Using the Bright sun as a light source

Glossary

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Factor:- number that tells how many times exposure must be increased in order to compensate from loss of light.

Fahrenheit scale:- scale of temperature named after its German originator, G. D. Fahrenheit. On this scale, the freezing point of water is 32° F, and the boiling point of water is 212° F.

False attachment:- part of one object seen behind another so that lines, shapes or tones seem to join up. A composition device used in various ways to produce images in which foreground and background objects appear to occupy the same plane.

Farmer's reducer:- used for bleaching negatives and prints. See reducers.

Farraday shutter:- high-speed shutter using a pair of crossed polarizers, between which is a glass block within a coil. When a voltage passes through the coil, the plane of polarization changes, allowing light to pass through the second polarizer.

Fast film:- film which has an emulsion that is very sensitive to light. These films have high ISO ratings.

Fast lens:- lens with a wide maximum aperture (low f number).

Ferric chloride:- bleaching solution used on negative materials.

Ferrotype process:- method of creating direct positive images with dark enameled metal plates as a base. Also known as the tin-type process.

Fiber based paper:- photographic paper without a resin coating. Processing times are longer than for other papers, but the paper is more archivally permanent.

Field camera:- sheet film camera suitable for use in location work.

Fill-in - light:- used to illuminate the shadow areas of a scene. Additional light from a lamp, flash, or reflector; used to soften or fill in the shadows or dark picture areas caused by the brighter main light. Called fill-in flash when electronic flash is used.

Fill light:- source of illumination that lightens shadows. See Fill-in.

Film:- photographic material consisting of a thin transparent plastic base coated with a light sensitive emulsion.

Film characteristic curve:- describes a graphical relationship between the logarithm of the exposure value (horizontal axis) and density (vertical axis) of film. Each brand of film exhibits a different characteristic curve.

Film clips:- metal or plastic clips used to prevent the curling of a length of drying film.

Film holder:- light tight container to hold sheet film.

Film pack:- container holding several sheets of film, so devised that when fitted to the camera the photographer can pull a tab to remove an exposed sheet and replace it with another. Film packs are typical with Polaroid film.

Film plane:- plane at the back of the camera across which the film lies.

Film Presence Indicator Flag :- Feature on Advanced Photo System cameras that indicates the film cassette has been loaded properly.

Film Safe:- Describes the fact that Advanced Photo System film is sealed in the cassette; avoids the danger of exposure to light before shooting and mishandling of negatives after shooting.

Film Status Indicators:- The four icons on Advanced Photo System film cassettes that show the film status - unexposed, partially exposed, fully exposed or processed.

Film Speed:- The sensitivity of a given film to light, indicated by a number such as ISO 200. The higher the number, the more sensitive or faster the film. Note: ISO stands for International Standards Organization.

Filter factor:- number by which an unfiltered exposure reading must be multiplied to give the same effective exposure through the filter. This compensates for the absorption of light by the filter. This process is unnecessary with TTL metering systems as long as the filter is attached during the metering process.

Filter:- A colored piece of glass or other transparent material used over the lens to emphasize, eliminate, or change the color or density of the entire scene or certain areas within a scene.
Filter: Yellow
Film: KODAK EKTACHROME 64
Film Size: 35 mm
Photographer: Kodak Photo Info Services
Filter: Star
Film: KODAK EKTACHROME 200
Film Size: 35 mm

Finality development:- prolonged development, reducing silver halides affected by light to silver until no further image density improvement occurs.

Finder:- A viewing device on a camera to show the subject area that will be recorded on the film. Also known as viewfinder and projected frame.

Fine grain developers:- film developers which help to keep grain size in the photographic image to a minimum.

Fisheye lens:- extreme wide-angle lens with an angle of view exceeding 100° and sometimes in excess of 180°. Depth of field is practically infinite and focusing is not required.

Fixation:- chemical bath which converts unused halides to a soluble silver complex in both negatives and prints, making the image stable in white light.

Fixed focal length:- camera system whose lens cannot be interchanged for a lens of different focal length.

Fixed focus:- lens A lens that has been focused in a fixed position by the manufacturer. The user does not have to adjust the focus of this lens.

Fixer:- chemical solution used for fixation.

Fixing Bath:- A solution that removes any light-sensitive silver-halide crystals not acted upon by light or developer, leaving a black-and-white negative or print unalterable by further action of light. Also referred to as hypo.

Flare:- non-image forming light scattered by the lens or reflected from the camera interior.

Flash:- artificial light source giving brief but very bright illumination. It is produced by a combination of certain gases within a transparent tube. There are two types; electronic, which may be used repeatedly, and expendable in which the bulb can be used only once.

Flash bulb:- replaceable bulb for use in expendable flash units. A glass bulb contains a pyrotechnic wire or paste which burns out in a brilliant flash when a low voltage firing current is applied.

Flash cube:- obsolete bulb containing four small flash bulbs built into a single unit.

Flash factor:- number which provides a guide to correct exposure when using flash. See also Guide number.

Flashing:- briefly and evenly exposing photographic materials to white light.Often used to lower contrast of printing paper, when the flashing exposure is made in addition to the regular exposure.

Flash powder:- chemical powder consisting of a mixture of metallic magnesium and an oxidizing agent. Ignited by heat to produce a brilliant flash of light.

Flash synchronization:- method of synchronizing flash light duration with maximum shutter opening. There are usually two settings on a camera, X and M. X is the setting used for electronic flash. M is for most expendable types of flash (bulbs) which require a delay in shutter opening.

Flat:- used to describe a negative or print with very low contrast.

Flat-bed camera:- camera designed for copying artwork and documents. Mounted on a vertical column, like an enlarger, allowing the photographer to accommodate different documents or artwork for duplication.

Flat gradation:- subjective term used to describe low-contrast values.

Flat lighting:- lighting that produces very little contrast or modeling on the subject and a minimum of shadows.

Flip-up flash See "Cobra" Flash

Floating elements:- one or more elements in a lens which adjust position relative to other components during focusing or zooming. Used to maintain correction of lens aberrations at all settings.

Floodlight:- artificial light source with a dish shaped reflector and a 125-500+ watt tungsten filament lamp producing evenly spread illumination over the subject.

Fluorescent whites:- brilliant highlights produced by applying a fluorescent agent to a printing paper base. The print can also be treated after washing with a fluorescent whitener or dye solution.

f-Number:- A number that indicates the size of the lens opening on an adjustable camera. The common f-numbers are f/1.4, f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, and f/22. The larger the f-number, the smaller the lens opening. In this series, f/1.4 is the largest lens opening and f/22 is the smallest. Also called f-stops, they work in conjunction with shutter speeds to indicate exposure settings.

Focal length:- The distance between the film and the optical center of the lens when the lens is focused on infinity. The focal length of the lens on most adjustable cameras is marked in millimetres on the lens mount.

Focal plane:- imaginary line perpendicular to the optical axis which passes through the focal point. It forms the plane of sharp focus when the lens is set at infinity.

Focal plane shutter:- shutter which lies just in front of the focal plane. Light sensitive film positioned at the focal plane is progressively exposed as the shutter blinds move across it.

Focal point:- point of light on the optical axis where all rays of light from a given subject meet at a common point of sharp focus.

Focus:- position in which rays of light from a lens converge to form a sharp image.

Focusing:- system of moving the lens in relation to the image plane so as to obtain the required degree of sharpness of the film.

Focusing cloth:- dark cloth used in view camera photography.

Focusing hood:- light proof cowl used on TLR and most roll film SLR cameras to prevent extraneous light falling on the focusing screen.

Focusing magnifier:- device to magnify the optical image and aid visual focusing.

Focusing scale:- scale of distances marked on a lens focusing ring.

Focusing screen:- ground glass screen fixed to the camera at the image-forming plane, enabling the image to be viewed and focused.

Focus range:- range within which a camera is able to focus on the selected picture subject.

Fogging (Fog):- Darkening or discoloring of a negative or print or lightening or discoloring of a slide caused by exposure to nonimage-forming light to which the photographic material is sensitive, too much handling in air during development, over-development, outdated film or paper, or storage of film or paper in a hot, humid place.

Fog level:- density formed in unexposed areas of film or paper during processing.

Foreground:- area in an image closer than the main subject.

Format:- size of negative paper or camera viewing area.

Frame 1. single exposure on a roll of film. 2. viewfinder image boundary. 3. Decorative border applied to finished, mounted prints.

Frames per second (fps):- used to describe how many frames can a motor drive or winder handle automatically.

Free working distance:- distance between the front of the lens and the subject.

Fresnel lens:- condenser lens used on a spotlight to gather together the rays of light coming from a source and direct them into a narrow beam.

Fresnel magnifier:- condenser lens used at the center of some ground glass viewing screens to aid focusing.

Frilling:- wrinkling and separation of the emulsion along the edges of its support material.

Front curtain synchronization:- when the flash fires an instant after the front curtain of a focal plane shutter has completed its travel across the film plane.

Front element focusing:- system of lens focusing in which only the front component of a compound lens moves backward and forward to adjust focus.

Front projection:- method of projection which allows you to combine a figure in a studio with a previously photographed background scene. The image is projected from the camera position onto a special reflective background screen.

F stop:- number that equals the focal length of the lens divided by the diameter of the aperture.

Full scale print:- print having a wide range of tonalities.

Futurism:-art movement started in Italy c. 1910, characterized by an aggressive rejection of tradition, and the representation of the dynamic movement of machinery.

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