I’ve been in and out of relationships with dozens of film cameras as a result of my passion for photography. In the late 1990s, I snapped so many photos that I ended up building a darkroom in the corner of my living room in Brooklyn. There, standing amid long, dark strips of film under the glow of a dim red light, I spent countless hours mixing pungent chemicals and developing and printing photographs.
由於熱愛攝影，我用過數十架底片照相機。1990年代末期，我拍的相片實在太多，以致後來在自己紐約市布魯克林區家中起居室的角落，設了一間暗房。在暗房裡，站在昏暗紅光下，置身一條條細長黑色底片中，我花了無數時光調配那些味道刺鼻的化學藥水，沖洗及曬印相片。

Now, my camera bag is all digital, and my darkroom is 19 centimeters wide and 24 centimeters long: an Apple iPad.
如今，我的相機袋中都是數位設備，而我的暗房是19公分寬、24公分長的蘋果iPad。

The chemicals I used have been replaced by a USB connector that allows me to transfer my photos from any digital camera into the iPad in seconds.
過去使用的化學藥劑已由USB連接線取代，讓我能在幾秒鐘內，把照片從任何一台數位相機轉存到iPad。

What inspired me to jump from film to digital was immediacy – or impatience. In the old days, I’d have to finish a roll of film, get home, develop it, then wait. With digital, you snap a picture and there it is, like magic, on the back of your digital camera. With the iPad as a darkroom, it’s also editable immediately.
促使我放棄底片改用數位相機的原因，是後者的迅速直接，或者說是我的不耐煩。過去，我必須拍完一捲底片，回到家，讓底片顯影沖洗，然後等待。有了數位相機，你拍完一張相片，就像魔術一樣，在數位相機的後方就有一張相片。有了iPad當暗房，還可立即編修。

Editing your photos on an iPad instead of a conventional laptop also means you can carry one device fewer on your travels. Although most applications on the iPad will shrink the size and therefore the quality of your images when you import them, there are apps that can deal with full-size images. You can even connect wirelessly to printers intended to work with the iPad.
可以在iPad上而非傳統手提電腦中編修照片，也意謂你在旅行時可以少帶一件設備。雖然iPad上的多數應用程式都會把傳入的相片尺寸縮小且把影像品質壓低，有些應用程式卻可以處理原寸影像。你甚至可以用無線傳輸方式，連上你想跟iPad並用的列印機。

For older iPads with a 30-pin connection, Apple sells the $29 Apple iPad Camera Connection Kit. It comes with two connectors that plug directly into the iPad’s base. One has a USB cable slot, which works with almost any camera, and the other has a slot for SD memory cards.
蘋果的iPad相機連接器組，針對30針連接頭的iPad而設計，售價29美元，內附兩個可插入iPad底座的連接器。其中一個有USB插孔，幾乎可連上所有相機，另一個有SD記憶卡槽。

There are also many less expensive third-party connectors, including a 2-in-1 Camera Connection Kit ($10) from Amazon.
市面上還有許多不那麼貴的第三方連接器，包括亞馬遜上賣的二合一相機連接器組，售價10美元。

The cables for newer iPads, with the lighting connector, are overpriced, with each connector costing $30.
較新型iPad配備lighting連接器，這款的連接線訂價較高，每個30美元。

The immediacy of digital has pushed photographers to want to edit their photos and then share them right away. Many applications allow you to do this, some free and some costing about $20.
數位相機的直接即時，已促使攝影家想立即編修相片，然後與人分享，許多應用程式可讓他們做到這種地步，有些是免費的，有些售價約20美元。

SnapSeed ($5) is an app made specifically for multitouch photo-editing. Sliding your finger up and down on the screen will allow you to alter the image. A feature called Selective Adjust allows you to tweak the lighting in specific areas.
售價5美元的SnapSeed，是個專為多點觸控相片編修而製作的應用程式，你用手指在螢幕上下滑動，就可以改變影像。稱為「選擇性調整」的功能可容你在相片上的特定區域調整光線。

Apple’s iPhoto application ($5) for the iPad also has some advanced features. You can apply filters, turning a color photo into a sepia image.
蘋果專為iPad設計的iPhoto應用程式訂價5美元，有些高階功能。你可以用濾鏡效果把彩色相片變成深褐色調。

If you’re in a rush, “auto-enhance” will try to improve the image for you. There are also brushes that pop out from the bottom of the screen, making your iPad feel like a painter’s palette. These can be used to remove red-eye and soften or sharpen an image.
如果趕時間，「自動加強」功能可改善相片的影像。還有從螢幕下方跳出來的筆刷功能，讓你的iPad看來像是畫家的調色板。這些功能可用來消除相片中的紅眼，讓影像變柔或變得更銳利。

Adobe, the big maker of graphics and photoediting software, offers two photo-specific iPad applications. Photoshop Express, which is free, has some limited editing features, like adjusting tint, saturation and exposure. Advanced users will want to try Photoshop Touch ($10), which offers similar controls to Adobe software on a standard computer – layers, curves, the ability to add text, and other advanced features. But be warned: the app is somewhat confusing to navigate.
繪圖及相片編修軟體製造大廠Adobe專為iPad提供了兩個應用軟體，其一是免費的Photoshop Express，配備一些陽春的編修功能，例如調整色彩濃淡、飽和度及曝光度。高階使用者會想嘗試訂價10美元的Photoshop Touch，它提供了類似標準電腦上都有的Adobe軟體功能：圖層、色調曲線、可添加文字等功能。但容我提醒，這個應用程式在操控上有點讓人摸不著頭緒。

For photographers who want to take iPad editing to another level, there are more advanced – and expensive – options.
想用iPad來做更高階編修的攝影家，還有其他更先進也更昂貴的選擇。

Jeff Carlson, author of the book “The iPad for Photographers,” sometimes bypasses the iPad camera connection kit in favor of an EyeFi SD card and an app called ShutterSnitch ($16). EyeFi cards, which range from $40 to $100 depending on speed and memory size, can connect directly with your iPad wirelessly.
《給攝影家用的iPad》一書作者卡爾森有時放著iPad相片連接器組不用，反而喜歡用EyeFi SD卡，以及一個16美元的應用程式ShutterSnitch。EyeFi SD卡價格從40到100美元不等，依速度和記憶體大小而定，可直接無線連上iPad。

There is one area that most app makers and digital camera companies seem to have neglected: black and white. In most instances, shooting black and white on digital cameras can feel like making a pizza in a microwave: it looks like a pizza, but it’s just not right.
多數應用程式製造商及數位相機公司似乎都忽略了一個面向：黑白照片。用數位相機拍黑白照片，多半感覺像是用微波爐做披薩 ─ 做出來的東西像披薩，但就是不對勁。

Once in a while I will shoot a roll of black-and-white film on an old camera. Then off I go to a darkroom to get it developed. Now, while I sit waiting amid those pungent and familiar smells, I have my digital darkroom with me, and I edit photos on my iPad while the chemicals work their magic.
我偶爾會用舊相機拍卷黑白相片，然後出門找暗房去沖印。現在，在那種刺鼻但熟悉的味道中等著化學藥劑逐漸展現魔力之際，我會帶著我的數位暗房，在iPad上編修相片。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/06/technology/personaltech/apps-and-accessories-help-make-the-ipad-a-scaled-down-darkroom.html

紐時中文版翻譯：
http://cn.nytimes.com/article/science-technology/2012/12/17/c17toolkit/

2013-01-22聯合報/G5版/UNITEDDAILYNEWS 馮克芸譯 原文參見紐時週報十版右