Light is crucial for seeing and creating images. The term “photograph” means “drawing with light.” Despite our extensive knowledge of light, we often take it for granted. Light is something your eyes are sensitive to, similar to how your ears are sensitive to sound and language.
To elaborate, light reflects the world so that we can see it through our eyes. By selectively using light, you can highlight certain aspects of a subject in front of the camera while obscuring others. Visual information is conveyed as modulated light through the camera lens, and the light reflected by the final image (print) allows us to see and appreciate it.
At this moment, the light reflected off this page forms words that your eyes perceive, akin to how you hear sounds. Light travels in straight lines but also behaves like waves, similar to ripples on a disturbed water surface.
What does light mean? Visible light is an energy form that irradiates from sources like the sun. It has four key features:
- Light behaves as waves, with different wavelengths giving our eyes the perception of different colors.
- Light travels in straight lines, evident in sun rays and shadows.
- Light moves at high speeds, slower in air and even slower in denser substances like water or glass.
- The brightness of light corresponds to the number of photons it carries.
