CAMERA

Photography: Thanks for the Memories

The art of photography is almost 200 years old and is now an everyday part of our increasingly visual world. The term ‘Photographie’ was first coined in 1832 by the French-Brazilian inventor, Hercules Florence, who had created a technique for capturing images using a process involving silver, iodine, mercury and salt.

However, even before this, the Frenchman Joseph Nicephore Niepce, created the first permanent photograph. Exactly when seems unclear; some report it was as early as 1814, some say it wasn’t until 1826. But, although a huge step forward, the process was painful and not entirely successful – to produce this image required exposure to bright sunlight for almost eight hours using a derivative of bitumen and even after all this time, the image was still prone to fading.

From this point on, advances were made quickly, with many inventors experimenting and refining the process. Many believe that the most advances made in photography were made in the first 20 years after this and indeed in the late 1830s, another Frenchman named Louis Daguerre introduced the process of using silver on a copper plate to produce images – called Daguerreotype – which is still heralded as the basis for today’s Polaroid images.

In the 1840s Fox Talbot had invented the ‘caloptype method’, using paper coated with silver chloride to create a negative image that, unlike the earlier Daguerreotype method could be used to recreate positive images. This ‘calotype method’ was later refined by George Eastman, founder of Kodak, so forming the basis of chemical film as we still know it.

Kodak arguably dominated the rising popularity of photography over the coming decades, until in the post-war era cameras and photography became part of everyday life. For many years afterwards, although the technology became ever more sophisticated, both in terms of the cameras available and the quality of the resulting photographs little had changed in the fundamental principles of photography. However, this all changed in the 1990s with the dawn of the digital era.

The digital camera is an infinitely more flexible tool than its analogue predecessor – video clips can be recorded as well as images taken. Images can be viewed immediately and retaken if not correct – there is no more excuse for chopping off heads in family portraits! Thousands of images can be stored on tiny memory cards and computer software now allows the resulting images to be manipulated to ensure the perfect shot. Therefore it is perhaps no surprise to learn that today in the Western world digital cameras outsell their 35mm counterparts.

Alongside the new technology in cameras are vast arrays of new ways of using your end images. Personalised mugs, mousemats, stationery and photobooks are just a few of the ways you can display your images, as well as digital photo frames which allows you to display a whole album of images in one photo frame, so that you are constantly reminded of your most treasured memories, rather than finding them years later in a dust-ridden album.

In these times of fast-moving innovation it is amazing that the basis of technology invented almost two centuries ago is still being used today; even though the digital era is now a part of everyday life, you can still find loyalists to the 35mm film. Whichever your preferred route, keep on enjoying the memories.

About the Author

Elisha Burberry is a freelance writer who loves her job and the occasional glass of red wine.

How to Make a Print in Photography : Advanced Darkroom Printing Techniques

NEW Langford’s Advanced Photography – Langford, Michael $43.83

HP 4×6 Advanced/Premium Glossy Photo paper 1420 sheet inkjet photography image $9.99

HP Q7853A Advanced Photo Paper Glossy 450 sheet 8.5×11 in photography inkjet $5.24

Advanced Digital Photography: Techniques and Tips for Creating Professional Qual $4.99

ADVANCED DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY Revised Ed Tips & Tech $7.99

Advanced Studio Glamour Techniques photography vhs Ken Marcus posing lighting $19.99

Photoshop Pro Photography Handbook: Advanced Post-Production Techniques, Chris W $28.44

Field photography: beginning and advanced techniques. $49.32

Langford’s Advanced Photography NEW by Efthimia Bilissi $66.43

Advanced Digital Landscape Photography Book | Carl Heil $22.86

Advanced Imaging (A Lark Photography Book) $26.51

HP 4×6 Professional Advanced Glossy Photo paper 1120 sht S2 photography inkjet $4.99

Leica M The Advanced School of Photography by Gunter Osterloh 1987 M3-M6 cameras $95.00

HP 1200 sht Advanced Glossy Photo paper Q663860009 PL 4x6in photography inkjet $4.99

Fine Art Nature Photography: Advanced Techniques and the Creative Process by T.. $3.59

1400 4×6 photography design HP Q6638-60024 Glossy Advanced Photo Papers $4.99

HP 4×6 inch Advanced Glossy Photo paper 1260 sheet S2 inkjet photography new $4.99

HP 1350 sheet Advanced Glossy Photo paper PL 4x6in photography inkjet new $4.99

HP 4×6 inch Advanced Glossy Photo paper 1400 sheet S2 inkjet photography new $9.99

HP 1600 Sheets Advanced photo paper 4x6in photography graphic design inkjet $9.99

HP 1600 Sheets Advanced photo paper 4x6in photography graphic printing inkjet $9.99

HP 1600 Sheets Advanced photo paper 4x6in photography graphic creation inkjet $9.99

HP 1600 Sheets Advanced photo paper 4x6in photography auto sense inkjet $9.99

HP 1600 Sheets Advanced photo paper 4x6in photography graphic imaging inkjet $9.99

Leica M: Advanced Photo School (A Lark Photography Book $175.00

Advanced Digital Photography: Techniques and Tips for Creating Professional new $4.66

Field Photography: Beginning and Advanced Techniques $24.50

HP 1350 sht Advanced Glossy Photo paper Q663860009 PL 4x6in photography inkjet $4.99

HP Advanced Photo Paper Glossy 900 Sheets 4×6 Inches Q6638A photography inkjet $4.99

HP Q6638A Glossy Disney Advanced Photo Paper 900 Sheet 4x6in photography inkjet $4.99

HP Q6638A 4x6in Advanced Gloss Photo PaperPack Glossy 800 Sht Photography inkjet $4.99

Fine Art Nature Photography: Advanced Techniques and the Creative Process by To $4.98

HP Q6638-60024 Glossy Advanced 4×6 design photography Papers (1300 sheets) $4.99

Advanced Photography by Michael John Langford (1998,… $15.95

Langford Advanced Photography Guide Aspiring Photographers-Efthimia Bilissi B8 $61.95

1300 4×6 photography design HP Q6638-60024 Glossy Advanced Photo Papers $4.99

HP 1410 sheet Advanced Photo Paper glossy 4×6 in photography S2 PL inkjet $9.99

Advanced Black and White Photography, a Kodak Workshop Series Book $7.95

HP 4×6 Advanced Glossy Photo paper 1260 sheet S2 Q6638 inkjet photography image $4.99

Tags:   digital photography advanced techniques · flickr · photography · photography advanced · photography advanced composition · photography advanced lighting techniques · photography advanced techniques · photoshop · tutorial · tutorialsNo Comments