History of the Camera
What Is a Camera?
A camera is a device that captures scenes people see—landscapes people, or objects—as images. In the past, humans could preserve memories only by drawing pictures. Then an idea emerged: What if we could capture light and turn it into an image? This is how the camera was born!
🔦 Capturing Light: The First Steps
The earliest cameras were not digital like today’s models. In fact, they did not even require electricity!
- The system called Camera Obscura (Latin for “dark room”) projected an image onto the inside of a darkened box.
- At the time, these images were used only as references for drawing.
🧪 The First True Photograph
In 1826, French inventor Joseph Nicéphore Niépce captured the world’s first photograph. The image was created on a tin plate after an eight-hour exposure. This photograph was named “View from the Window at Le Gras.”
📷 The Daguerreotype Era
In 1839, Louis Daguerre succeeded in producing images more quickly and with greater clarity. This method became known as daguerreotype. For the first time, people could have their portraits taken. However, only a single copy could be produced from each exposure.
🎞️ Roll Film and Portable Cameras
In 1888, George Eastman developed the first portable camera available to the general public under the brand name “Kodak.” With the slogan “You press the button, we do the rest,” everyone became a photographer. These cameras used film rolls, and the captured images were later made visible through chemical processing in a laboratory.
📸 The Digital Revolution
The first digital camera prototype was created in 1975. From the 1990s onward, digital cameras became widespread. There was no film; everything was stored on memory cards. Photos could be viewed immediately, deleted, and transferred to computers.
🕰️ TIME TRAVEL: TOWARD THE DIGITAL CAMERA!
Year: 1888
👴🏻 A child smiles, holding a box-like device.
📷 With this “Kodak” device, people could now capture memories. But the film inside had to be chemically processed.
Year: 1950s
🎞️ Photos were now in color! But caution was still required: You could not shoot beyond the film’s capacity, and a damaged frame could not be recovered.
Year: 1990s
💾 Suddenly, we leap forward in time!
📸 Photos are now stored on memory cards.
📺 Thanks to the “digital camera,” we can immediately view and even delete the images we take!
Year: 2000s and beyond
📱 Cameras are built into mobile phones.
🤳 We now carry a studio in our pockets!
🌐 We can connect to the internet and share our memories with everyone within seconds.
🤳 Photography Today
Today, almost everyone carries a camera in their pocket. Smartphones enable high-quality photography. With selfie sticks, filters, and social media, photography has become more than just a way to preserve memories—it has become a form of expression. Some people even make this their profession: photographers!
📚 References
Newhall, Beaumont. The History of Photography. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1982.
Rosenblum, Naomi. A World History of Photography. New York: Abbeville Press, 2007.
Kodak. “Kodak History Timeline.” Eastman Kodak Company. https://www.kodak.com/en/company/page/history.
BBC. “History of Photography.” BBC Bitesize. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zdv4f82.
National Geographic. “A Brief History of Photography.” NationalGeographic.com. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/history-photography.
