The Physics and Art of Photography, Volume 1

This book uses photography as a point of departure for learning about physics, while also using physics to ask fundamental questions about the nature of photography as an art. The topics center around hands-on applications and are most often illustrated by photographic processes that are inexpensive and easily accessible to students, including a versatile new process developed by the author, and herein first described in print. A central theme is the connection between the physical interaction of light and matter, and the artistry of the photographic processes and their results. In addition to focusing on the physics of light and the optics of lenses, extended discussions of topics less commonly covered in a beginning text are also explored, including symmetry in art and physics, different physical process of the scattering of light, photograms (photographic shadow prints) and the nature of shadows, elements of 2D design, pinhole photography and the view camera. These subjects have been chosen because of their role in a more general discussion of the relation between science and art that is of interest to readers of all backgrounds and levels of expertise.