A Brief History of (pre-digital) Photography The word “photography” comes from two Greek words: “photos,” meaning “light,”

and “graphe,” meaning “drawing or writing.” The word “photography” basically

means, “writing with light.” Without light, there is no photography: as you learn

more about photography, you will see just how vital lighting is to the success of a

photograph.

The first attempt at photography

was done with a device known as

a camera obscura: the earliest

known mention of a camera

obscura was in China, around

400 BC. A camera obscura is a

device or enclosure; it is dark,

except for a single opening to let

a beam of light in. The beam of light shines through the opening to the opposite

side: whatever image is outside of the opening to the camera obscura is projected

onto the interior wall opposite the opening. The earliest camera obscuras were

actual rooms: artists could stand in a darkened room and sketch the image projected

on the opposite wall. (One catch, though: the projected image will be inverted, or

upside down.) Eventually, camera obscuras were

shrunk into smaller devices.

While the camera obscura worked to copy an

image by tracing its projection, there wasn’t a

way to record the image other than painstakingly

tracing over the image. Joseph Nicephore Niepce lacked the steady hand needed to trace

an image, so he worked with different chemical

compositions to see if he could record the image

another way. Certain chemicals darken when

exposed to light; Niepce found the right mix to record an image.

“View from the Window at Le Gras” is regarded as the first known photograph (the

first that survived after many attempts) and was created in 1825 or 1826. It took an

exposure time of around eight hours to

record the image. Think of taking a photo

with a modern camera or smart phone: the

shutter opens for a fraction of a second to

record the image. Now, imagine holding

your camera or phone for eight hours to let

enough light in to record the image.

Though Niepce was the first to record images on a surface, he struggled to keep

those images from fading away. He collaborated with artist and physicist Louis Daguerre to perfect the process. They worked together from 1829 to 1833, when

Niepce died suddenly. Daguerre continued their work, improving the process into

what he called the Daguerreotype. The earliest Daguerreotypes took around ten

minutes to record an image, so most early photographs using this method were of

landscapes or “still life”: things that did not move. Even with developments that

sped up the exposure time, subjects might have to hold still for several minutes to

record the image. Ever wonder why everyone always looks so stern and serious in

old photographs? Would you like to hold a smile for five minutes straight, without

moving?

Daguerreotypes eventually became obsolete as newer, better methods came around.

First known photograph of a human being: “Boulevard Du Temple” by Louis Daguerre, 1828. Exposure time for the photograph was around 10 minutes long, so anything moving would not have appeared. However, a man who was

getting his shoes shined stood long enough to be recorded for all time.

Robert Cornelius took the first known portrait of a human being (it was a selfie).

                   

     

While the earliest photographs were created on plates of glass, tin, or other

materials, in 1884, George Eastman invented paper-based photographic film. In

1888, Eastman patented the roll-film camera. Now, rather than using one plate at a

time for each photograph, a roll of film could be loaded for multiple photographs.

However, photography was still in the hands of professional photographers and

serious hobbyists, until 1900: when the Kodak Brownie camera was invented. The Brownie was

the first mass-marketed camera: now ANYONE

could easily take photographs. The camera was

inexpensive and simple to operate; it came

preloaded with film, usually around 8-12

exposures. Once the film roll was used up, the

entire camera was sent in to Kodak, where the film

was processed. The photographs were returned,

along with the camera, freshly loaded with a new

roll of film. The slogan on Brownie advertisements

was “You push the button, we do the rest.”

In 1934, Kodak introduced 135 film,

commonly known as 35mm film. The

film came in individual one-use rolls

(most commonly with 24 or 36

exposures) that could be loaded into a

camera in the daylight (previously,

film had to be loaded in pitch black, or

else the film would be exposed to light

and ruined). This became the most

common size of film used for still photography, and remains so to this day. Even

though most companies have severely cut their 35mm camera and film options for

consumers, there are still options for people who want to stay true to film

photography. While most photographers have made the switch to digital, there are

still holdouts that swear on the “purity” of film.

Another advancement in photography arrived with Kodachrome film in 1934: the

first successful color film. Kodachrome was a popular film choice for photographers

for decades; the colors were crisp with a high contrast, and the film itself had a long

shelf life. Kodachrome film was so popular, it inspired a famous song by musician

Paul Simon, and had a national park named after it. Unfortunately, the growth of

digital cameras and new advancements in color film processing ended Kodachrome

manufacturing after 74 years. Kodachrome film processing was rather difficult and

time-consuming; in fact, at the end of its run,

there was only one place in the entire world that

still processed it. By 2008, no matter where you

might drop off your Kodachrome film to be

developed, it ended up at Dwayne’s Photo in

Parsons, Kansas. Sometime around December

2010, Dwayne’s Photo permanently

discontinued development of Kodachrome film

when the last of the developing chemicals were

used up.

A major advancement in photography technology

was made by the Polaroid Corporation in 1948

with the introduction of the “instant camera.”

With regular film cameras, the image is burned

on a film, which needs to be brought to a

darkroom and processed into photographs using

chemicals. With the Polaroid camera, the film

itself comes with its own darkroom. The film for

Polaroid photos actually holds all of the

chemicals needed for film development: they exist in separate layers to keep them

from interacting with each other. Like a regular camera, the image is burned onto a

negative, but then the user pulls a tab, the chemicals are released to mix and burn

the image onto the photographic paper. Instant photography had a major impact on

society, but sadly, Polaroid Corporation struggled to stay with the times, and

announced that it would no longer produce its line of instant cameras (and film) in

2008. However, in 2009, with the help of investors, Polaroid reinstated the line.

After covering this section, you should be able to: *Define the etymology of the word “photography”

*Explain what a “camera obscura” is

*Identify Nicephore Niepce and his contribution to photography

*Identify Louis Daguerre and his contribution to photography

*define a “Daguerreotype”

*Identify George Eastman; explain the significance of the “Kodak Brownie”

*Explain the significance of “Kodachrome” film

*Explain the significance of the Polaroid Instant Camera