Sigillography, n. ~ The study of seals. Rt: seal signature

SMD ~ see: specific material designation
SMPTE ~ see: Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers
snapshot, n. ~ 1. Photography · A photograph, often made quickly, with little or no
attention to formal composition. – 2. Computing · A copy of a database, website,
or other dynamic document at a specific moment in time.
RT: photograph
Notes: Sir John Herschel coined snapshot1 in 1860, by analogy to the hunter’s
term for a quick shot made without careful aim. Snapshots became common after
the introduction of point-and-shoot cameras, such as Kodak’s, in 1888. Starting in
the 1960s, some fine art photographers adopted an aesthetic that mimicked the
common visual characteristics of the snapshot.
SOAP ~ see: simple object access protocol
Society of American Archivists, n. (SAA, abbr.) ~ An organization of professional
archivists based in the United States, with members from around the world.
Notes: Founded in 1936, the Society is North America’s oldest and largest
national archival professional association. It serves the educational and informational
needs of its members and promotes the identification, preservation, and use
of records of historical value. See http://www.archivists.org/.
Society ofMotion Picture and Television Engineers, n. (SMPTE, abbr.) ~ An organization
of engineers, technical directors, cameramen, editors, technicians, manufacturers,
educators, and consultants in the moving image industry.
Notes: SMPTE develops standards, provides education, shares information
about developments in moving image technology, and promotes networking. See
http://www.smpte.org/.
sodium thiosulfate ~ see: fixer
soft copy, n. ~ Computing · Information stored or displayed in a computer system.
DF: hard copy
RT: copy
Notes: Soft copy includes information displayed on a screen or stored on disk.
It is distinguished from hard copy, which has been printed to paper.
soft focus, n. ~ Photography · Having an image that is not sharp as the result of
optical imperfections.
Syn: Synonym • †: see Bibliography • Superscript: Definition number
software 364
RT: focus
Notes: True soft focus results when light from a subject is focused in different
planes. Soft focus can be produced by lenses with spherical aberration or by diffusion
in the optics. Portrait photographers often use lenses that are intentionally
designed to introduce soft focus or use a diffusion screen in front of the lens to hide
blemishes or glamorize the subject. Images that are not sharp are often described as
soft, although ‘soft focus’ is not exactly synonymous with ‘out of focus’.
software, n. ~ Computing · The instructions that direct the operation of computer
hardware.
RT: application, computer program, firmware, hardware
Notes: ‘Software’ includes both system software, which governs the operation
of specific hardware, and application software, which is designed to perform a
specific task on the system.