PhotographyA Brief History of

History of Photography

It could be said that photography was not “invented”…

But that it evolved over time.

History of Photography

The word “photo graphy” comes from two Greek words that mean “writing with light.”

The first time the word photography was used was in 1839 when the invention of the first photographic process was made public.

Before Photography…

The idea for creating a permanent “photographic” image came from experimentation with the camera obscura.

The camera obscura (latin for dark room) was first used about 2400 years ago.

Camera Obscura

The camera obscura was essentially a device that projected an image upside down onto a surface.

Artists used this device to create accurate proportions in their paintings.

The camera obscura in its basic form is a box with a pinhole in it to let in light.

Camera Obscura

Camera Obscura

Since its first use, artists and scientists alike tried to find a way to make the camera obscura’s image permanent.

Eventually this experimentation led to the invention of photography

The First Photographic Process

In 1826, Joseph Niépce invented the first photographic process he called heliography.

The heliographic process involved coating a sheet of pewter with a light sensitive asphalt material that hardened when exposed to light. The pewter sheet was placed in front of the camera obscura to create the image.

The Heliographic Image

Niépce and Daguerre

Shortly after developing heliography, Niépce became partners with Louis Daguerre.

Together they worked to improve the heliographic process.

Even at its best the heliographic process took several hours to create one image.

Daguerrotype

After Niépce’s death Daguerre continued to work on the process, eventually creating a new process- the Daguerrotype in 1837.

This photographic process involved coating silver, a known light sensitive material, onto a copper plate.

It shortened the heliography process of several hours to several minutes and created a more detailed image.

Dagguerrotype

Dagguerotype Downfall

Although the Daguerrotype was hugely popular it had downfalls: The images it created were not

reproducible. The chemicals used in the process were

highly toxic, causing severe health problems for the daguerrotypists.

Calotype (beautiful impression) In 1839, William Talbot introduced a new

photographic process, the calotype- this one creating an image on paper.

Talbot’s process exposed the silver-gelatin coated paper to light, and then ran the exposed paper through various chemical processes.

The Calotype had one clear advantage over its predecessors- reproducibility. This was the beginning of modern photography.

Calotype

Collodion Wet-Plate Process

Although the Calotypes were reproducible, they were not as detailed or as clear as the earlier dagguerotypes.

Frederick Scott Archer solved this problem in 1851 by creating the collodion wet-plate process. This process used similar chemicals to his earlier calotype process but placed the chemicals on a glass plate, eliminating the rough quality of the prints.

Collodion Wet-Plate Process

Although this process was reproducible and created a detailed image it had one major disadvantage.

Since the negative was made on a glass plate and needed to be processed immediately, it meant you had to have an entire dark room with you every time you took a picture.

Collodion Wet-Plate Process

Beginning of Modern Photography

Until the 1880s most people had been photographed but very few people actually knew how to take or develop a photo.

All this changed with the invention of the roll of film. Putting the light sensitive material on an easy to handle roll made photography accessible to everyone.

Beginning of Modern Photography

George Eastman was the first to market roll film commercially.

His company, Eastman Kodak Company, developed a portable camera pre-loaded with film.

Customers would purchase the camera, take their pictures, and send them off to be developed.

They would then receive their developed pictures and their returned cameras with a new roll of film.

THUS MODERN PHOTOGRAPHY

The First Kodak Cameras

In a Nutshell…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUsqS8Ena14

Recap… who invented what? Ancient Chinese

and Greeks Joseph Niépce Louis Daguerre William Talbot Frederick Scott

Archer George Eastman

Camera Obscura- 2400 years ago

Heliography- 1826 Daguerrotype-

1837 Calotype- 1851 Collodion wet-plate

process Kodak camera

company/ roll film- 1880’s

Photography Timeline

After the invention of the Kodak camera the popularity and inventions of photography skyrocketed.

Your assignment: create a timeline of the inventions and major milestones of photography since the creation of the Kodak.

Your timeline MUST be created using Adobe InDesign.

Photography Timeline

Your timeline MUST include:

The top 15 most important discoveries in photography since the Kodak camera

Photographs of these discoveries Each discovery MUST include a description of

what the discovery was, who discovered it, and when it was discovered.

You ARE being graded on your ability to make a timeline that follows all guidelines, is accurate, informative, and visually pleasing.