ESL Podcast 549 - Using a Camera

camera - a device used to take photographs of images, people, or scenes

I'm not a professional photographer, so I don't need an expensive camera. Just a simple camera is good enough for me.

photography - the art and science of taking good photographs

The college offers several photography courses that teach students about the importance of good lighting.

digital camera - a type of camera that is electronic and saves photographs as electronic computer files so that they can be changed, printed, or deleted

The great thing about digital cameras is that we can delete all the unattractive photos and pretend they never even existed!

auto - automatic; related to something that happens without anyone needing to do anything to make it happen

Shitari set up an auto response in her email account, letting people know that she'll be out of the office until Monday.

zoom - the ability to change the view so that something seems to be either very close or very far away

They love bird watching and use binoculars so that they can zoom in and see the birds in more detail.

image stabilization - a camera's ability to keep an image in focus (very clear) even if the camera is moving in a person's hands

Juan Carlos's hands always shake, but because his camera has image stabilization, it isn't a problem when he takes photos.

memory card - a small, usually rectangular piece of electronic equipment that is used to store data, especially for cameras and phones, and that can be used on different devices and computers

This memory card is full, because we've taken more than 200 pictures. Do you have an empty memory card we can use?

point-and-shoot - a simple kind of camera where one can simply hold it up facing the thing that one wants to take a photograph of, and push a button to take the photo, without needing to change any settings

Point-and-shoot cameras are good for simple photographs while you're on vacation, but if you want to have really high-quality photos, you'll need to buy a better camera.

viewer - the small rectangular opening in the back of a camera that one looks through with one eye while taking a photo to see the image that will appear in the photograph

Use the camera's viewer to make sure that none of our relatives are left out of the photo.

flash - a bright light that lasts for a very short period of time, used to provide extra lighting when one is taking a photo with a camera

We were temporarily blinded by the flash of the camera and couldn't see anything for a few seconds after Amir took our photo.

shutter speed - the amount of time that a small window inside the camera is open, so that a slower shutter speed means more light exposure and a faster shutter speed means less light exposure

When you want to take a picture of something that's moving very quickly, like a car, you need to use a fast shutter speed.

lens - the glass or plastic part of the camera that light travels through

If the camera lens is dirty, please clean it before you take a photo.

wide-angle - a type of camera lens that creates photographs with a wider-than- normal view

Leta likes to use a wide-angle lens to take photos of nature scenes.

close-up - very near to something; with very little distance between oneself and another person or thing, especially when talking about a photo or a video

They're trying to take a close-up photo of their baby's face while she's laughing.

to delete - to erase, remove, or permanently get rid of something

Why did you delete the voicemail message before I had a chance to listen to it?

born yesterday - naïve and inexperienced; easily tricked or lied to

Of course I know how to use a fax machine. I wasn't born yesterday.

to load - to put something into something else, especially when it is needed to make something work

Don't forget to load the gun with bullets before you go hunting.

film - a very long, thin piece of plastic used to record photographic images in traditional cameras

If you open your camera before the roll of film is finished, you'll expose the film to light and ruin all the photos you've taken.