with his mentor Lenin or Abraham Lincoln taking oath of his office. These rare photographs may not be having other copies and hence tasks of historians, art lovers and photographers could have become extremely difficult to preserve them. However, with the computer-aided digital photography that is represented in the form of bitmap, it has now become possible to revive the deteriorated photographs, take out their unlimited number of copies and also to modify them, if required. Digital images of a conventional photograph or those created by a digital camera are the visual data, which are stored in a format used by a computer.

In fact, a studio in South India is planning to make a film that shall feature alive the actors who are no more in this world. This is one among the several applications of computer-aided digital photography techniques and therefore offers a vast career scope not only for the trained photographers, but also for the software and hardware professionals.

The art of photography was developed nearly one–and-a-half century ago and since then continuous efforts have been made to improve the quality of camera as well as picture output. Various types of cameras have been developed for different applications and to suit the requirement of a user. However, nowadays most popular are Web cameras that have become a craze among PC users for their Internet-based application like videophone. Digital cameras or computer compatible cameras are also being used for web designing, animation, special effect for movies, advertisements, video albums and DTP.

Still or motion picture still involves the use of paper, plastic, chemical, etc. for processing a photograph, though method and techniques have changed considerably. Since the decay in chemical-based photographs is quite fast as compared to other form of art, say paintings or sculpture, it is more important to develop methods that keep the photographs stable over a longer period of time. The computer professionals working with art galleries or archives help in their conservation by scanning the complete film or a photograph on a computer and then saving it onto a floppy or CD ROM. Also old and semi-decayed photographs can be restored and conserved with the help of software like Adobe. Pictures that have lost their colours or have deteriorated can also be easily repaired on the computer and their printouts can be taken on a printer or in photo studio lab on photo paper. Several old classic movies are being recreated and restored with the aid of digital photography. High quality digitalisation of the images is done to restore colours, while dust and scratches are removed with the help of touchup software.

Microsoft has now entered into the vast field of digital photography by introducing Windows XP. This system supports picture transfer protocol (PTP), a standard that allows communication between digital cameras and computers as well as printers. With the help of Window XP-loaded computers, immediate prints can be taken out and even a small child can operate the cameras with ease. Companies dealing in digital photography include ArcSoft Inc., Canon, Compaq, Corel Corp. Dell Computer, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Umax Technologies, etc. Career opportunity exists for IT professionals in these firms for developing specialised software and hardware suitable for photography applications in entertainment, media and publishing.

A digital camera captures images in a digital format and thus makes it easy to distribute them over the Internet or on a video display. Digital photography is thus an instant photography without the costs or time involved in film photography. Photos or negatives obtained using film cameras can be scanned using scanners and professionals working in photo studios can convert these traditional images into digital format, quite easily. Digital photographs can be produced, either directly with a digital camera by capturing a frame from a video or by scanning a conventional photograph. Once a photograph is in digital format, variety of special effects can be applied to it with image enhancing software. Although the resolution of digital photos is not as high as photos produced from film, digital photography is ideal for instant, low-resolution pictures. It is especially useful for photograph used in clipart collection, screen-savers or background on computer screen. Digital photographs can also be displayed on the Internet, as they can be downloaded quickly.

In digital cameras, two-dimensional charge coupled device (CCD) is used to instantly capture the images. CCD is basically a film that receives an exposure and records all data immediately. Another method used by digital cameras to capture data is through scanning of the image on a single row of CCD sensors. However, this process takes a relatively longer time to record a picture and thus live action cannot be photographed through this method. With the help of software, data is interpolated and colour adjustments are done. Most of the digital camera manufacturers provide their own software that is required for downloading the images. Others provide commonly used image editing software like Adobe Photo Deluxe etc.

There are certain institutes abroad that offer diploma courses usually of one-year duration in digital photography. Here students work both in a computer laboratory and studio with traditional and digital methods of photography. The curriculum prepares a student for becoming graphic designers, digital printmakers, Web masters, film and tape editor, digital photographer, visual-effect artist, etc. In Rockport College, certificate courses are offered for professionals already working in digital media like TV, films and advertising etc. Here students learn working in Website design, creation of CD ROMs, DVDs, multimedia installations, digital video and postproduction.

Apart from Rockport College, certificate programs are also available in photography and digital imaging in Brookhaven College, North Lake College, Richland College, etc. Online learning courses are being offered through some of the premier institutes and Web companies.

Thus qualified professionals in digital photography have career options in production as well as postproduction photography techniques. They work in digital imaging, CD authoring, multimedia, etc. Software professionals work with specialised program that can be used for manipulating, correcting, and enhancing digital photographs. Some of the these software are PhotoSuite4 Platinum that is used for editing and correcting photos for print media and Web, ArcSoft PhotoStudio is used for editing, retouch and enhancing photos, stitching together multiple photos, organising images in albums. Other software includes, AutoEye that automatically enhances and improves colour, contrast, sharpness, saturation, and tonal range. It also detects and removes dust and scratches; Corel Photo-Paint is an editing and painting package.

Thus professionals may choose particular software depending upon the application and industry in which they are operating.

There is a tremendous employment scope for professionals in printing, publishing, multimedia and computer software industry. A media specialists use digital photography and imaging tools for developing video albums, commercials, advertisements, Web graphics, etc. Those who are educated in digital systems and applications, opportunities are unlimited. Electronic image display through the Internet has resulted in a wide demand for photographers with skills in digital processing techniques. Printing and publishing, along with multimedia have been computerised and hence offers vast career potential for the professionals in various capacities. Besides, in the field of marketing and sales, the skilled advertising photographer is extremely necessary for pushing an advertisement. Industrial and scientific industry also makes use of digital photography for simulation of virtual images for research purpose.

Scope exists in abundance for freelancers to work for advertising and publishing industries.

Honda Motor's human robot "Asimo" descends a stairway during a demonstration at Honda headquarters in Tokyo . Honda has refined its 1.2 metre (four-foot) "Asimo" to gracefully walk down stairs, respond to human commands and even work like a receptionist. — Reuters

HONDA has redefined its human robot ‘Asimo’ to gracefully walk down the stairs, respond to human commands and even work like a receptionist — but without the smile. The two-legged, 1.2 metre (four-foot) white and silver Asimo, whose Japanese name roughly translates into ‘legs, even’ was on display last week, showing off its new skills.

Unlike Sony Corp.’s virtual pet dog, Aibo, and Omron Corp’s robo-cat Necor, Asimo does more than please the gadget-loving nation by wagging a tail or purring.

Asked to turn around at a press conference, Asimo responded in a neutral voice, "What do you want?" while raising a hand and moving some fingers.

The 52 kg product of 15 years of development by Japan’s third largest car maker, first unveiled a year ago, can now be initialised or booted within four minutes, a big leap from a previous 40-minute start-up.

The maker company said that it had chosen 3 clients out of 40 offers for long term contract. Among them is IBM, Japan, which hired Asimo as a receptionist for an annual contract of 20 million yen ($ 1,66,200). — Reuters