History of Photography
Today we see photographs from all over the world, everywhere we look. To posters on buildings, to billboards, magazines, social media, and physically printed photographs in our homes.
This page is a timeline for the history of photography, where I will show you the different important events that occurred in time that created the photography we know and are so fond of today!
This page is a timeline for the history of photography, where I will show you the different important events that occurred in time that created the photography we know and are so fond of today!
The first printed photographs were made between the years 1816 and 1840. In 1725, the very first discovery that a certain type of chemical when exposed to the light turned black. The basic design of the camera has been around since the 1500, with trial and error of course. The basic concept of photography is about 150 to 1500 years old.
Camera Obscura
The Camera Obscura comes from the European language, meaning "dark chamber". Taking it as a literal term, the camera was literally a dark box, with a lens on one end and a mirror inside. So the Camera Obscura wasn't an actually photograph taking camera, but an image inverting device. What the box would do is form an image on paper using the mirror and lens inside the box. This gave time for the photographer to trace out the image instead of the model or the real image to stay in one place for a long period of time.
Although it was very time convenient for the model, it was very time consuming for the artist tracing the image then drawing out the final portrait. Also the image was inverted and not very clear until the photo was redrawn.
This process could also be done in a large room. The room would be dark with no light with a hole in one wall with a lens. The artist could draw a larger image instead of a normal portrait sized image.
These photos show the chamber and how the Obscura camera was used.
Although it was very time convenient for the model, it was very time consuming for the artist tracing the image then drawing out the final portrait. Also the image was inverted and not very clear until the photo was redrawn.
This process could also be done in a large room. The room would be dark with no light with a hole in one wall with a lens. The artist could draw a larger image instead of a normal portrait sized image.
These photos show the chamber and how the Obscura camera was used.
Daguerreotype
The daguerreotype was a camera name after Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre, who discovered the first forms of real photography that develops real images without tracing nor drawing. The image was developed onto a silver plate and what created the image was a chemical reaction between the silver, iodine and mercury vapour, then fixed with a salt solution. This creates a clear image and looks very affective, but the camera itself can only produce one picture and cannot make any more.
This is what an image from the Daguerreotype would have looked like. |
Talbot Type or Calotype
In 1835, a new device was created to create an image. This new process produced a negative image on a sheet of paper treated with silver. The negative image was black and white and flipped. The exposed sheet of paper with the negative image was placed on top of a second sheet of paper, then exposed to bright light to that produced a positive image.
This technique was capable of creating multiple positive copies of the single negative image, however the last few positive copies were shady and unclear.
This technique was capable of creating multiple positive copies of the single negative image, however the last few positive copies were shady and unclear.
Collodion Wet Plate Process
This process was ideal because it created a very clear image and and could create multiple copies of the image. A clean glass plate was evenly covered in collodian, and dipped in a silver nitrate solution. then inserted into the camera and exposed. The image then had to be developed immediately and given time to dry. If the glass plate dried before the process was complete, then the image would be ruined. This method was fast and sometimes frustrating but it did create very clear images.
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Important Photographers Through History
Lewis Hine
Lewis Hine was a sociologist, and a photographer from 1874-1940. Hines was known for taking powerful, heart breaking photos of child labour. From children working in factories, to children smoking on the streets. His photos were so meaningful that they changed child labour laws in the United States.
- Born: September 26, 1874, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States
- Died: November 3, 1940, Dobbs Ferry, New York, United States
- Period: Social realism
- Books: Men at work, The Empire State Building, more
- Education: Columbia University, New York University, University of Chicago