The history of photography can be traced back centuries with the first actual photographs not appearing until the nineteenth century. The invention of cameras and the advances of photography have been one of the biggest impacts on social commentary ever.
The Camera ObscuraThe first documented camera was known as the camera obscura which translates from Latin into dark room. The design has since become more commonly known as the pinhole camera which is a simple device which can provide surprisingly good results.
The camera obscura was allegedly created in Egypt almost a thousand years ago. The breakthrough was accidentally discovered during early scientific experiments investigating the properties of light.
Using this device images could be captured and recorded faintly on special paper. The images at first were monochrome and upside down. With further advancements mirrors were used to improve the image and steadily more advances in the field occurred.
DaguerreotypesThe success of the camera obscura and other such devices was widely praised. However people were eager to develop the technology further. The image produced by these early methods was incredibly faint and soon faded from the paper requiring the image to be traced to be stored permanently.
During the mid nineteenth century attempts to better the results of the camera obscura started to progress substantially. Experiments using plates and light sensitive chemicals provided some satisfactory results with noticeably improved development times.
However it wasn't until the late 1830s that a French pioneer called Daguerre published substantial results. Daguerre worked closely with a peer called Niepce and steadily developed the Daguerreotype.
The Daguerreotype worked using different materials and processes to create clearer images with a much improved development time. Following endorsement from the French government the invention was heralded a technological revolution and quickly elevated to world fame setting a benchmark for photography.
Further AdvancesFollowing the success of the Daguerreotype system advances came about at a steady rate. People carried on developing this initial model throughout the nineteenth century improving the quality and reducing the amount of time required in the dark room.
The previous system was known commonly as the wet plate method. During the 1870s the appearance of dry plate cameras furthered photography into new realms. With the new system people no longer had to mix their own solutions to apply to plates and could instead buy preformed dry plates. Technological advancements meant cameras were now much smaller allowing a freedom to take pictures in a wider range of locations.
As cameras progressed further the need for plates was not necessary as people started to use film around the turn of the nineteenth century. Early models using this technology were available with a single shutter speed and found appeal with many people due to its accessible price range.
Soon after, the introduction of the Brownie camera became a much loved and fondly remembered development in the field of photography. From 1900-1960 a variety of different models were released with good sales. The brownie is revered as favourite invention in the development of photography which has paved the way for modern cameras worldwide.