Tutorial Two: Digital Imaging aka: Photos

There are many different ways to create transport, and store photos. As well as traditional cameras, other information technologies hardware now have the capability to take and store photos. Some examples of these include Ipods, cellphones, MP3 players and computers fitted with webcams. there are many sites that discuss the pros and cons of various photo options. This site has information and news about different digital cameras.

 

Photo's can be used in different ways to enhance information and provide a visual aid to some knowledge. Here are some examples.

This family history site explains a software that aids the use of photos in genealogical research. It also discusses how the use of photos has become more common in this type of research.

Flickr is a site which enables people to upload share and store thier photos. Photos can be kept private or shared with the general public. Photos from Flickr can be made into a badge. These can be added a website or blog. On the side of this blog you will see a badge I made with photos of the Dunedin Railway Station. The theme of this is Place. the railway station is a place that I really like. It is a beautiful old building that symbolises the heritage nature of Dunedin city.

Snapfish is another site like Flickr, however it also sells photo books and prints.

Digital vs. Film 

There is a great debate about whether digital photos are better than traditional photos or not. here are some of the pros and cons of both sides.

Traditional Cameras/Photos

Pros:

• Fun to develop.
• Clearer colour tones.
• Anticipation of what you'll get.
• Surprise about what develops.

Cons:

• Photos damage easily 
• Photos can be damaged during development process.
• If you lose the negatives you can't get the photo back.

Digital Cameras/Photos

Pros:

• Fast.
• Really easy.
• More people have acess to them. 

Cons:

• Non standard batteries/cables
• Risk of losing photos stored on the computer.
• restricted life of storage devices eg: cd's.

 

Ethical Issues

As with all information technology there are ethical issues that surround the use of photos. There are issues about getting a person's informed consent and who owns a photo the photographer or the subject?

One area where the ethics of photos is uncertain is the taking of photos in public places. Here is an article that discusses the New Zealand perspective on taking photos in a public place. It presents a court case where the defendant was convicted of behaving in an offensive manner in a public place for taking inappropriate photos of people without their knowledge.

Photos in Occupational Therapy

Photos can be used in several ways to enhance occupational therapy practice. Most product catalogues have photos of the products in them. Photos can be used to show clients correct techniques.  Photography is also a very meaningful occupation for some people. This means that photography can be used as part of an intervention plan. If a therapist gets informed consent from the client they can also use photos to record progress through each intervention session.