How the Camera Works 1/12/15

Waking up this morning to a winder that was so covered in condensation that I couldn't see out I had this sudden epiphany. How many people really understand how a film camera works? In such a digital age there is such a large portion of the population that accepts that magic that happens behind the scenes and just focuses on the results that they get. But before you get too spooked by how film cameras work, think about it like this: your grandparents could use these things. How hard can it really be?

A camera is pretty simple. It's a box with a lens on one side and film on the other side. In my camera there is an adjustable aperture as well that comes after the lens but before the shutter and the film. This allows me to control how much light enters the completely dark camera in addition to being able to adjust the shutter speed. When you take a picture you let light into the camera through the lens and through the aperture. When the shutter is open the lens takes the light rays and focuses the image onto the film. Camera film is very light sensitive due to a coating that it has. The coating reacts differently to different intensities and colors of light. When the light strikes the chemicals react creating a latent (present but invisible) image. And just like that you have taken a picture. From this point you either advance the film and repeat the process or can choose to take another picture on top of the one that you just took. 

After you use up the entire roll of film you develop the negatives and then can choose to develop your prints based on what you see in the negatives. Both of these processes are achieved by moving the negatives and the paper through various bathes of chemicals. 

I had already learned the printing process and went in today to learn the negative development process!