Essay about History of Photography

Early Landscape photography used the same principles as painters in order to create pieces of art. Before the 18th Century, artists used landscapes as backdrops and as a frame for the principal subject. Towards the later part of the century, however, artists such as Nicolas Poussin started to romanticize the environment, instead using it as a principle subject in paintings.

Photography, meaning “drawing with lights” in Greek, is an art as well as a science of capturing light and storing it on a medium with unprecedented accuracy. Yet, up until the late 18th century, history was mainly recorded through the techniques of painting and the press. These mediums unarguably contained a certain degree of a truth, though, it was not uncommon for events, such as war to be composed with glorified details, or an unfavorable bias from the artist at hand. Beginning in the 1830’s, cameras provided a revolutionary solution by combining the advancements in optics and chemistry. Consequently, the new medium of photography was established and forever changed how history would be visually captured. Unlike other methods, photography

The lightweight camera made it easier to transport and images were taken secretly and confidently. It started the era of the “Candid shot” (Collins). Images begun to look more real and less staged. Photojournalism was much easier, the picture was able to tell the story. Some photographers did not like the loss of freedom and went out on their own. They produced a series of photos that followed the same theme and told a story. This is known as a form of photojournalism and is still used today. Some journalists took on the role of a photographer and decided to write their own story and shoot their own images. There were many forms of photojournalism and one of the most important was the magazine called

They were both working together to make the first permanent image. Daguerre is known for his invention, the daguerreotype. A daguerreotype was the first commercially successful photographic process and was publicated. It was photo made on a silver surface sensitized with iodine was developed by exposure to mercury vapor. This is also known as the “daguerreian process.” In 1851, Frederick Scott Archer, a sculptor in London, improved photographic resolution by spreading a mixture of collodion (nitrated cotton dissolved in ether and alcohol) and chemicals on sheets of glass. This wet plate photography was less expensive than processing

Sense the invention of the camera in 1826 photography has been used to document everything from family portraits, social injustice, sporting events, world news, expressions of joy and sorrow, and hundreds of monumental moments. The camera has given man the power to reveal the truth visually. Throughout history photographs have made enormous impacts on social consciousness and ultimately shaped public opinion on many pressing issues in society. Although photography is often considered a casual pastime, the invention of the camera has contributed to many aspects of history, science, and other important pieces of todays world.

The purpose of my study is to give people a chance to understand what is the meaning of photography and how it was invented, plus how people was able to take photographs before the camera was invented.

Until the 19th century most artwork was created in a two or three-dimensional media. In England, William Fox discovered a technique that allowed camera images to be captured on paper. This medium has evolved since Fox’s discovery in 1839 to a serious and viable form of art today. Photography allows the artist to capture what he sees. The image produced is reality to the artists eye, it can only be manipulated with light and angles.

The first camera was invented by Alhazen around 1000 AD. It was called the Camera Obscura (Pinhole Camera). Since then there have been huge advances in the camera world, with over 400 cameras have been made. Pictures are a big and influential part in people’s lives. From Social Media to books, and news, cameras have truly changed America.

Between the use of film or digital photography, film is the more effective method when looking for originality and creativity. With the adoption of digital photography, the younger generations, as well as the older and more current photographers are becoming lazy. These groups must recognize that the art of the photograph is being jeopardized by the digital camera and the camera phone. For the current photographers as well as amateur photographers, this essay will serve as testimony to film as well as other chemical methods, and how they shouldn’t be ignored, but preferred. The digital era has had a massive impact on the art world and all of its mediums, but for photography this impact has resulted in the removal of the human from the photograph making process. This intimate process is what makes it an art form. All of films imperfections and unique qualities, as well as its monetary value and scarcity are just a few factors that have made it so precious. To replace this entire process with a microchip is offensive and undermines the importance of the process that is needed to make a photograph. Anyone can take a picture but you must make a photograph, and this skill is being simplified to a digital camera. The impact of the digital era on photography has hindered the process of making a photograph; painting the art form obsolete in today’s society.

Photography is a word derived from the Greek words photos light and to draw. A scientist called Sir John F.W. Herschel, which was in 1839, first used the word. It was a method which was all about recording images by using light or radiation on a sensitive material. The first known camera was created by Alhazen also known as who lived around 100AD he invented the first pinhole camera this camera was used to capture the movement of the sun. Photography was explained to be the science and art of documenting photographs by capturing light on a light sensitive material which included film or an electronic sensor. Light could be reflected from objects which could expose a chemical or electronic material during a timed exposure which is typically used through a camera which can store the information chemically or electronically. The first photograph was take in 1827 taken by Joseph Nicephore Niepce who made the first photograph

One reason the camera was the greatest invention was because it helps people keep a hold and learn from the past. When people take photos, they can retain them from generation to generation making sure the memories

It is considered that photography only became widely available to the public when the Kodak Eastman Company introduced the box shaped Brownie Camera in 1900. (Baker, n.p.) Its features became more refined since its original placing on the market; one of the reasons why it has become considered the birth of public photography is because of the processing. Using a similar image capture system, the brownie exposed the light to a 120mm roll of film, which could be wound round, meaning six photographs could be taken before the slides needed removing. The first Brownie used a six-exposure cartridge that Kodak processed for the photographer. (Kodak.com, n.d.) Realistically, the armature photographers did not need to understand darkroom processes,

It is likely that many artists will have used a camera obscura to aid them in drawing, but because of the stories of the occult, or because they felt it was "cheating" in some way not many people would admit to using one. In 1764, the lens was being developed. The name lens comes from

In 1888, George Eastman made the first light and portable camera under the company name Kodak (Graham 28). These cameras gave people the ability to take a photo almost anywhere. The cameras had to be sent back to the factory so the photographs could be printed. Twenty years after Kodak’s first camera, they produced an improved camera, called “Brownie”. The Brownie was simple to use, making the art of photography boom. Flash cameras did not appear until the 1930s, letting people take pictures in areas with dim or little lighting. In 1947, Edwin Land invented the instant camera. Land got the idea after his daughter asked to see her picture after he took her photo. The next step in improving the camera was by making it digital, which was done in 1975 by a Kodak employee. As the camera gets smaller and simpler to use, the quality of the photographs it produces gets better.

No matter who a person thinks invented the motion picture camera, whether it was Louis Lumiere or Thomas Edison, I'm sure they had no idea what it would become at the turn of the century. Motion pictures, has become an entertainment medium like no other. From Fred Ott's Sneeze to Psycho to Being John Malkovich, the evolution from moving pictures to a pure art form has been quite amazing. Different steps in filming techniques define eras in one of the most amazing ideas that was ever composed. Silent to Sound. Short to long. Black and white to color. Analog to Digital. All were important marks in the History of Motion Pictures. "It's different than other arts. It had to be invented"