The History of Photography
The word Photography is the combination of two Greek words. Phōtós (meaning light) and Gráphein (meaning to draw).
Directions
Watch the two videos below and read over the timeline material below the videos. Then answer the questions handout (see me for the handout). When you are finished please turn in this into me for grading. |
A brief timeline history of photography
- 4th century BCE: Chinese invented the Camera Obscura (a darkened room with a hole in the drapes that projects an image of the outside world onto a distant wall).
- Late 1700s: Thomas Wedgwood (1771-1805) and Sir Humphry Davy (1778–1829), two English scientists, carried out early experiments trying to record images on light-sensitive paper. Their photos were not permanent: they turned black unless permanently stored in a dark place.
- 1827: French Joseph Niépce (1765-1833) made the world's first photographs. His method was no good for taking portraits of people because the camera shutter had to be left open for eight hours.
- 1839: French opera-house scene painter Louis Daguerre (1787–1851) announced the invention of photos on silver plates that became known as daguerreotypes.
- 1839: William Henry Fox Talbot (1800–1877) invented the photographic negative process.
- 1851: British artist and photographer Frederick Scott Archer (1813–1857) invented a way of taking pin-sharp photos onto wet glass plates.
- 1870s: British physician Dr. Richard Maddox (1816–1902) developed a way of taking photos using dry plates and gelatin.
- 1883: American inventor George Eastman (1854–1932) invented the modern photographic film.
- 1888: George Eastman launched his easy-to-use Kodak "Brownie" camera. His slogan was: "You push the button and we do the rest."
- 1947: Edwin Land (1909–1991) invented the instant polaroid camera.
- 1963: Edwin Land invented the color polaroid camera.
- 1975: US electrical engineer Steven Sasson invents the first CCD-based electronic camera with Gareth Lloyd at Eastman Kodak.
- 1990s: Digital cameras started to become popular, gradually making film cameras obsolete.
- 2000s: Advanced cellphones with built-in digital cameras began to make standalone digital cameras redundant for everyday snapshot photography.