Dr. Fakira Mohan Nahak
Every memory we have is attached to an image in our mind. Let us go back to the memories and images on this world photography day.
Either the freedom movement of India or the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, 9/11 terrorist attack on the world trade centre or the deceased body of a Syrian refugee kid lying on a sea beach, the unearthing of the mighty Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein from a bunker or the unfurling of Tiranga by the brave Indian soldiers on the hilly terrains of Kargil celebrating the victory, every heartening or heart-wrenching incident we recall, a picture comes to our mind immediately.
It is because a picture is worth a thousand words. Either the picturesque mountains of Himalaya or the beautiful migratory birds of Chilika Lake, the roaring lions of Africa or the Olive Ridley turtles on the bank of Rushikulya river, the Statue of Liberty or the magnificent Sun temple of Konark, all these bring a series of images to our mind. Our brain is designed and programmed in such a way that whatever we remember is only in the form of an image.
The text, the verse, and the numerical everything make their own image in the mind. The experts who work for developing the memory power of a person do certain practices where every single input is linked with an image. Children in the formative years are taught with pictorial aid. This helps in developing their imagination and retention power. As long as the brain functions, we remember most of the images.
The person who first thought of capturing the images physically needs all appreciation. These images can be stored for years together and each of those speak their own story. Yes, this is the beginning of photography. No doubt from the time immemorial, man has tried the best to capture the myriad moods in the form of cave paintings, art, poster and paintings. But everything was just an attempt to make the image a real one, hundred percent similar to the original.
The modern photography made it possible to make the real images. Each image is a story in itself. It narrates silently yet effectively the underlying scenario. A perfect photograph not necessarily need an explicit explanation. For example,a photograph of a pigeon quenching the thirst from a tap of water is sufficient to indicate the scorching heat and rising mercury in the nearby area.
Everyday billions of photographs are captured throughout the world. Smartphones with high quality cameras are easily affordable and available courtesy to the advancement of science and technology. Everyone is a photographer. Each one of us want to capture the time in all possible way.
Social networking sites like Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram make it easy to share these photographs with the world. People irrespective of their profession have a passion for photography. There are multiple websites which provide tips and tricks of photography.
YouTube contains plenty of videos that will help a novice shutterbug to hone the photography skills. Thanks to the technology. The complexity involved in clicking a photograph and developing it in the initial days is no more in scope.
19th August is celebrated as the World Photography Day. Photographers from across the world share their ideas, thoughts, perceptions and of course photographs with others. This encourages people from different cultures, traditions and geographiescome under one umbrella and ideate,opine and gain acceptance.
The photography concept came to existence with the invention of Daguerreotype photographic process. It was invented by the Frenchmen Louis Daguerre and Joseph Nicephore Niepce in the year 1837.
Long back on 9th January 1839 the French Academy of Science announced the Daguerreotype process and later the French Government purchased the patent on 19th August same year. The then French Prime Minister Francois Arago announced that “This is a free gift to the world”. Today that free gift has become a part and parcel of everyone.
Photography is the best tool for documentation and storytelling. The action, emotion everything becomes immortal when captured in the form of a photograph. The still photography in later stages developed to motion picture. The basic unit of the motion picture or video is the still one. When a series of photographs are captured and played in a speed of 25 pictures per second that creates the illusion of motion.
Be it Hollywood, Bollywood or any other film industry, photo journalism, television channels, video production, all could not have been possible without the invention of photography. So ultimately the picture or the photograph made all these things possible.
Picture plays the role of educating, entertaining and informing people. It captures time and makes and preserves history for the future. Let there be new inventions in the field of photography. Let it narrate the story of every life.
