Basic Skills
Algonquin College
Photography
...smile!
by
Paul-Robert Hipkiss
1984
Photography is a technique of recording an image of a certain area, at a certain moment in time; a technique which is very commonly used in our society of the twentieth century. Nevertheless, photography was invented by no one man, and because of the camera, its invention has affected our modern society.
The history of photography covers a period of a little more that 150 years. The invention of the photography made news in 1839 CE. It had its beginnings as early as 1819 CE, when the first photographic negative produced by a camera is believe to have been made by the French chemist, Joseph Niepce. Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre had already experimented with a similar process, but it was not until some years later that he accidentally discovered a rapid means of developing exposed plates. In 1840 CE, William Fox Talbot made further improvements in photographic techniques. At Lake Como, after unsuccessful attempts at using the camera Lucida to sketch landscapes, Talbot called upon his previous experience with the camera obscuras, which he had employed to project images onto paper, and he conceived of the possibility of fixing the projected image permanently. Back in England, and having achieved some success, he experimented first with fixing the imprint of leaves and laces placed directly on paper prepared with silver chloride.1 His process could be made without expensive materials, and, also made possible multiple reproductions of the same image; thus, making his invention a breakthrough in the photography world.
These elementary notes on the early history and techniques of photography are essential in following the evolution of its expressive means, which broadened as its mechanical means were refined. Many cameras made after 1840 CE had better lenses than those in the early camera obscuras. In 1842 CE, a portrait lens and a landscape lens were founded by Josef M. Petzval. One of the greatest advancements in photography came in 1871 with the invention of the dry plate process.2 A photographer no longer needed to carry a darkroom around with him. In the late 1870s CE, scientists improved the light sensitivity of the gelatine emulsion.3 Now the emulsion could record an image in 1/25th of a second. with the improved gelatine emulsion, a photographer could hold the camera in his hand and take snapshots. George Eastman, 1888 CE, an American dry-plate manufacturer, revolutionised photography by marketing the Kodak Camera. The Kodak was a simple snapshot camera that could be used by amateurs. It held a roll of film that made a hundred pictures. But, there had to be other improvements in the tools and processes of photography. So, scientists introduced the Time-Temperature method of developing film, which greatly simplified the development process. They improved camera lenses, developed a precision enlarger, invented electronic flash, a great evolutionary moment in the photography world, where artificial lighting greatly increased the type of subjects that could be photographed.
Today, cameras and photographic equipment are both becoming more and more automatic. The number of photographers who use colour increases every day. In addition, photography is taking an increasingly important place in many fields of science. Special high-speed cameras can show the tiny hummingbird in flight. These cameras can also reveal information about the path of a bullet as it leaves a gun. Underwater cameras unlock the secrets of a sunken ship, or let the scientists study the ocean floor. Infrared film that penetrates haze permits photographers at high altitudes. When mounted on a telescope, the camera provides detailed and permanent records of the stars and planets. A camera attached to a microscope can take enlarged pictures of tiny cells, atoms, and bacteria.
Photography has an important part in military and police work. Aerial photographs are necessary in the preparation of maps for any military action. These photographs are made with highly specialised cameras in aeroplanes. The use of aerial photography to make maps of ground areas is called photogrammetry.4 Police officials use photography when investigating almost any crime. They need photographic records of the place where the crime was committed. Pictures of a body, a broken window, or pictures of fingerprints provide a valuable clue to the identity of criminals. Photographers use infrared and ultraviolet films to make burnt documents readable, and to detect forgeries, or illegal obliterations on documents. These films record infrared or ultraviolet light that the eye cannot see.
If there are people who have devoted an entire lifetime to military and police work, and there are such people, as it would seem to be, an obvious not that the photographer has a vast wealth of material that he or she never had before giving a greater hope to discover more images fully or more completely. Photography nature is endlessly fascinating, for it is unique at every moment in time. Ask yourself what each tree or leaf would look like from a different viewpoint or in a different light. The photographer can enhance the beauty of nature and convey it to the viewer by his perception and selection. In the same sense, a photographer can capture a movement of any natural life. Let us take an example, the natural habitats of a bird. How does a bird take off into being airborne? Or, what are the changing colours of a tree in autumn? Well, now that photography has been invented and revised to almost perfection, it is easy to answer questions such as these ones. Through stop-action photography, mankind can learn about how a bird might take-off or even the changing of colours in a tree during autumn. These are small examples, but nevertheless, mankind has learnt, too, about many other lives in the natural world and other natural forms. Furthermore, this knowledge has been transmitted to other people and nations. Thus, making him (man & woman) a better human being and an understanding one, at that. All in all, to understand and to expand one's knowledge about all life forms on earth is credible to his/herself. Tell me why should we not know everything ab out our own home - earth.
Space photography plays a very important role in our modern society. Our remote eyes in space will gather data in wavelengths far beyond what human eyes can see. It will be fed directly to ground based computers without human intervention, and from that automatic analysis will come a drought warning, forest inventories, land use reports, crop forecasts, flood alerts, earthquake predictions, and resource summaries. This and more will be technologically possible within the next twenty years, not to say that it has already begun. That is not the real issue, however. Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers, and as usual, the uncertainty will still be down here on earth. Data will flow from the next generations of earth sensing satellites in ever increasing amounts, and we shall be given reports of the earth as it is and not as we imagined it to be. We must organise ourselves to use that new knowledge to the best of our advantage.
As you can see, photography has affected mankind and is continuing to affect him a great deal. From the small example of how a bird might take flight, to the importance of space photography - satellites. Photography has even touched the average person. Many people take pictures of their young, in the case of a family, in order fully to remember them, of how they were, in the future. This great invention has brought us examples of bloody wars, special events etc... The past of both good and bad. Photography has affected man (and woman) in his heart and in his mind. Let us take advantage of how the bad moments of the past, which have been recollected through photography, and direct society into being a better home to live in.
Notes
1 Photography History by Clifton Edom. The World Encyclopaedia, USA, 1977 CE, Volume 15, p. 380.
2 Photography by Gail Buckland. Collier's Encyclopaedia, New York, 1982 CE, Volume 18, p. 749.
3 The Magic Image by Cecil Beaton and Gail Buckland. Little, Brown and Company, London, England, 1975 CE, p. 13.
4 Photography History by Clifton Edom. The World Encyclopaedia, USA, 1977 CE, Volume 15, p. 390.
Bibliography
Beaton, Cecil and Gail Buckland. The Magic Image. Little, Brown and Company, London, England, 1975 CE.
Buckland, Gail. Photography. Collier's Encyclopaedia. New York, 1982 CE.
Edom, Clifton. Photography History. The World Encyclopaedia. USA, 1977 CE.
Hedgecoe, John. The Book of Photography. Borzoi Book Published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York, 1976 CE.
Sheffield, Charles. Earth Watch. Sidwick and Jackson Limited, London, England, 1981 CE.
Time-Life Books. Photography as a Tool. Time-Life Books, New York, 1973 CE.