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Photography Assignment
Photography Assignment
Photography Assignment
FACULTY OF EDUCATION
ASSIGNMENT QUESTION:
PRESENTED BY
GROUP: B
COURSE LECTURER:
APRIL, 2017
0
ABSTRACT
This paper examines the timeline of the history of photograph from the time of Aristotle till
date. The history of photograph can be linked to the evolution of the camera. Camera and
photography are inseparable because photograph is the output from camera. The earliest type
of camera is the camera obscura which is similar to the pin whole camera. The developments
in the camera technology which brought about a change in the quality of photographs.
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INTRODUCTION
sensitive material such as photographic film (Spencer 1973). The history of photograph can be
linked to the evolution of the camera. Camera and photography are inseparable because
photograph is the output from camera. The earliest type of camera is the camera obscura which
According to Helmut Gernsheim, the timeline of the history of photography can be traced as
follow
350 BC: The Greek philosopher Aristotle in his Problemata describes how he saw the crescent
shape of the partially eclipsed sun projected on the ground through the holes of a strainer and
the gaps between the leaves of a plane tree. He also noticed that the smaller the hole, the
sharper the image. His description of this device is the earliest known written evidence of a
camera obscura.
965-1039 AD: The first scientific description of the camera obscura was by the Arabian
scientist, astronomer and mathematician, Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen). It may be assumed that
knowledge of the camera obscura effect was widespread amongst Arab scholars, who preserved
1797: Leonardo da Vinci was interested in the camera obscura, and proof of his experiments
appears in several of his notebooks published in 1797, almost three hundred years after his
death. He spent a considerable amount of time trying to understand human eyesight, and
1798: The first fixed attempts to fix the image of the camera obscura by chemical means were
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1802: Thomas Wedgwoods attempts at photography were published in the Journal of the Royal
Institution. Although he failed to do so, Wedgwoods main objective was to fix the images of
the camera obscura on silver nitrate. His experiments demonstrated the possibility of
1826: The first successful photograph was taken by Nicephore Niepce on a pewter plate, using
his professionally- made camera supplied by the Parisian optician Charles Chevalier. It shows
1829: Niepce signed a partnership agreement with Louis- Jacques- Mande Daguerre, for the
1837: After Niepces death Daguerre continued to work alone and succeeded in creating the
1839: Seen as the official birthday of photography, Deputy Francois Arago (French
meeting of the Academies des Sciences and Beaux Arts at the Institut de France.
1839: First photographic camera went on sale to the public through a London based optician,
1841: British William Fox Talbot introduced his photographic process Calotype or Talbotype.
1859: The smallest nineteenth century camera was introduced by T.Morris of Birmingham. It
measured only 1.5x1.5x2 inches, took 3/4 inch pictures suitable for locket portraits or for
1860: The largest camera made during the nineteenth century was made for Glaswegian
amateur photographer, John Kibble. It was so big that it had to mounted on wheels and drawn
by a horse.
1869: Louis Ducos du Hauron made the greatest contribution to the evolution of colour
photography in the nineteenth century, particularly with the publication of his book Les Coleurs
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1880 onwards: The amateur photography movement took off. Eastman Company in Rochester,
N.Y., was the first of the great photographic manufacturing companies to cater to the needs and
stimulate demand through advertising: A collection of these pictures may be made to furnish a
pictorial history of life as it is lived by the owner, that will grow more valuable every day that it
passes. This is still what the average user is interested in when pursuing photography.
1900: After many years of experimentation with fixing images on metal, paper, and glass,
photography was introduced on film. By 1900, Kodak were producing 80% - 90% of the
worlds output pictures with a solution of common salt, he called the process.
Wikipedia (2017) further presents what happened from 1900 till date
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1900 1911 Kodak introduces their first Brownie, a very inexpensive user-reloadable point-
and-shoot box camera. Kodak introduces the 120 film format in 1901. In 1902 Arthur Korn
can be transmitted by wire to other locations).Wire-Photos are in wide use in Europe by 1910,
1907 The Autochrome plate is introduced. It becomes the first commercially successful color
photography product.
1908 Kinemacolor, a two-color process known as the first commercial "natural color" system
alternative to the highly flammable nitrate base. The motion picture industry discontinues its use
1912 Thomas Edison introduces a short-lived 22 mm home motion picture format using
1913 Kodak makes 35 mm panchromatic motion picture film available on a bulk special order
basis.
1914 The World, the Flesh and the Devil, made in Kinemacolor, is the first dramatic feature
1922 Kodak makes 35 mm panchromatic motion picture film available as a regular stock.
1923 The 16 mm amateur motion picture format is introduced by Kodak. Their Cine-Kodak
camera uses reversal film and all 16 mm is on an acetate (safety) base, Harold Edgerton invents
Previously, motion picture studios used a second camera alongside the primary camera to create
a duplicate negative.
1932 "Flowers and Trees", the first full-color cartoon, is made in Technicolor by Disney.
1932 Kodak introduces the first 8 mm amateur motion picture film, cameras, and projectors.
1934 The 135 film cartridge is introduced, making 35 mm easy to use for still photography.
1935 Becky Sharp, the first feature film made in the full-color "three-strip" version of
Technicolor, is released.
1935 Introduction of Kodachrome multi-layered color reversal film (16 mm only; 8 mm and
1936 Introduction by IHAGEE of the Ihagee Kine Exakta 1, the first 35 mm SLR (Single
1936 Agfacolor Neu (English: New Agfacolor) color reversal film for home movies and
slides.
1939 Agfacolor negative and positive 35 mm color film stock for professional motion picture
1939 The View-Master 3-D viewer and its "reels" of seven small stereoscopic image pairs on
1942 Kodacolor, the first color film that yields negatives for making chromogenic color prints
on paper. Roll films for snapshot cameras only, 35 mm not available until 1958.
1947 Harold Edgerton develops the Rapatronic camera for the U.S. government.
level viewfinder.
1952 Bwana Devil, a low-budget polarized 3-D film, premieres in late November and starts a
brief 3-D craze that begins in earnest in 1953 and fades away during 1954.
1957 First digital computer acquisition of scanned photographs, by Russell Kirsch et al. at the
1959 AGFA introduces the first fully automatic camera, the Optima.
1972 Integrated Photomatrix (Noble) demonstrates for 64 by 64 MOS active pixel array
1973 Fairchild Semiconductor releases the first large image forming CCD chip: 100 rows and
1975 Bryce Bayer of Kodak develops the Bayer filter mosaic pattern for CCD color image
sensors.
1993-- The Jet Propulsion Laboratory develops devices using CMOS or active pixel sensors.
1995 - "Kodak DC40 and the Apple QuickTake 100 become the first digital cameras marketed
for consumers."
1996 Eastman Kodak, FujiFilm, AgfaPhoto, and Konica introduce the Advanced Photo
System (APS).
1997 - First known publicly shared picture via a cell phone, by Philippe Kahn.
2000 J-SH04 introduced by J-Phone, the first commercially available mobile phone with a
2005 AgfaPhoto files for bankruptcy. The production of Agfa brand consumer films ends.
2006 Dalsa produces a 111 megapixel CCD sensor, the highest resolution at that time.
2008 Polaroid announces it is discontinuing the production of all instant film products, citing
2009 FujiFilm launches world's first digital 3D camera with 3D printing capabilities.
2011 Lytro releases the first pocket-sized consumer light-field camera, capable of refocusing
CONCLUSION
The invention of the camera is a notable invention in the history of photography. The major
shifts in the history of photography was from the black and white film and paper to the coloured
film and paper. There was also a shift from the analog photograph which was not editable to the
digital photograph which is editable. This was because of the type of camera used i.e. digital
cameras. In the future, photograph is likely to go beyond digital to the reigning technology of
the moment.
REFERENCES
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photography#Evolution_of_the_camera
Wikipedia (2017).Timeline of Photography technology.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_photography_technology
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_photography