Disappearing Images Photography was not considered an art form in the United States until the turn of the century, when a man named Alfred Steiglitz fought throughout his life to ensure that it was recognized as a form of art. 'art. Until then it was only used as a form of science. There's a lot of chemistry when it comes to photography; mixing different chemicals for film and paper as well as four or five different “baths” for each film and paper. And knowing which film to use, which paper and which chemicals will form the best images possible. This is why most people pay to have their film developed. Photography is really complex because of the different types of science, art and imagination involved. We have already mentioned chemistry, and very briefly the art of photography; now we will explore some of the physics of photography. Light rays, lenses, mirrors and prisms are some examples of physical forms of photography. On the next page there are three images to help understand the significance of the camera lens and the intricacies of controlling light waves. The first image is of a man smoking a tobacco pipe in front of an exposed sheet of film. Shown are two focal points of light rays bouncing in all directions. Instead of producing an image on the film, the rays will completely expose the film. The second image is of the same man, but in the center of him and the sheet of film is a convex lens. What the convex lens does differently is redirect the path of light from a single point to the corresponding point on the film. The third image is an example of why we use convex lenses instead of other lenses. The first lens in the image hit the lens directly, without refracting. The second lens is similar but at an angle, so some rays are refracted but the rays are not affected and continue to go straight.