lux optika is a project I am using to help improve my photography by putting it out there for viewing and commentary. All too often, images languish in files or on hard drives and do not get a chance to help the photographer to improve his/her skills by inviting commentary. So I’m outing myself in this little gallery on the web. Be nice now.
how the site works
The galleries display images one at a time. Scroll forward and backward through the images with the links above and below the image. Information about a specific image is contained in the first comment about an image post. Deep and profound opinions on weighty photographic topics are reserved for the “Words” category. Keep in mind that my opinions are, like all other opinions, worth exactly what you paid for them.
what I do
I shoot both digital and film, but I like film the best. It’s what I’ve used most of my life and I’m comfortable with it. I like the instant feedback of the digital camera, but for me it can’t compete with the large image size provided by film and the higher resolution I can get by scanning it. Although the volume of film used on this planet shrinks every day, and its use will essentially disappear in the “consumer” market where convenience is all that matters, it won’t disappear for those pursuing photography as an art form. Film is merely another medium for artistic expression. People didn’t quit painting when photography was invented, and they’re not going to stop using film because we now have digital image sensors.
- Name: Dave Roberts
- Profession: Optical engineer
- Location: Atlanta
- Cameras used:
- Nikon F5
- Nikon D70
- Holga
- Bender 4X5
- Darkroom: Epson 4180 photo scanner + Picture Window Pro 4.0 software
the name
lux is Latin for light.
What about the “optika” part? There’s a tiny town near Atlanta called Luxomni, and I always thought that was a neat name. I’m an optical engineer, so I thought that having the word “optics” in the name somehow would be cool. Newton wrote a revolutionary book called “Optiks”, so I used that spelling as a sort of tip-of-the-hat to Sir Isaac. I swapped the “s” on the end of “optiks” for an “a” because I thought it sounded good and sort of Latin-ish. So “lux optika” was born.
