Title: Framing our heritage
Author: Mulikat Onipede Lawal
Reviewer: Bamigbade Racheal
Publisher: OAK initiative
Marcus Garwey quotes” A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots. In this collection entitled ‘Framing our heritage’ written by Mulikat Onipede Lawal, the author has given a detailed explanation of the use of camera in order to preserve our culture through art of digital photography. This 2021 publication of OAK Initiative, the publishing arm of OAK Foundation, a charity organization aimed at supporting indigent students, widows and the fatherless in Africa, offers the reader the zeal to love photography either as a hobby or for business. The book is divided into 7 chapters and has 66 pages.
Chapter one, Photography as a tool for promoting culture, photography is a powerful tool that has significantly preserved memories helpful to identify ourselves, ethnic groups and tribes. It allows the flow of information without borders. Photography is an inevitable important tool to promote culture and knowledge in the world.
Chapter two, Camera, what is a camera, the body of a camera anchors most of the other parts of a camera, light from external sources usually enters the camera through the lens (photo processing), the aperture is the setting in the camera that controls the amount of light that can go into the camera sensor image. Other important parts of a camera are: the shutter release button, LCD screen, image sensor, memory card etc. Some buttons on the camera include menu buttons, view finder, lock focus button, hot shoe, top dial, main command back dial etc.
Chapter three, Understanding how the camera works, DLSRs are mainly light proof box which light cannot pass through except through the lens, when an image is captured, the properties of the light and the colours it assumes is recorded on the cameras memory card as it can be previewed on the camera LCD screens or the memory card can be removed and inserted into a personal computer in order to view the images. The components of lens include Lens hood, focus ring, zoom ring, focal lens index etc. Lens hood, lens front and back covers are essential for protecting lens from sunlight, thumb printing and general dirt and damages, therefore, use when needed.
Chapter four, The camera aperture, this controls the amount or quantity of light that can reach the cameras image sensor at any given time just like the pupils of our eyes. It has several effects on the output of your work but the most important of all is that it determines the brightness or darkness of the image output. Lenses can be considered fast or slow based on its maximum aperture number. Aperture opening of f/1.5 is fast lens, f/4.0 means slow lens.
Chapter five, The camera shutter speed, basically is about the length of time a camera shutter is open, it plays a major role in camera dynamics. Sutter speed not only determine how long light is allowed to pass through the lens to the image sensor but also determines how motion appears in the image.
Chapter six, ISO Sensitivity value and your camera, ISO Sensitivity is a photographic function set by the International Organization of Standardization (ISO) that represents the camera sensitivity to light as a number value. It is preferable to use high ISO values when shooting indoors vice versa. The higher the value the more the noise that is likely to get to the image vice versa.
Chapter seven, The user control buttons and their functions, there are many user buttons on the camera depending on the type and model of camera you have. Over time (with continuous practice), you will be able to adapt to the usage of a camera. There are 31 user buttons of a camera a beginner needs to gets use to in order to be able o learn more on other advanced camera buttons and their uses.
Mulikat Onipede Lawal’s Framing our heritage: Preserving Culture Through Art of Digital Photography, has helped to showcase the basics of photography which is needed to be known by those who want to choose photography as a business or hobby. I recommend that this book will help all beginners including the youths to see photography as an easy task to be done anytime of the day.
