History and

Evolution of
PHOTOGRAPHY
The Stone Age of Photography

 The decade of 1830 – 1840 is most often believed

to be the birth period of Photography as this was
the period when photographic process became
public.

 But its roots can be traced back to 950 -1050

A.D. when the first camera obscura & Pin hole
cameras were invented. It is said to be a
brainchild of Alhazen.
The Stone Age of Photography

 1100 - 1600 – Silver Halides discovered.

 1568 - Daniel Barbaro describes a diaphragm
(aperture).
 1660’s – Composition of white light was discovered.
 1694 - Wilhelm Homberg explained how light
darkened some chemicals [photo-chemical effect].
 1720s - Johann Heinrich Schulze discovered that
silver nitrate darkened upon exposure to light.
1800-1900
The Stone Age of Photography

 A strong confusion over invention of

Photography remains among the scholars.
 This was because Photography wasn’t a
brainchild of any single person.
 Different People were working on different
lines, in order to Capture a real life image.
1800-1900
The Stone Age of Photography

 Joseph Nicéphore Niépce is most often

considered as the father of photography.
 This was because he achieved first
photographic image with camera
obscura in 1814.
 But the image required eight hours of
light exposure and later faded.
1800-1900
The Stone Age of Photography
 Joseph Nicéphore Niépce partnered with Louis
Daguerre of France in 1829.
 Daguerre, after death of Niépce in 1834
continued with his experiments & finally
discovered process of making image on silver-
plated copper which could be made permanent
by fixing the exposed plate with some salts.
 He patented this process in 1837 under the
name daguerreotype.
1800-1900
The Stone Age of Photography
 Meanwhile, by 1834, Henry Fox Talbot
also created a permanent (negative)
image using paper soaked in silver
chloride & fixed with a salt solution.
 Talbot created positive images by
contact printing onto another sheet of
paper.
 In 1841, Talbot patented his process
under the name "calotype".
 Biggest advantage – Possibility of
making multiple copies of an image.
1800-1900
The Stone Age of Photography
 In 1851, Frederick Scott Archer, a sculptor
in London, developed a process to
improve photographic resolution, by
spreading a mixture of collodion (nitrated
cotton dissolved in ether & alcohol) &
chemicals on sheets of glass. Wet plate
collodion photography was much cheaper
than daguerreotypes. Moreover, images
required just 2-3 seconds of light
exposure.
 Archer coined it as Collodion process.
1800-1900
The Stone Age of Photography
 While most of the world was welcoming
this new invention, not all people were
excited by the invent of photography.
 Some artists saw in photography a threat
to their livelihood, and some even
prophesied that painting would cease to
exist.
 But photography had its own aesthetics
and advantages, which came into light
when it started to be commonly used.
1800-1900
The Stone Age of Photography

 1850s and 1860s marked the birth and

growth of stereoscopic era.
 In this process Direct positive images on
glass (ambrotypes) and metal (tintypes
or ferrotypes) came to be popular in the
US.
 By end of 50s Oliver Wendell Holmes
invented the stereoscope viewer.
1800-1900
The Stone Age of Photography
 In1871 Richard Leach Maddox an
English doctor, proposed use of an
emulsion of gelatin and silver bromide on
glass plate. This was termed as "dry
plate" process. Now negatives no longer
had to be developed immediately.
 By 1878, Dry plates started to be
manufactured commercially and by
1880, George Eastman, set up Eastman
Dry Plate Company in Rochester, New
York.
1800-1900
The Stone Age of Photography

 In 1884 Eastman invents flexible, paper-

based photographic film and by 1888, he
patents Kodak roll-film camera. This
camera, contained a 20-foot roll of paper.
 1889: Improved Kodak camera with roll of
film instead of paper was introduced.
 1898: Reverend Hannibal Goodwin
patents celluloid photographic film.
1900-1935
Second Generation of
Photography

 The First three decades of the

Twentieth century saw the Second
Generation of Photography.
 This period saw the evolution of the
first ever compact cameras as well as
the Film Cameras.
1900-1935
Second Generation of
Photography

 1900: First mass-marketed camera -

Kodak Brownie roll-film camera
introduced.
1900-1935
Second Generation of
Photography

 In 1906, Screen aspect ratio of 1.33 : 1

i.e. 4:3 was established as an
international viewing standard.
 In the same year panchromatic black
and white films became widely
available & therefore high quality color
separation in photography was seen.
 These were widely marketed by
Wratten and Wainright of England.
1900-1935
Second Generation of
Photography

 1907 saw the first commercial color film.

It was made of Autochrome plates,
manufactured by Lumiere brothers in
France.
 The Multiple-reel films were being called
feature.
1900-1935
Second Generation of
Photography

 In 1908, Hollywood was founded in the

Los Angeles area.
 Vitagraph produced the five-reel Film
The Life of Moses in 1909.
 By 1912, the first Vest Pocket Camera is
introduced.
1900-1935
Second Generation of
Photography

 In 1917, Nippon Kogaku K.K., a

company which will eventually become
Nikon, was established in Tokyo.
 By 1921, photograms ("rayographs")
were being made by amateur
photographers by placing objects on
photographic paper & exposing the
shadow cast by a distant light bulb.
1900-1935
Second Generation of
Photography
 Few Examples of Photograms:
1900-1935
Second Generation of
Photography

 1924: Leitz introduces "Leica", the first

high quality 35mm camera.
 G.E. invented first modern flash bulb in
1927 opening gateways to indoor
photography.
 1928: Rollei introduces Rolleiflex twin-
lens reflex producing a 6x6 cm image
on rollfilm.
 Following this first light meter with
photoelectric cells introduced in 1932.
1900-1935
Second Generation of
Photography
 1932 is remembered as a very
important year in the history of
photography. In this year,
Technicolor, a three-color system,
is introduced in which, three black
and white negatives were made in
the same camera under different
filters
 In the same year, George Eastman,
aged 77, writes suicide note-"My
work is done. Why wait?"--and
shoots himself.
1900-1935
Second Generation of
Photography

 1934: Fuji Photo Film founded. And By

1938, Fuji is making cameras and
lenses in addition to film.
1935-1960
Third Generation of Photography

 In 1936, Kodachrome, the first color

multi-layered color film; was developed
by Exakta, pioneering 35mm single-
lens reflex (SLR) camera.
 Then in 1938, Chester Carlson invents
Xerography (electric photography).
Also, the Super Kodak Six an
Autoexposure film is developed in this
year.
1935-1960
Third Generation of Photography

 By 1941, Eastman Kodak introduced

Kodacolor negative film.

 Then for almost 5-7 years no

substantial development in the field of
photography took place. This was
because more concentration was
being focused upon the motion picture
rather than Still Photography.
1935-1960
Third Generation of Photography

 Then in the year 1948, Pentax a

Japanese company introduced the first
automatic diaphragm (apperture).

 In the same year, Nikon also

introduced its first 35mm camera.
1935-1960
Third Generation of Photography

 By 1950; Kodak introduced a new

multilayered film stock in which
emulsions sensitive to red, green, and
blue are bonded together on a single
roll. It was patented as Eastmancolor.
What we use today is an upgraded
form of this.
 Eastman Kodak also introduced high
speed black-and-white Tri-X film in
1935-1960
Third Generation of Photography

 By late 1950s photography exhibitions

started taking place at a very large
level.

 The Family of Man (1955) was one of

the most popular exhibitions of
photographs ever presented.
1935-1960
Third Generation of Photography

 1954 - Asahiflex II, world's first SLR

with an instant return mirror.
 1957 - Asahi Pentax, world's SLR with
a penta prism thus allowing eye-level
viewing with correct perspective
 By end of the third generation, Nikon
now one of the leading names in
photography industry introduced the F-
Series.
1960-1980
Fourth Generation of Photography

 1960s saw the extensive household

use of photographic cameras despite
its high prices. Also the precision and
the quality of the captured image was
drastically improved during this period,
by using light meters and apperture
with shutter.
 The German Mec 16 SB subminiature
became the first camera to place the
1960-1980
Fourth Generation of Photography

 Not only did this era see the growth of

domestic photography but commercial
as well as defense photography.
 In 1960, EG&G develops extreme
depth underwater camera for U.S.
Navy.
 In the same year the Polaroid Land
120 instant camera (Manufactured by
Yashica Co. under contract with
Polaroid Corp) is introduced. It was the
1960-1980
Fourth Generation of Photography

 In 1963, Kodak Instamatic Cameras

were introduced with easy-loading film
cartridges. They brought photography
into the hands of many more
amateurs, kids and adults.
 In what was considered as a huge
step in the history of photography, the
very first photograph of earth from the
moon was taken in 1968.
1960-1980
Fourth Generation of Photography

 In early 70s, Canon developed the F-1

camera with high-speed motor drive,
shooting at 8 to 10 fps for
photographers covering events like
The Olympics etc.
 Then in 1977, with Canon AE-1 the
apparent shift of cameras from manual
models to electronic ones was
observed.
 A year later in 1978, the market saw
1960-1980
Fourth Generation of Photography

 In 1980, the Nikon F3 camera was

introduced, with liquid crystal display in
the viewfinder and an electronic
shutter.
 Also the Pentax LX professional SLR
camera system was introduced.
 In 1980 only, Sony came up with its
first with its ever consumer camcorder;
opening gateways for modern digital
1980s till date
Fifth Generation of Photography

 In 1980s Sony unveiled the first

consumer camera to use a
CCD(Charge-Coupled Device ) for
imaging, and which required no film --
the Sony Mavika
 1983: Kodak introduces disk camera,
using an 8x11mm frame (the same as
in the Minox spy camera)
 1985: Minolta markets the world's first
autofocus SLR system (called
1980s till date
Fifth Generation of Photography

 1985: Pixar introduces digital imaging

processor.
 1986 - Kodak scientists invent the
world's first megapixel sensor.
 In 1990, Kodak unveiled the DCS100,
the first commercially available digital
camera.
 1992: Kodak introduces PhotoCD
1980s till date
Fifth Generation of Photography

 Lately, a Combination of Digital and

SLR camera has been evolved, which
is spearheading the camera market
world over.