History of Photography
Below are some of the landmark events in the evolution of photography:
900 - AD Alhazan discovers the camera obscura.
A camera obscura is a darkened room with a small hole or lens at one side through which an image is projected onto the wall opposite the hole. Alhazan studied the camera obscura phenomenon.
1452-1519 - Leonardo Da Vinci.
Da Vinci worked with a camera obscura and was first to notice the similarity between the way a camera obscura worked and the way the human eye functioned.
1500 - The renaissance camera obscura
During the 15th century artists began to see the potential of using the camera obscura as a drawing aid.
1724 - Johann Heinrich Schultz
Schultz discovered that silver salts darkened when exposed to sunlight. Schulze noticed that sunlight turned the substance black. He tested words and shapes cut out of paper but he never made a permanent image.
1826 - Joseph Nicephore Niepce
Niepce developed heliography to create the world's oldest surviving product of a photographic process: a print made from a photoengraved printing plate. He used a primitive camera to produce the oldest surviving photograph of a real-world scene, View from the Window at Le Gras.
1833 - Louis Daguerre discovers an example of a Daguerrotype
Daguerre's used his experiments with chemicals and silver plates to capture what is thought to be the first photograph of a human being: a man having his shoes shined on Paris' Boulevard du Temple.
1840 - Henry Fox Talbot discovers an example of a calotype print
William Henry Fox Talbot invented the negative-positive photographic process using paper first washed in nitrate of silver then with potassium iodide The process is still in use today.
1870 - Richard Leach Maddox discovers the Gelatin dry plate camera
Maddox invented lightweight gelatin negative plates for photography and for the first time, cameras could be made small enough to be hand-held.
1877 - Edwaerd Muybridge Horse
Eadweard Muybridge is best known for his photographic studies of motion of humans and animals using multiple cameras to capture motion.
1885 - George Eastman's rolled film
Eastman created the first roll of film which was a departure from the traditional method of using glass plates and a sink.
1925 - Leica Camera and Oskar Barnak
Barnak is the inventor of the Leica 35mm camera, which became the first commercially successful 35mm still-camera.
1975 - Steve Sasson invents the digital camera
Steven Sasson invented the self-contained digital camera. The resolution was only 0.01 megapixels). The image was recorded onto a cassette tape and this process took 23 seconds.
900 - AD Alhazan discovers the camera obscura.
A camera obscura is a darkened room with a small hole or lens at one side through which an image is projected onto the wall opposite the hole. Alhazan studied the camera obscura phenomenon.
1452-1519 - Leonardo Da Vinci.
Da Vinci worked with a camera obscura and was first to notice the similarity between the way a camera obscura worked and the way the human eye functioned.
1500 - The renaissance camera obscura
During the 15th century artists began to see the potential of using the camera obscura as a drawing aid.
1724 - Johann Heinrich Schultz
Schultz discovered that silver salts darkened when exposed to sunlight. Schulze noticed that sunlight turned the substance black. He tested words and shapes cut out of paper but he never made a permanent image.
1826 - Joseph Nicephore Niepce
Niepce developed heliography to create the world's oldest surviving product of a photographic process: a print made from a photoengraved printing plate. He used a primitive camera to produce the oldest surviving photograph of a real-world scene, View from the Window at Le Gras.
1833 - Louis Daguerre discovers an example of a Daguerrotype
Daguerre's used his experiments with chemicals and silver plates to capture what is thought to be the first photograph of a human being: a man having his shoes shined on Paris' Boulevard du Temple.
1840 - Henry Fox Talbot discovers an example of a calotype print
William Henry Fox Talbot invented the negative-positive photographic process using paper first washed in nitrate of silver then with potassium iodide The process is still in use today.
1870 - Richard Leach Maddox discovers the Gelatin dry plate camera
Maddox invented lightweight gelatin negative plates for photography and for the first time, cameras could be made small enough to be hand-held.
1877 - Edwaerd Muybridge Horse
Eadweard Muybridge is best known for his photographic studies of motion of humans and animals using multiple cameras to capture motion.
1885 - George Eastman's rolled film
Eastman created the first roll of film which was a departure from the traditional method of using glass plates and a sink.
1925 - Leica Camera and Oskar Barnak
Barnak is the inventor of the Leica 35mm camera, which became the first commercially successful 35mm still-camera.
1975 - Steve Sasson invents the digital camera
Steven Sasson invented the self-contained digital camera. The resolution was only 0.01 megapixels). The image was recorded onto a cassette tape and this process took 23 seconds.
Camera Obscura
Camera obscura is a box that lets light in through a small opening on one side and projects a reversed and image on the other. It is one of the world's oldest types of camera. I made my own camera obscura using the following steps:
When you point the camera at an object, an inverted image is projected onto the tracing paper.
This simple camera obscure has a fixed aperture and focus because it has no moving parts. To adjust the focus, the tracing paper screen would need to be adjusted closer or further away from the lens. To change the aperture, a different magnifying glass would need to be fitted.
- I folded black card into a cube shape. It was done in a way so two opposite sides of the cube were missing.
- Black card was used to ensure that the camera was light tight.
- I then cut and taped a piece of tracing paper over one of the missing sides.
- I then cut out a round hole in the centre of the sheet of black sugar paper and taped it to the remaining open face of the cube.
- The magnifying glass was used as a simple lens. It was carefully taped over the hole.
When you point the camera at an object, an inverted image is projected onto the tracing paper.
This simple camera obscure has a fixed aperture and focus because it has no moving parts. To adjust the focus, the tracing paper screen would need to be adjusted closer or further away from the lens. To change the aperture, a different magnifying glass would need to be fitted.
DSLR
DSLR cameras are the most popular camera choice. They are used with interchangeable lenses. DSLR stands for Digital Single Lens Reflex.
These are the controls on a DSLR camera:
1. Shutter: press the button to take the picture.
2. Red flash: to release any red eye.
3. Lens mount: to fit the lens on the camera.
4. Lens flex: to help show where to attach the lens.
5. Lens release button: press this button to detach the lens.
6. Mirror: reflects the image upwards.
7. Microphone: records sound when the camera is filming.
8. Flash: to light up dark and dull areas of the picture.
These are the controls on a DSLR camera:
1. Shutter: press the button to take the picture.
2. Red flash: to release any red eye.
3. Lens mount: to fit the lens on the camera.
4. Lens flex: to help show where to attach the lens.
5. Lens release button: press this button to detach the lens.
6. Mirror: reflects the image upwards.
7. Microphone: records sound when the camera is filming.
8. Flash: to light up dark and dull areas of the picture.
1. Eye cup: prevents external light coming through to your eye.
2. Viewfinder eyepiece: to view what's being photographed.
3. LCD monitor: gives info about the camera settings.
4. Menu button: allows you to change the camera settings.
5. Playback button: lets you view pictures you have taken.
6. WI-FI lamp: lets you know if you have WI-FI.
7. Access lamp: lights up when writing info to the memory card.
8. Set button: lets you move between menu items.
9. ISO speed setting button: allows you to adjust the sensitivity of the camera sensor.
10. Quick control button: allows the the camera to go to quick control.
11. Display button: allows you to toggle between different information.
12. Erase button: use this button to delete unwanted images.
13. Focus point selection button: to set area in focus when using auto focus.
14. Live view shooting: press to toggle to live view display.
15. Dioptric adjustment knob: to adjust the view finder focus.
2. Viewfinder eyepiece: to view what's being photographed.
3. LCD monitor: gives info about the camera settings.
4. Menu button: allows you to change the camera settings.
5. Playback button: lets you view pictures you have taken.
6. WI-FI lamp: lets you know if you have WI-FI.
7. Access lamp: lights up when writing info to the memory card.
8. Set button: lets you move between menu items.
9. ISO speed setting button: allows you to adjust the sensitivity of the camera sensor.
10. Quick control button: allows the the camera to go to quick control.
11. Display button: allows you to toggle between different information.
12. Erase button: use this button to delete unwanted images.
13. Focus point selection button: to set area in focus when using auto focus.
14. Live view shooting: press to toggle to live view display.
15. Dioptric adjustment knob: to adjust the view finder focus.