Image:
Definition of image and imagery, from Thomas Blount's Glossographia Anglicana Nova, 1707.
The top image is captured using photography. The bottom image is rendered. Images are produced either by capturing or rendering.
An image (from Latin imago) or picture is an artifact, usually two-dimensional, that has a similar appearance to some subject—usually a physical object or a person.
Images may be two-dimensional, such as a photograph, screen display, and as well as a three-dimensional, such as a statue. They may be captured by optical devices—such as cameras, mirrors, lenses, telescopes, microscopes, etc. and natural objects and phenomena, such as the human eye or water surfaces.
The word image is also used in the broader sense of any two-dimensional figure such as a map, a graph, a pie chart, or an abstract painting. In this wider sense, images can also be rendered manually, such as by drawing, painting, carving, rendered automatically by printing or computer graphics technology, or developed by a combination of methods, especially in a pseudo-photograph.
A volatile image is one that exists only for a short period of time. This may be a reflection of an object by a mirror, a projection of a camera obscura, or a scene displayed on a cathode ray tube. A fixed image, also called a hardcopy, is one that has been recorded on a material object, such as paper or textile.
A mental image exists in an individual's mind: something one remembers or imagines. The subject of an image need not be real; it may be an abstract concept, such as a graph, function, or "imaginary" entity. For example, Sigmund Freud claimed to have dreamt purely in aural-images of dialogues. The development of synthetic acoustic technologies and the creation of sound art have led to a consideration of the possibilities of a sound-image made up of irreducible phonic substance beyond linguistic or musicological analysis.
[edit] Still image
A still image is a single static image, as distinguished from a moving image (see below). This phrase is used in photography, visual media and the computer industry to emphasize that one is not talking about movies, or in very precise or pedantic technical writing such as a standard.
A film still is a photograph taken on the set of a movie or television program during production, used for promotional purposes.
A still image can in some cases be more meaningful than the moving images because it is a privileged moment in time (1977:18). For instance, the image of the Vietnamese girl who was napalmed by American soldiers, seemed more effective in getting the message of the horrors of war than the many moving images of the situation (1977:18).
Still images allow you to tell your own story of your experiences. Tourists are often seen with cameras hanging of their necks, it is most probably to capture that one specific moment in time that they are living.
A still image of a person's face from many years ago can only tell us about the face, not what the person is feeling at the time of the photograph (1997:46). Therefore we can only guess what they are thinking, and come up with our own conclusions about the image.
When a person visits the video store and wants to borrow a movie, the first thing they may often look at is the image on the case. The phrase Never judge a book by its cover is often said, however it is a common technique that is used to determine what we choose is worth looking at and what is not.
[edit] Moving image
A moving image is typically a movie (film), or video, including digital video. It could also be an animated display such as a zoetrope.
Paul Levinson states that, 'moving pictures are individual photographic images presented to the eye so quickly that they give the illusion of motion.' (1997:37)These means that it gives people a real life encounter of a person's experience. With a video camera, a person is able to capture many moments in time, unlike the still image.
[edit] External links
[edit] Other Recources
- Levinson, Pusl (1977) The Soft Edge: a Natural history and Future of the Information Revolution, Routledge, London and New York, pp. 37-48
- Sontag, Susan (1977) On Photography, Penguin, London, pp. 3-24.
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