Camera Obscura

The Camera Obscura is a natural phenomenon which is around 200 years old and comes from the Latin words for dark (obscura) and room (camera).

What is a Camera Obscura?

With a camera obscura you can capture the world around you by projecting what’s on the outside down into a darkened room on the inside. It also doesn’t involve any power source. Camera obscura — and before them, pinhole cameras — have been around for several hundred years. But it wasn’t until the early 1600s that manufacturing lenses of high enough quality to create more flexible cameras with larger openings was possible – this meant letting in more light to create brighter and higher quality images. For example painters would once have used a camera obscura like this for making accurate and detailed sketches of scenes. It was especially useful for capturing perspective – accurately representing the height, width, depth and position of what you can see in the 3D world but presented on a 2D surface.

How does it work?

Other than a rather theatrical looking curtain that surrounds the darkened chamber, there’s a large lens mounted in a wooden panel. That lens focuses the light from the scene outside down onto a mirror which is held at a 45 degree angle behind it on the inside. The mirror reflects the rays of light onto a piece of paper – or canvas – laid out flat on the base inside the wooden box. To see the image, you need to cover yourself with a piece of black cloth to stop any other surrounding light from getting into the box. Then, you would trace the outlines of the scene you can see projected onto the paper inside. And because this camera obscura uses a lens, which created a relatively large aperture, you get a sharp, colourful image on the paper – like a mini video of the outside world.

Who used a camera obscura?

Because the light is bouncing off the mirror, you see the image the right way up. But the lens causes the image to flip (or invert) so it’s also the wrong way round. That meant artists using a camera obscura would have to trace the final image in reverse. There is plenty of evidence that master like Canaletto and Rembrandt used the camera obscura – but other artists may have been more secretive. People debate whether the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer used a camera obscura to capture the incredible detail in his exquisite paintings of domestic scenes. Although there’s no written evidence to prove it either way, art historians think, on balance, that he probably did.

The birth of photography

In the 1700s and 1800s CE, the camera obscura was also a useful accessory for the wealthy taking the ‘Grand Tour’ to make drawings of Italian landscapes or classical ruins. But the camera obscura is only focusing and reflecting light — not capturing it. The next big leap in the 1800s CE was to combine a device like a camera obscura with a material that would alter when exposed to the light — and preserve the image.

Nicephore Niepce

Who is he?



What did Niepce do?

When French inventor Joseph Nicephore placed a camera obscura aimed toward the view outside the second-story window of his country house in Le Gras, France, in 1826-27, he couldn’t imagine the revolution he was about to be a part of.

By then, he had already been experimenting for a while with lithography, a technique invented by Bavarian playwright Alois Senefelder in 1798, which consisted of an artist drawing an image on a smooth, flat limestone surface, taking advantage of the immiscibility between the oil and water. Unsatisfied and recognising his inability to draw, Niepce began experimenting with different methods and techniques that wouldn’t required this skill. He also wanted to find a way to create a permanent image whose lines wouldn’t fade over time and couldn’t be washed away. After a series of unsuccessful attempts, Niepce turned his attention to materials that were affected by light, and explored the use of metal plates. Eventually, an element in particular caught his attention: bitumen of Judea, a naturally occurring asphalt which hardens on exposure to light.

Placing existing engravings, made transparent, onto the surface of pewter plates coated with bitumen, then exposing them to light through a camera obscura, he finally achieved his goal. The sunlight “exposed” the plate except for the areas that were covered by the lines on the engraved paper. Finally the plate was washed in lavender oil and turpentine, removing the unexposed bitumen. By doing that, Niepce created the process which he called “heliography”, from helios meaning “sun”, and graphein, “writing”.

This famous heliograph was produced in 1826, based on an engraving by Issac Briot. It pictures a profile of Cardinal d’Amboise.

The window at Le Gras

Point de vue du Gras or View from the Window at Le Gras was taken from the window of Niépce’s ‘laboratory’, and is considered the earliest surviving photographic image.

It is said that it required about 8 hours of exposure for the image to be completed. The sun moved from east to west during the process – the reason why it appears to shine of both sides of the building. Some people estimate that the exposure must have continued not for hours, but for several days.

This amazing milestone offered, in Niepce’s words: “The first uncertain step in a completely new direction”

Was it the first photograph?

The oldest photograph preserved today is the image at Le Gras, France, in 1826. Theoretically, it’s not the first-ever photograph because Niépce had been experimenting with heliography since 1816. But previous ones didn’t get to enter history.

William Henry Fox Talbot

Who was he?

William Henry Fox Talbot (born February 11, 1800, Melbury Sampford, Dorset, England—died September 17, 1877, Lacock Abbey, near Chippenham, Wiltshire) was an English chemist, linguist, archaeologist, and pioneer photographer. He is best known for his development of the calotype, an early photographic process that was an improvement over the daguerreotype of the French inventor Louis Daguerre. Talbot’s calotypes used a photographic negative, from which multiple prints could be made; had his method been announced but a few weeks earlier, he and not Daguerre would probably have been known as the founder of photography.

Photogenic drawings

Photogenic drawings was the name given to the images produced by William Henry Fox Talbot to the images produced by his earliest experiments in the 1830’s. Salted-paper prints: The first viable paper negative process was developed by William Henry Fox Talbot in the late 1830s. n William Henry Fox Talbot. These so-called photogenic drawings were basically contact prints on light-sensitive paper, which unfortunately produced dark and spotty images. In 1840 he modified and improved this process and called it the calotype (later the talbotype).

In October 1833, during his honeymoon at Lake Como, William Henry Fox Talbot faced frustration while sketching the landscape with a camera lucida, realizing his drawings couldn’t capture the scene’s beauty. This experience prompted him to revisit his earlier work with the camera obscura and inspired him to explore the possibility of permanently fixing images onto paper. Upon returning to Lacock Abbey in January 1834, Talbot began experimenting with photographic techniques, using salt and silver nitrate-treated paper to create detailed botanical tracings through sunlight, which he called “the art of photogenic drawing.” By summer 1835, he advanced his work by placing sensitized paper in small cameras to capture images of his surroundings.

However, Talbot soon encountered competition from Louis Daguerre’s precise photographic process introduced in 1839. To assert his claim in photography, Talbot presented his findings to the Royal Society and continued refining his techniques. In September 1840, he achieved a breakthrough with the calotype process, enabling faster exposures and the development of latent images. Despite challenges with image permanence, he collaborated with scientist Sir John Herschel to develop a more stable fixing solution. Talbot also pursued photogravure to create enduring photographic prints, ultimately revolutionizing photography and establishing its artistic and scientific foundations.

Talbot’s Mousetraps

The cameras belonging to William Henry Fox Talbot are some of the most precious items in the Royal Photographic Society Collection at the V&A. Most famous of al are the simple little cameras nicknamed ‘mousetraps’. These were given this name by Talbot’s wife Constance, partly because of their appearance and partly due to Talbot leaving them around the house for long exposure times of up to several hours.

Four of Fox Talbot’s ‘mousetrap’ cameras on display in the V&A’s Photography Centre. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

The mousetraps are study little wooden boxes with a brass tube housing a lens at one end, and a sliding wooden panel at the other. Into the wooden panel at the back Talbot would tick a piece of normal writing paper that he had made chemically sensitive to light. On some you can still see the traces where successive pieces of paper have been stuck in place. The mousetrap cameras themselves are pleasant to hold – toy-like even – and their simple design allows even a photographic novice to understand how they might work.

Once the paper was inserted, the camera would be placed in front of the subject being photographed and left for several hours to expose. After that, the paper inside would be carefully removed and chemically treated to bring out and then stabilise the latent negative image. if the experiment reached this point successfully, the negative was used to create positive prints by sensitising a further sheet of paper, laying the negative on top of it in a frame, and exposing it in the sun for several hours. The resulting print would then need to be fixed to stop the image from fading. Getting the right balance of chemicals and treatments for this stage of the process was one of the most vexed areas of research for the duration of early photographic experimentation.

The earliest of the cameras dates back to 1835, when cameras weren’t available to buy. Instead Talbot made some himself out of cigar boxes and other readymade wooden boxes he could modify. He also employed a local carpenter to make more robust boxes to fit lenses from microscope and telescopes

Louis Daguerre

Who was he?

Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre was a French artist and photographer, recognized for his invention of the eponymous daguerreotype process of photography. He became known as one of the fathers of photography.

What is a daguerreotype?

The daguerreotype is a photographic process that involved capturing an image on a polished sheet of metal, usually sharp and detailed, but also incredibly fragile. The process of creating a daguerreotype involved a number of steps. starting with preparation of a metal plate. The daguerreotype plate was coated with a light sensitive chemical, and then placed inside a camera. The image was captured by exposing the plate to light for a certain amount of time, depending on the lighting conditions and the desired result.

Once the exposure was complete, the plate was processed in a chemical bath to fix the image. This involved washing the plate in a solution of salt water and alcohol, and then exposing it to mercury vapor. The mercury vapor reacted with the light-sensitive chemical, creating a visible on the daguerreotype plate. One of the most difficult aspects of this stage of the process was ensuring that the image was properly exposed. This required a high level of expertise and experience, as well as the use of specialised equipment. The final was to polish the plate, which gave it its unique, mirror-like finish. The resulting daguerreotype was then placed inside a protective case, and could be viewed by tilting it at different angles to catch the light.

Why was the daguerreotype not as successful as Talbot’s system?

But the daguerreotype had serious limitations. The mirror-like surface of the image could only be viewed from a narrow angle. Further, the process produced a one-of-a-kind image that did not permit printing duplicates.

Cyanotype

Cyanotype photography is a camera-less technique that involves laying an object on paper coated with a solution of iron salts before exposing it to UV light and washing with water to create stunning white and Prussian blue images.

Sir John Herschel: The inventor of cyanotypes Later, in 1842, he used paper coated with a solution of iron salts, sun exposure and a water wash to create the very first cyanotype – a white image on a deep blue background.

Richard Maddox

Richard Leach Maddox was an English photographer and physician who invented lightweight gelatin negative dry plates for photography in 1871.

The Gelatin or Dry Plate photographic process was invented in 1871 by Dr. Richard L Maddox. This involved the coating of glass photographic plates with a light sensitive gelatin emulsion and allowing them to dry prior to use.

Richard Leach Maddox invented the gelatin dry plate silver bromide process. This led to the invention of dry plate photography, which did not require the photographer to develop the plate immediately after exposure. This proved to be a highly successful process, which continued to be used into the 1920s.

George Eastman

George Eastman was an American entrepreneur who founded the Eastman Kodak Company and helped to bring the photographic use of roll film into the mainstream.

In the 1880s, Eastman developed a convenient method of preparing ready-to-use plates. Improvements led to flexible, roll film as well as photo processing and printing done by mail order. Millions of people worldwide captured memories using cameras and film, leaving all the chemistry to Kodak.

In 1881, with the financial backing of Rochester businessman Henry Strong, Eastman formed the Eastman Dry Plate Company (reincorporated as the Eastman Dry Plate and Film Company in 1884 and as Eastman Kodak Company in 1892). With a series of innovations, the company created easy-to-use cameras that made photography widely accessible, established the practice of professional photofinishing, and developed a flexible film that was a critical contribution to the launch of the motion picture industry.

Kodak (Brownie)

The Brownie was a series of camera models made by Eastman Kodak and first released in 1900. It introduced the snapshot to the masses by addressing the cost factor which had mean that amateur photography remained beyond the means of many people; the Pocket Kodak, for example, would cost most families in Britain nearly a whole month’s wages.

How was the kodak brownie influential?

It was easy to use compared to other cameras, and could be loaded in the daylight. Through the advertising schemes used by Kodak, and because of the affordability of the Brownie camera, many amateurs and middle class people were able to discover the joys of photography.

Who invented it?

It was invented by Frank A. Brownell for the Eastman Kodak Company. Named after the Brownie characters popularised by the Canadian writer Palmer Cox, the camera was initially aimed at children.

How did it work?

The Brownie was a basic box camera with a single lens. It used a roll film, another innovation from Eastman Kodak. Users received the pre-loaded camera, took their photographs, and returned it to Kodak. Kodak would develop the film, print the photos, reload the camera with new film, and return it to the customer.

Digital Photography

Digital photography is a process that uses an electronic device called a digital camera to capture an image. Instead of film, it uses an electronic digital sensor to translate light into electrical signals. In the camera, the signals are stored as tiny bits of data in bitmaps, tiny bits of data that form the image.

in 1957, the first digital image was produced through a computer by Russell Kirsch. It was an image of his son. First digital image ever created, by Russell Kirsch. It is an image of his son, Walden.

DSLR

In 1991, Kodak released the first commercially available fully digital SLR, the Kodak DCS-100, previously shown at Photokina in 1990. It consisted of a modified Nikon F3 SLR body, modified drive unit, and an external storage unit connected via cable.

The first mirrorless camera commercially marketed was the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1, released in Japan in October 2008. It was also the first camera of Micro Four Thirds system, developed exclusively for the mirrorless ILC system.