The history and evolution of photography and the camera

NATURE'S SECOND EYE

Photography and the Camera through the Years

Photography has gone a long way in recording and visualizing natural phenomena, with the camera as the device. Both have evolved through the centuries.

The precursor was the camera obscura in the 1700s. The first photograph was taken in 1835, the first patent for photography awarded in 1840. The first photo advertisement was produced in 1843. Two processes in the early 1800s were by Dagerreo and Fox Talbot. The term "photography" was coined. George Eastman set up his company, which produced and sold Kodak cameras. The cine-camera or color photography was invented. James Clerk Maxwell introduced color photography. Kodachrome slide film was invented and color prints were developed. The instant photography system and compact cameras came forth. Then the first digital camera was created. Other innovations were the first 35mm camera, the Twin Lens camera, and the instant-picture camera. The Polaroid Model 45 was the world's first instant picture camera. Then, the first true digital camera, the Fuji DS-1P, entered the scene.

Photography was invented in the 5th century BC with the camera obscura. History lists the first and oldest photograph, the first photograph of a person, the first underwater photograph, the first color photograph, the first self-portrait, and the first motion picture as innovations since then. In the last century, these are the first aerial photograph, the first and distinct underwater color photograph, the first space photograph, and the first photograph of the earth fully lighted.

A potential at present is the 5-megapizel image sensor for digital cameras. This followed the CMOS imaging innovation.

More and more practitioners are adapting imaginative processes in creating images, applying the same law of optics as the old ones. Although not new, pinhole photography is now the current trend. Experiments with pinhole and home-made cameras suggest that future innovations will derive from them.

History and Innovations of Photography and the Camera

Photography is defined as "the process or art of producing images of objects in sensitized surfaces through the chemical action of light or other forms of energy (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2006)." The camera is a boxlike device, which produces the images (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2008).

Precursor Camera Obscura

The simultaneous histories of photography and the camera started with the precursor camera obscura in the 1700s (Holland, 2004; D'Silva, 2007). This precursor was not a handheld camera but only a dark chamber or an optical device for drawing. A lens or a pinhole projected the image of the place on a viewing surface. The first units of camera obscuras were actually big enough to accommodate one or more persons. The handheld camera units known and used today evolved only gradually. The first acknowledged and practical photograph was invented in 1835 by Louis Jacques Daguerre, later named after him. The first patent for photography was given to Alexander Wolcott in 1840. The first photo advertisement was produced in Philadelphia in 1843. The Panaromic camera patent was given in Sutton (D'Silva).

Photography Processes, the Term "Photography"

Two photography processes were developed in the early 1800s (Holland, 2004). The first, called the Dageurreo-type method, used silver iodide on a copper plate, a positive process. The second was introduced by Fox Talbot and used silver salts on paper, a negative process. The resulting negative was waxed to obtain a positive. The astronomer and pioneer Sir William Herschel came out with the term "photography" with this development (Holland).

Innovations in the Last Century

The first aerial photographs were drawn from a camera with a timer and a pigeon in 1903 by Julius Neubronner (Stack, 2007). The first clear and credible underwater color photograph was tkat of a hogfish taken by Dr. William Longley Charles Martin in 1926 in the Gulf of Mexico. The first space photo was taken on October 24, 1946 through a 35mm motion picture camera as earlier mentioned. The first photo of the earth fully lighted, called the Blue Marble, was taken by the crew of Apollo 17 on December 7, 1972 (Stack).

Potentials/Projections of Digital Photography

Micron Technology, the leader in imaging solutions, introduced the revolutionary 5-megapixel high-definition, or HI, image sensor for digital cameras (Business Wire, 2006). This sensor can capture images at 60 frames per second in a 720 progressive format and 30 frames per second in a 1080 progressive format. Its amazing 2.2 micron pixel technology works well with long-range zoom lenses. It also has a pixel area for image stabilization to reduce shakiness and blurred effects. It is a follow-up to the company's successful CMOS imaging innovations. The 5 mega innovation not only increases the megapixels but also the functions, such as high definition and high speed (Business Wire).

Micron's products have captured images at speeds as high as 5000 frames per second (Business Wire, 2006). These products continuously allow digital still and video cameras to venture into new frontiers. The company also began creating reference designs for 8- megapixel image sensors. This has been its direction, particularly with the recent purchase of the Lexar equipment (Business Wire).

Alternative Processes and Techniques

More and more fine art photographers have embarked on new and imaginative schemes of image creations (Meyers, 2004). They have used pinhole cameras to shoot unusual or mysterious events. They utilize x-rays to cut through objects and re-use the old technique of photograms. New York-based artist Adam Fuss, early 19th-century photographers William Henry Fox Talbot and Anna Atkins used photograms. Fuss' photograms captured water droplets, flying birds, moving light and snakes on light-sensitive paper, strewn with talcum powder. Other artists have followed suit and exchanged the camera for other methods. One from Monterey, California specializes in pinhole photography and photograms. Another prefers crude photography, hand-made cameras and hand-made images and makes pinhole photographs as ambro-types on glass and Polaroid film. Another photographer creates "lumen prints" photograms by placing specimens on old photo paper and exposing them to the sun. An image results partly from the plant juices. Still another photographer folds photographic paper kept in the dark until the time of exposure. These practitioners and others like them have endeavored to express their art in a way other than merely snapping a photo. Owner of her own gallery, Susan Spiritus, observed that artists try to create images through another unique and different procedure or tool. They will not just stand under the influence of someone else who came before them (Meyers).

These techniques are, however, mere adaptations of older ones (Meyers, 2004). Chinese philosopher Mo Ti in 300 BC used a camera obscura to capture an inverted image. Aristotle, Euclid, Arabian scholar Hassan ibn Hassan of the 10th century, and other artists, like Leonardo da Vinci, also used the camera obscura. The same simple law of optics applies. When a box of any size is blackened and the wall covering is pierced with a small hole, the focused image will appear on the opposite wall in an upside-down position. Pinhole photographers now make all kinds of pinhole cameras in creating all kinds of images. Artists, like Jessica Fergusson, use a pinhole camera to capture something mysterious or unexpected. She believes that this is how memories or dreams work (Meyers).

Photograms can be less manipulated by the artist or camera (Meyers, 2004). This was the discovery of Susannah Hays one rainy winter a few years ago. Photogram techniques are part of the beginners' curriculum on photography and summer camps. But she discovered what appeared to be organic, patterned forms from an otherwise smooth surface. On the other hand, Abelardo Morell uses a large-format view camera to take the image of the upside-down, outside world. He used this in shooting the Empire State Building on a bed in midtown Manhattan, the Chrysler Building on the wall and floor of a New York hotel room, and Central Park upside-down in an office (Meyers).

Alternative uses of x-ray fine art photography are not new, either. Dan Tasker used x-rays in producing images of flowers (Meyers, 2004). But his products were ignored and almost forgotten until found a few years ago. These were recognized as pioneering works and auctioned at attractive prices. Although pinhole photography is not new, it is considered fashionable today. An exhibition by 45 international artists who used pinhole techniques was held. There were similar pinhole photography exhibitions in the same year at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Seville, Spain and the Center for Contemporary Arts of Santa Fe. Rotovision published images from artists who used different imaginative cameras under the title, "Adventures with Pinhole and Home-Made Cameras from Tin Cans to Precision Engineering" by John Evans. Pinhole has achieved popularity to the extent that an official Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day was declared on the last Sunday of April (Meyers).