Research Task

The Editors of Encyclopdia Britannica (2016) History of photography, in Encyclopdia Britannica.

Available at: http://www.britannica.com/technology/photography (Accessed: 28 April 2016).

Contacts:
George James Photographer
07872692459
gp_james@hotmail.com
Reading Museum
0118 937 3400
matthewwilliams (2009) Contact us. Available at:
http://www.readingmuseum.org.uk/contact/ (Accessed: 28 April 2016).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoxGEymA8ro

The History of Photography in 5 Minutes

COOPH (2016) The history of photography in 5 minutes. Available at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoxGEymA8ro (Accessed: 28 April 2016).

This video gives a 5 minute summary regarding the history of photography it

goes through a timeline of events that are incredibly significant to the
development of photography and how they lead to other inventions and events.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZijSBjOVCBo

History of Photography.
Gavin Seim (2014) History of photography. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZijSBjOVCBo (Accessed: 28 April 2016).

This particular video gives a more depth explanation about the history of
photography however covers around the same events on the other hand it is
mostly done through a host and voice overs therefore keeping the audience
informed regarding the footage they are showing.

The Invention of the Camera

The first photo was taken by a French inventor called Joseph Niepe. The
exposure lasted for 8 hours this is so the sun had time to move from east
to west in order for both sides of the photo to show up as light was an
important aspect when taking a photograph.

To ensure the colouring did not fade Niepce decided that using a
petroleum derivative called Bitumen of Judea it hardens with exposure to
light this way when washed away the metal plate which was the media
Niepce was using was then polished to create a negative image following
a ink of coat to produce a print. (Tolmachev I. 2010)

Tolmachev, I. (2010) A history of photography part 1: The beginning. Available at:

http://photography.tutsplus.com/articles/a-history-of-photography-part-1-the-beginning--photo-1908
(Accessed: 28 April 2016).

The first coloured photo was taken in 1861 and was taken by James Clerk

Maxwell.
Tolmachev, I. (2010) A history of photography part 1: The beginning. Available at:
http://photography.tutsplus.com/articles/a-history-of-photography-part-1-the-beginning--photo-1908
(Accessed: 28 April 2016).

The first commercial camera was named the Kodak Brownie and was invented in
1901 it came available to the middle class market and took only black and white
shots however was still incredibly popular.
Colour photos were being explored during the 19 th century but did not become
available to the market until the 20th century as it took scientists a long time to
discover how to preserve colour for a long time as most of their theories were
proven to pass due to their chemical formulae. Colour photography was
researched into by French inventors Louis Ducos de Hauron and Charlec Cros
Patriclar however they worked independently.
In 1907 the first colour plate was available on the market in the year 1907. The
method they used was based upon a screen of filters. The screen filtered red,
green and/or blue light which was then developed to a negative to be later
reserved to a positive this was done by applying the same screen later on in this
process in order for the print to result to a coloured photo that did not fade.
This process then led to the first colour photo of a tartan ribbon.

The term photography came from the Greek meaning of light fos and grafo
which means to write. Sir John Hershel coined this term as Photography however
it took a long time for photography to become publicly recognized despite the
fact the process was becoming easier and results were getting better.
When photography was first introduced it was believed to be the killer of fine
art however photo principles were believed to be widely used especially by
Renaissance artists for example Leonardo and Michelangelo. Throughout the
mid-16th century an Italian scholar wrote a guide on how to use a camera
obscura in order to make the drawing process easier.
The method however is similar to the Restroscope drawing in the animation
industry used in the twentieth century. As the process of using camera obscura
looked very strange and infact extremely frightening the idea had to be dropped
after the scholar was arrested and prosecuted on a charge of sorcery.

(This is a picture of a camera obscura and the way it was used back then.)

PetaPixel highlights the first 20 photos regarding history of photography this

consists of things such as the first photo ever taken, the first photo of a person
and the first photo of the moon. http://petapixel.com/2015/05/23/20-first-photosfrom-the-history-of-photography/
It shows clearly how much photography and the technology has developed as it
shows the first hoax photo and features the first 3D photo which is incredibly
recent. This article shows how photography has changed an excessive amount
and how it has changed as the first photo took 8 hours of exposure in order for it
to be clear however we now have access to a well exposure photo at a simple
click of a button.

20 First photos from the history of photography (2015) Available at:

http://petapixel.com/2015/05/23/20-first-photos-from-the-history-of-photography/ (Accessed: 29 April
2016).

Interview questions
1. What interests you the most about photography?

2. Regarding development of photography, do you think there were some

that was unnecessary?
3. On the other hand what developments do you think improved in regards to
photography?
4. How did you get into the photography business?
5. Do you think photography is something that needs to be academically
studied?

This article by the Guardian talks about how camera phones/smartphones are destroying
the art from that is photography. The article states as it is so simple for people to capture
a photo they no longer focus on the thought that should go into it.
A psychologist made a statement on the article that talks about how its a proven fact
that when people use their phones to record an event they are less likely to remember
the event well.
Nick Knight is a British fashion photographer who used an iPhone throughout 2 big
assignments he mentions how he works frequently with the iPhone and would say it
would be his first camera choice. Using the iPhone he created a book of 60 images
entirely taken by the smartphone. Knight believes the camera is better at capturing the
moment rather than waiting for the right one.
Jeffries, S. (2016) The death of photography: Are camera phones destroying an artform? Available at:
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/dec/13/death-of-photography-camera-phones
(Accessed: 29 April 2016).