pressure, freeing up both hands for gesturing or
otherwise communicating with the subject.
In many modern cameras the cable release is
electronic. The plunger is a button that is powered
by the power source for the camera, the cable is
wire, and the shutter is triggered by the electrical
impulse from the plunger. Many modern cameras
do not have mechanical sockets for the straightfor-
ward cable release; they depend entirely on the elec-
trical system. Other modern external release systems
are able to entirely dispense with the cable. A beam
of microwaves, light, or radio waves replaces it. No
different a change than from the old cable connected
television remote to the more modern one that
allows much more movement and convenience.
Cameras, like many other devices in the modern
world, have become wireless.
Each of these devices has its application. In most
medium format and large format photography, it is
simply convenient to use a mechanical cable release
whether the camera is handheld or attached to a
tripod. In the case of large format, it is almost always
the case that the camera is on a tripod. To go to the
trouble of the larger format, the tripod, and then to
hand trip the shutter is simply a contradiction.
In the case of studio photography where there
may be elaborate lighting setups firing a number of
the lights, synchronization of these lights more often
than not requires some form of cable release. There
are combinations of slaves and triggers that are
operated by light, radio frequency, or microwaves
that make these setups possible and manageable.
This is moving toward the elaborate iteration of
the cable release, but the intent is the same—coordi-
nation of various pieces of equipment and removal
of the photographer’s hand from the camera.
In photography such as macro-photography,
product photography, or other close-up require-
ments in which extreme sharpness is important, it
is critical that the release of the shutter be as smooth
as possible. Thus, to reduce blur, some sort of cable
shutter release system is essential. Simple mechan-
ical cable releases are inexpensive and are an afford-
able way in which to improve the ability to get an
optimal exposure. They do jam, bend, and other-
wise occasionally fail, and like all camera gear,
cable releases should be packed and cared for
gently. Air releases are usually marginally more
expensive but remain one of the more affordable
of all photo accessories. Electronic cables are con-
siderably more expensive, and the wireless systems
even more so, and each photographer’s require-
ments will dictate the type of equipment best suited
to his or her needs.
It is also important when selecting a camera that
one thinks about what sort of work will be done
with it and whether or not a cable release system
will be required, for there are some cameras that
are not equipped with any attachment point for
any sort of external release mechanism. There are
instructions for homemade cable releases that can
be found in books and on the internet that may
help if one is confronted with this sort of problem,
although it is best avoided.
LAMBERTMcLaurin
Seealso:Camera: An Overview; Time ExposureGENEVIE
`
VE CADIEUX
Canadian
The extraordinary force of Genevie`ve Cadieux’s
work derives from the visual coherence and
breadth with which her often very large creations
repeatedly bring corporeal intimacy and absorp-
tive anxiety into an inescapably public forum.
They engulf and destabilize the viewer through
simultaneous attraction and repulsion, while con-
currently calling into play multiple resonances
around both aesthetic and social issues. Born in
Montreal in 1955 but raised in Ottawa where she
obtained a BA with a specialisation in visual arts
from the University of Ottawa, she sometimes
referred to the influence which her father’s reper-
tory cinema had upon her tendency to visualize her
works in large-screen filmic format, or as installa-
tions in often darkened rooms. For example, in theCABLE RELEASE