Tutorial Two: Digital Imaging

Digital images are stored, transferred and manipulated through many methods using information technology. Ways which I am personally familiar with include:

• Digital cameras
• Memory cards
• USB hard-drives
• Electronic photo frames
• Social networking sites
• Enhancement programmes

The following three links are examples of digital imaging being used for information and recording:

• Imaging is a great way to keep friends and family up to date with what you have been up to and this is very common on social networking sites such as facebook.
• Imaging is great for before and after photos of things. It could be in order for landlords and tenants to know if a rented house is being looked after or to see the result of renovations
• Lastly, imaging can also be used for selling almost anything from houses to animals to chilrens toys. Trademe is a well-known site where many people use photographs to sell their items.

When looking at the statement "a new technology is rarely superior to an old one in every feature" we can discuss the positives and negatives of new digital imaging in comparison to traditional film based cameras. It is of benefit that digital cameras allow the photographer to sort through and choose which photots they are happy with and which they are not, and it is clear that with digital imaging we can manipulate images to a near endless extent. However this can be both a postive and negative as we can make images look how we want them to but they then provide an inaccurate representation of what happened. Traditional cameras are much harder to manipulate a picture and can also present a much clearer image if processed accurately.

Ethical issues can arise when photographs are manipulated without the consent of the person in the photograph or owner of the object in the photograph, as they begin to present a skewed version of the truth. Ethical issues can also arise when sharing of photgraphs through websites such as facebeook occurs as anyone can see photos uploaded by someone without the consent of those in the photographs.

Digital imaging has been integrated into occupational therapy in some ways and is likely to become more and more frequent as information teachnology advances. Examples of digital imaging within occupational therapy:

• Before and after photographs of physical impairments
• Photographs of impairments for teaching purposes
• Can become an occupation for someone with low levels of physical functioning.

This website provides a look at some photography taken by a man with a spinal cord injury, he took up digital photography after sustaining his injuries.

The photobadge at the top of my blog shows some digital photographs of my hometown Tuatapere.