Can You Please Focus? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Drawing with light

The Greek 'photos' means 'light' whilst 'graphé' means 'representation by means of lines', or 'drawing'. Putting the two words together, we get the meaning 'drawing with light', a very accurate way of describing the process of how a camera works.

Answer: Lens

Adjusting the lens will bring something into focus (or out of focus depending on what you are actually trying to achieve with your photo). Having an object 'in focus' will ensure that the resulting picture is clear and not blurry - unless you don't have a steady hand!

Answer: Aperture

The aperture is the opening of the lens which can be adjusted in certain cameras to control the amount of light that is let in through the lens. This affects the depth of field and exposure, with a smaller opening resulting in less light allowed through the lens but allowing for a greater depth.

Answer: My garden at night time

Decreasing the shutter speed will let light onto the recording media for a longer time. This means that I can take a photo of something in a darker atmosphere, like my garden at night time. If I decreased the shutter speed without reducing the aperture and took a photo on a sunny day, I would likely 'over expose' the recording media and end up with a very bright photo and not much detail - especially if the people I was photographing were moving!

Answer: Forensic photography

With the invention of computers and most people having access to a digital camera, it is possible to make changes to the digital files of photos. This 'fingerprinting' can help scientists to detect whether or not a photo file has been edited, changed or tampered with in any way.

As technology advances, it is important for investigators and courts know that any photo they are looking at hasn't been tampered with since it was taken. It is also important to note that your average camera doesn't have this functionality, only high-end cameras specifically designed for this type of work have this 'fingerprint' ability.

Answer: Pinhole camera

A pinhole camera is one of the simplest cameras and anyone can make one. A pinhole camera is basically a box with a small hole in one side. The idea is that light passes through the hole and an image is projected onto the opposite side of the box - similar to how the human eye works.

To view the sun (or a solar eclipse) in a safe way, a sheet of paper with a tiny hole can be held parallel to the ground (although you'll have to figure out the distance from the ground by yourself!). The image of the sun should then be on the ground in front of you.

Answer: Camera phone

The mobile phone (cell phone, or other-named device depending on which country you live!) was adapted to include a still, and sometimes, video camera in the early 21st century. Of course they were no match for a stand-alone camera yet could take photos and video quickly and easily with the photographer then able to immediately share the images with others (via messaging service) or upload the images to the internet.

Answer: Taking photos of the ground from an elevated position

Aerial photography is the practice of taking photos of the ground from an elevated position. Technically, you could do this by standing up and taking a photo of your feet but it's probably not as interesting as taking a shot from a helicopter of the tops of buildings poking through the clouds.

Taking photos of one aircraft from another is considered air-to-air photography and is a different style of photography altogether.

Answer: Monochrome photography

Monochrome photography covers all those types of photography using a single colour. The word 'monochrome' comes from Greek meaning 'one' and 'colour'.

Timelapse photography can be done in colour, as well as monochrome so doesn't quite fit the answer specifications here. Kodachrome was a type of film introduced by Eastman Kodak in the mid-1930s for shooting colour slides (diapositives).

Answer: Silver

Silver was used in the printing process for both black-and-white and colour photos. Due to the introduction of digital photography in the early 2000s the demand for silver from the photographic industry decreased, although other industries picked up the 'slack' and increased their consumption of the precious metal, keeping the price of silver reasonably steady during this 're-balancing' of silver consumption.