Peeps today often take it for granted that they can run to the drugstore and pick up a disposable camera for whichever event they would like to capture on film. But it wasn't always this easy. There was a time when photography was just a dream. Of course, people tried to capture their surroundings for others to see by drawing or painting pictures and although these can be and were beautiful, it's just not the same as having a photograph.
Joseph Nicephore Niepce changed the world when he produced the very first photograph in 1827. It was really blurry and you couldn't quite make out what he had taken the photo of, but it helped to catapult other inventors and artists to try their hand at photography.
Next came Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre's version of the photograph. He used thin sheets of copper-plated metal combined with different chemicals like mercury, bromine and chlorine to produce images onto metal sheets. Photographs are all about how much light is exposed onto the chemicals. A lot of light can make the picture appear too dark, while not enough light will make the picture too light to see anything. The perfect photo needs the perfect amount of light.
It didn't take long before someone had perfected developing photos on paper instead of metal and by 1850 photographs were cheap enough that almost anyone could have a portrait of themselves or family members taken.
It wasn't until the late 1970s, though, that our beloved "point-and-shoot" cameras were marketed. Up until then, you had to focus your own camera and decide how much light your picture was going to need and adjust what is called the aperture or f-stop. You can still buy manual cameras today and many peeps prefer them for taking artsy photos because you can play around with the light and the focus.
The most recent development in the world of photography is the digital camera. Digital photography allows you take pictures right onto a memory card and the pics can then be transferred directly into your computer. This eliminates the need for manual, chemical processing of film and makes it so much easier to send pics via email to all your friends and family.
Why not check out some of the cool, new photographic technology at www.canon.com.
Do you like photography? What kind of camera do you use? about your photography skills!
