Origin And History Of Photography - A Quick Overview
The history of photography dates back to the ancient times when the camera obscuras was used to form images. It was used by many as a drawing aide. Technological advances and newer inventions have since come a long way from the rudimentary camera obscuras.
The First Photography
The history of photography sort of began in 1800 when Thomas Wedgwood made sun pictures. These were created by using leather that was treated with silver nitrate and had opaque objects placed on it. These images deteriorated fast when they were subjected to light stronger that that of candles.
In 1816, Nicéphore Niépce tried using the camera obscuras with photosensitive paper; however, it was only a decade later that he produced the world's first successful picture. The material he used hardened on exposure and required 8 hours of exposure. He then went into partnership with Louis Daguerre and together they tried to refine the silver process. Niépce died in 1833 but he has played a significant role in the history of photography.
In the year 1834, Henry Fox Talbot created negative images on paper soaked in silver chloride and that were fixed in a salt bath. The positive images were produced by contact printing. He termed his invention Calotype but it was not as striking as the invention by Daguerre. He has contributed to the history of photography by releasing a photographically illustrated book in 1844.
Daguerre went on to create latent images by treating the silver plate to iodine fumes before exposure to sun light and later after exposure the plate was treated with mercury fumes. The plate was treated in a salt bath to fix images. In 1839, he invented the daguerreotype and it was at this time that the word "photography" was coined by Sir John F.W. Herschel. This invention which was significant in the history of photography is said to be the technique based on which modern Polaroid cameras were created.
In 1948, Abel Niépce de Saint-Victor, a relative of Niépce refined the process of coating a glass late with egg white that was sensitized with potassium iodide and washed with acidic silver nitrate solution. This was also a milestone in the history of photography.
In the year 1851, Frederick Scott Archer made improvements by using a mix of chemicals and collodion on glass sheets. This was a significant invention in the history of photography as it went on to make photography popular. This is because it was much less expensive than the daguerreotype. In 1871 Dr. Richard Maddox discovered a method of using gelatin instead of glass. In 1884, George Eastman invented paper-based film and in 1888, he patented the Kodak roll-film camera. Since then there has been no looking back.
This is a brief history of photography and many dedicated and brilliant people have contributed to making photography affordable and available to everyone.