Cameras have been around since the 5th century but they were very basic. It wasn't until the 11th century that scientists developed the art of photography but the camera still didn't record images. It only projected on a surface. In the 17th century the art of photography became portable and basic lenses and focus points were introduced.
Photography as we know it today began in the late 1830s in France. Joseph Nicéphore used a portable camera obscurer to expose a pewter plate coated with bitumen to light. This was the first recorded picture that didn't fade. His discoverment made photography progress rapidly and lots of experiments happened.
In the mid-late 1800s cameras developed rapidly. Photographs started to experiment with different techniques. Here is a list of things that were created :
- A copper plate was coated with silver and exposed to iodine vapor before it was exposed to light.
- To create the image on the plate, the earlier daguerreotypes had to be exposed to light for up to 15 minutes.
- The daguerreotype was very popular until it was replaced in the late 1850s by emulsion plates.
Until the 1880s photography was only for professionals and rich people. This change when George Eastman created a company called Kodak. Kodak created a flexible roll film that didn't require constant charging of solid plates. He developed a self contained box camera that held 100 film exposures. It had a small single lens and no focusing adjustment.
The consumer would take the picture and send the camera back to the factory to get the image developed. This is much like modern disposal cameras. This was the first camera for an average person to afford. This was the first time an average person could afford a camera. The film was larger than todays 35mm film. It took till the late 1940s for 35mm film came cheap for most people to afford.
As the 35mm film was becoming popular Polaroid introduced the Model 95. Model 95 used a secret chemical process to develop film inside the camera to be less than a minute. This camera was very expensive but the novelty of the instant pictures got peoples attention. Polaroid had many models by the mid 1960s. Many of these were on the market and the price had dropped so people could afford them.
In the 1980s and 1990s digital cameras were introduced. These cameras stored images manually, the first type of cameras that did this were point and shoot cameras.
By 1991 Konica created the first shoot and point camera as shown above. It was advanced enough to be use3d successfully by professionals. Other companies quickly followed and today Canon, Nikon, Pentax, and other manufacturers offer advanced digital SLR (DSLR) cameras. Even the most basic point-and-shoot camera now takes higher quality images than Niépce’s pewter plate. Also smartphones can even pull off a high-quality printed photograph.
In 2008, Polaroid stopped making their famous instant film and took their secrets with them. Many groups such as The Impossible Project and Lomography have tried to revive instant film with limited success. As of 2016, it remains difficult to replicate the quality that was a Polaroid.
In 2009 Kodak announced that they were going to stop selling Kodak chrome film. Also Fujifilm launched the worlds first 3D camera with 3D printing capabilities.
In 2011 Lytro released the first pocket sized consumer light field camera. It was capable of refocusing images after being taken.
To this day Photography has developed really well and it will keep on having new things to cameras
Photography Today
Over time photography has become more popular it is used mostly used at special events these days but people still use it as a form of art. Photography today is used in everyday life although we might not realise it whenever we take a picture on our phone it is a type of photography. This is called mobile photography.
This is a camera you will probably see around these days. As you can see it is very different from an old camera.
Mobile Photography
Mobile photography is taking pictures on your mobile phone you might do this when you go on days out or you see something that looks good and decide to take a picture of it. People use mobile photography from day to day use some people don't really realise it.
What is the first ever mobile phone with a camera?
The first ever mobile phone with a camera was the J-phone. This phone only has a back camera so if you wanted to take a selfie you would have to turn it round.
This is the J-phone.
Examples of mobile photography
I picked this image because you cant tell weather it has been took on a phone or a camera. Also it is a really nice picture of boats on water. It shows that people use photography and sometimes don't realise they are doing it.
I have picked this image because it is not only mobile photography but it also uses focus point. The focus point is on the insect as you can see the back round is blurred out so the insect stands out.
This photo has been taken using the technique a birds eye view. You can see the reflection of the buildings in the puddle. This makes it stand out as everything else is dark and the buildings are bright.