In the digital world everything seems simple, you go to take a picture and it automatically pops up on your screen in a form that you can post to the world. Have you ever wondered what lies beneath that screen, what is making up that picture. The language of 1s and 0s are able to create pixels, which are little tiny squares that as a collective can form an image for our eyes to see. Each pixel represents a singular point on a digital image, if you look super close you can see those pixels. In most images when printing them they are comprised of cyan, magenta, yellow and black, but when you see them on screen they are comprised of the three primary colors, red, green and blue. Varying the intensity of each color allows for a vast array of colors to be generated for different pictures. Each pixel is represented in binary code, 1s and 0s, with a unique combination you are able to get different colors and brightness for the picture you are creating. The number of bits used to represent each pixel’s color determines the bit depth of the color. Usually color depths are 8,16 or 24 bits, the higher bit count the more accuracy to the color.
Images can be represented in different formats, JPEG, PNG and GIF are a few examples. JPEG is the format that every digital camera creates, it throws away certain information that may degrade the image. PNG takes up more space than JPEG as it does not change or distort any information when it gets changed, a usual PNG has 24 bits per pixel. GIFs are animations, they are used instead of videos most of the time. When capturing something of nature with a picture, if put in the correct format, digital images can be stored indefinitely without degradation. This ensures that a moment of time, a memory, can be intact for years to come. Digital images are easily accessible and allow us to share our life with relatives and friends that we may not be able to show in person. However, digital images can easily be distorted by editing. Someone can manipulate an image which can erode the authenticity of the moment.