Joham Heinrich Schulze
(1725) discovered that chalk
with silver nitrate and nitric
acid would darken when
exposed to light
Joseph Nicéphore Niècpe
(1827) made a system
called heliography. He
coated a lithographic
stone with a bituminous
lacquer (dark tar like
substance), placed it in a
camera, and exposed it
to images made by bright
reflected sunlight for 8
hours. It made a fuzzy
image.
Louis Daguerre (partnered with Necpe) made
daguerreotypys. Daguerreotypes were made by
coating a copper plate with silver iodide. The plate
was then placed in a camera, exposed for about 30
min in bright light, and then developed, by exposing it
to mercury vapor. The images were clear, and the
process was cheap.
W.H.F Talbot developed the first system to use
negatives to make positive copies . Talbot impregnated
paper with silver salts. Exposure to light produced
negative images on the paper, which he then washed
with a solution that made positive prints in abundance.
In 1851, Frederick Scott Archer invented the
wet-plate process. A glass plate was dipped into a
solution of silver nitrate immediately before it
was exposed in a camera. The exposure time was
short, but the plate had to be developed
immediately. Once developed, the plate could be
used to make high-quality prints at low cost.
In the 1870s, Frederick Ives and Stephen
Horgan developed the halftone process, which
made it possible to transfer photographs
directly to the printed page. Halftones made
reproducing photographs easier and less
expensive.
In 1874, George Eastman
developed a method for
placing emulsions of silver
salts in gelatin on long
strips on paper that could
be rolled on a spool and
stored for months.
By 1888, Eastman was promting his Kodak
camera. The first Kodak camera had to be
returned for developement and reloading,
but the camera was soon changed so that
rolls of film could be removed and
replaced easily by the owner.
In the 1950s, colored prints became popular.
Edwin H. Land's Polaroid camera, in which
development of the film took place within the
camerawas introduced in 1946. By 1963,
Polaroid cameras that could produce colored
prints were available.
In 1996, Eastman
Kodak, Fuji, Nikon,
Canon, and Minolta,
introduced the
Advanced Photo
System.
Today much of the population
uses Digital Photography. In
Digital Photography, the
camera process images as
digital files and shows them
on built in mini disc drive.
Chemists at the University of Osaka in
Japan have developed polyalnilin, a
polymer in which images can be made
and erased, but it is under testing.
In the 16th century an italian
artist created the camera
obscura. With a tiny pinhole on
one side through which light can
enter. When light passes
through the pinhole, it creates
an image of the scene outside
on a paper in the camera
obscura
A century later, lens
was used instead of
the pinhole. The
images formed by a
camera obscura
could not be moved
and were not
permanent. The
images faded with
darkness.
Impacts on Society
General Effects
Photographs enable
humans to tie together
and remember moments
in their lives. They can
also be used to
communicate.
Photography became
ways to capture natural
events, wars, exploration
and colonizationto
everyday life.
Economic
More people tried to make further
improvements to the camera, so
there became more jobs. Poeple also
used cameras, so there became an
industry for them.
Political
It was used to
capture important
events and wars.
Social
More people took
pictures of their
important events.
They also took pictures
instead of portriats.
Essential Questions
How could future improvements to photography impact our society?
How did the silver impact the quality of taking pictures?
Did the silver make cameras more expensive?
Details
Joseph Nicéphore
Niècpe (1827) made a
system called
heliography. He coated
a lithographic stone
with a bituminous
lacquer (dark tar like
substance), placed it in
a camera, and exposed
it to images made by
bright reflected
sunlight for 8 hours. It
made a fuzzy image.
Location-
Saint-Loup-de-Varennes,
France
Year- 1827
Name of Photograph-
View From the Window
at Le Gras
The picture was taken from the
window of his country house. It
shows a courtyard.