Camera Obscura.

The main concept behind ‘Camera Obscura’ (latin for dark chamber) is a device used (first conceptualised in the 5^th Century (BCE). The camera obscura projects an inverted image of the outside scene onto the (pitch black) rooms surface through a pinprick hole (or lens). After the discovery of this, scientists were intrigued and attempted to find ways to ‘Fix the Shadows’ (create a permanent fixture of the image. In the 16^th century artists like Leonardo Da Vinci used this camera – for purposes like studying light and perspective – and versions of the camera obscura were engineered to become portable. – creating the first ‘camera’

Nicephore Niepce.

Nicephore Niepce created the worlds first permanent photograph using the camera obscura, and a pewter plate coated in bitumen of Judea – Bitumen hardened when it was exposed to light and the unexposed areas were washed away.

Louis Daguerre

Louis Daguerre invented the daguerreotype – the first public photographic process. The daguerreotype produces very detailed images on a polished, silver plated copper sheet. He created this by collaborating with Niepce, a pioneer, but after he died, Daguerre continued to refine their ideas – leading to the Daguerrotype. The daguerreotype could not be reproduced but its quality and details were unmatched. The daguerreotype process involved exposing a coated copper plate to iodine vapor to make it light sensitive, the developing it with mercury vapor – then fixing the shadows with a salt solution. This became widely popular for portraits due to its detail and short exposure times – the daguerreotype dominated the photography market until new breakthroughs were discovered.

Henry Fox Talbot

Talbot had a scientific background in chemistry which directly influenced his experiments. Talbot played a crucial role in the development of early photography. (working around the same time as Louis Daguerre). Invented the calotype process, which is one of the first photographic processes to create negatives. This allows for multiple prints from one negative – a MAJOR development. Some would say this fixed, and multiplied the shadows. The calotype process involves paper painted with silver chloride. His first book ‘The Pencil of Nature’ was made with photo prints inside it – demonstrating the practical uses for photography – this probably played a key role in the development of photography because it showed entrepreneurs the business potential – putting money into the industry.

Richard Maddox

Maddox was a scientist and amateur photographer who invented the gelatine dry plate because he was worried about the different chemicals used in other methods of photography. The gelatine dry plate replaced the wet collodion process which allowed for greater flexibility because it eliminated the need to do all the work from coating and developing on site. Instead the dry plates could be stored and used later which greatly reduced the amount of equipment required on the scene. The dry plate used gelatine to suspend silver bromide on a glass plate. Maddox’s invention made photography a lot more accessible to amateurs which gave incentive to make more dry plates. The dry plate was a decent step towards the development of film.

George Eastman + Kodak Brownie.

George Eastman was the founder of Kodak – the company that revolutionised and commercialised early photography. Taking a photo was now a product you can buy. By simplifying the product with the use of his newly invented roll film  -George Eastman managed to create the Kodak Brownie – the camera with the slogan “You press the button, we do the rest”. This was a revolutionary step in the right direction for photography – the roll film was able to be produced because it was on flexible plastic instead of glass – making it miles more compact. The Brownie cost only $1 and really popularizes photography among the masses. Eastman also was a key player in the industrialisation of film because he saw the business potential. Kodak was also a key player of the invention of colour photography while under Eastman’s ownership – this was due to their invention of Kodachrome film which is not the standard for colour film photography. Overall Eastman was the start of consumer photography – it was no longer a hobby for the rich or the ones with loads of time – it was cheap, easy and not very time consuming.

Digital Photography

In the modern age – digital is king, it has completely taken over. Film photography is seen as a hobby in and of itself and is increasingly more expensive due to factories closing down and sales reducing. The digital camera was invented by Steven Sasson at Kodak in 1975. The technology used was a CCD which was essentially a sensor that converts light into digital signals. In the 80s the digital camera improved continually because sensors were becoming more and more sensitive and sophisticated however most cameras actually weren’t fully digital and used analog video technology. In the 90s digital cameras were becoming more commercial because the camera companies were releasing cameras that used memory cards which was much more practical.. The invention of the DSLR in the late 90s further boosted the industry because of being able to change the lenses and a much larger image quality. Following this, point and shoot cameras became more popular because they allowed regular consumers to make memories without having to learn manual settings and having a large cameras all the time.

This is the general timeline of photography – from super basic methods of recording real life scenes, to the highly advanced and refined DSLR cameras we live with daily now.