title: read big image file as an array in python
body: <p>Does anyone know how to open a large imagery file using python? 
  I tried to open an imagery file (about 2 GB) through windows command prompt using ipython, but it crashes every time after I change image values into an array. </p>
  
  <p>My laptop is window7-64bit  with 4GB ram and Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2860 QM CPU. </p>
  
  <p>The error message is: python.exe has stopped working A problem caused the program to stop working correctly. Windows will close the program and notify you if a solution is available</p>
  
  <p>Here is my code. </p>
  
  <pre><code>import Image
  import numpy as num
  im=Image.open('myimage.tif')
  imarray=num.array(im)
  </code></pre>