Does any special occasion go by without a camera capturing it forever? The camera ranks as one of the most important means of communication and documentation in the world today.

All cameras - those that take photographs and those that make films - use the same basic principles to form and image. Light reflects from the scene/object being photographed and strikes the lens of the camera. It then passes through the lens and forms an inverted (upside down) image on the film at the back of the cakmera. The image can be sharpened by adjusting the distance between the lens and the film.

A device called a shutter opens to let light enter the camera. It may bne located behind the lens, between two lenses, or directly in front of the film. The speed of the shutter’s opening and closing determines how long the film is exposed to light. By opening and closing rapidly, the shutter can ‘freeze’ an image in motion.

A second device, called a diaphragm, fits in front of, behind, or within the lens and controls the amount of light entering the camera. Most cameras today have an electric eye mechanism that measures the intensity of the light and automatically adjusts the diaphragm. All this helps you get a clear sharp image and hence good photographs.

NOTE: The first photograph was taken by the French inventor, Joseph Niepce, in 1826. It took eight hours to make the exposure!