Photography UNIT 57: History and My Relationship

Photography is a word that has derived from the Greek words Photo and Graphein ( Light and Draw) This word first came about in 1839 by Scientist by John F.W.Herschel. He first used this word when explaining to colleagues the  camera which defines even today as a device which records images using or the action of light, or radiation on a sensitive material.

We will Look at now at the development of camera's and photography in general throughout the ages:

History of the Photography Process

Pinhole Camera:


This came around about 1000AD, This however, due to low technology, the picture taken was shown as upside down.



First Photo Ever Taken, 1827

The First Picture:

In 1827, This was the first photo ever taken via a pinhole camera (Camera Obscure)  by Joseph Nicephore Niepce, however before this, people mainly used camera obscura to trace or draw photo's. furthermore in France, Louis Daguerre was trying to find  a way

to capture an image. but only found away to keep the image for around half an hour before it disappeared. in 1829, he partnered up with Niepiece in effort to improve the process. in 1839, after several years of experimenting and Niepiece's demise, Daguerre developed an efficient and convenient way to take photos'. He named it the Daguerreotype.

The Daguerreotype Process.





Camera Obscura

Negative to Positive Process

Henry Talbot Invented the first negative form of photography with Positive pieces in it in 1841, .  He called it Calotype (greek for beautiful picture)



First Picture created by Calotype



Tintypes

These were patented in 1856, by Hamilton Smith This turned pictures from negative in positive images.

Wet Plate Negatives:

Frederick Scott Archer invented theses in 1851, he used this method to make the photo taken more detailed and clearer to see. this method involved carrying a darkroom around making it portable.



 Dry Plate Negatives and Hand Held Cameras:

The Dry plate negative process was invented in 1879, and was easier to use rather than wet plate method. This also meant that the photo's could be stored for a while. Portable Darkrooms no longer had to be used and could hire technicians to develop their photo's. This process made a break through with camera's because this process absorbed light quickly to the point where hand held camera's could start to be manufactured.

Flexible Film:

This was invented in 1889, by George Eastman. this meant film could be put in that was flexible, could be rolled and unbreakable. This meant that the box camera can be now massed produced.

Box Camera

Colour photographs

These appeared in the erly 1940's. when colour films were brought to the market.

First Ever colour Photograph was taken by Thomas Sutton in 1861.

Photographic Films

The First flexible film roles date back to 1899, it was made out of nitrate. this is important because it allowed the development of roll films. The first flexible movie films measured 35-mm wide and came in long rolls on a spool.

This Technology continued in the 1920'was when this film roll was developed specifically for camera's. by late 1920's, they switched over to medium - format film roll was created. It measured six centimeters wide and had a paper backing making it easy to handle in daylight. This led to the development of the twin-lens-reflex camera in 1929. Nitrate film roll also stopped the need to use fragile glass plates.

Triacetate film came later and was sturdier, stronger and fireproof. moist films' s until about the 1670's used this technology.

Photographic Prints

It used to be the case that linen rag papers were used to make the base for these photographic prints, however, when gelatin emulsion was added, the photo's became stable. previously they would crack and dry out.

Due to the high humidity, parts or the whole image would have been lost. however, the photographic fixer left chemical residue. chemicals in the water that was used fro developing the images caused damage. If the print is not washed completely to remove all bits of the fixer than the picture would have been discoloured and images would have been loss.

Water - Resistant paper  was the next innovation in photographic printing. The only issue with this would have been the image that the resin would have relied on produces a plastic coating and there would be the off chance of fading.

Colour |Prints previously weren't stable to show because of the organic dyes. these dyes would deteriorate and therefore the image would literally disappear from the film or paper. Kodachrome was invented around the 1930's and it was the first film to produce colours that could last  50 years.

New Techniques have arisen as we are in the 21st century and we can now produce paintings that can last at least 200 years and that are therefore permanent. We now use computers to print images and a highly stable colours. the colour we now use are permanent.

History of the Camera

As we know the first camera that was ever invented was the Pin hole camera, as previously mentioned.

However in 1600, it was reinvented by Della Porta. who was also the first European to publish any infomation on the pinhole camera and is therefore incorrectly credited with its original discovery.

Daguerreotype Cameras
These were camera's that were made in the daguerreotype process.

Daguerreotype Camera

Box Camera

George Eastman invented the Kodak Camera, in 1888. It had about enough film for 100 flip shots. The original paper film was then changed into plastic base because of the success of this camera.

Original Box Camera, 1888

Flashlight Powder

Flashlight Powder was invented in Germany in 1887, by Adolf Miethe and Johannes Gaedcke. Flashlight Powder was used in lamps when taking flash photography.

Flashbulbs

These are used to take pictures using flash. They were invented by Pail Vierkotter. in 1930, These became commercially available.

Filters

These were founded by Frederick Wratten. He made these into a photographic manufacturing business in 1878 Called Wratten and Wainwright. Wrattern along with Dr C.E Kenneth Mees (E.C.K Mees) invented and panchromatic plates in England in 1906. Wrattern is known for these filters that he invented and names them after him - Wratten Filters. Eastman Kodak bought the rights to these in 1912.

35mm Cameras

in 1905, Oskar Barnack had the idea to reducing the format of film negatives and enlarging the photographs following their exposure. As development manager at Leica, he was able to put his theory into practice. He took an instrument for taking exposure samples for cinema film and turned it into the world's first 35 mm camera: the 'Ur-Leica'.

Polaroid or Instant Photos

Poloroid Camera, 1948.

These were invented by Edwin Herbert Land. He was an Inventor and physicist whose one step process for printing and development created instant photography, The first Polaroid camera was to the public in November 1948.

Disposable Camera

Fuji introduced disposable camera's
in 1986.  They were known as single use camera's.

Disposable Camera, 1986

Digital Camera

Digital Camera,. 1986

in 1984, Canon demonstarted the world's first digital electronic still camera.



My Relationship

My Relationship with photography has varied over the years, because as digital technology as have i but as i am now 17, i use photography in my every day life.

When i was about 5, i used to hate camera's the the extent that i ruined 3 of my father's £200 Digital Camera's by putting them in the washing machine. for about 5 years after this, i wan't allowed to touch a camera, However, when it comes to being in photo's i very much  like to be in the photo, rather than taking it in general. I also prefer being in photo's in family an friends.

However, every 2 years in my family we go to a photography studio to take pictures all together which i thoroughly enjoy because it shows how we have grown up over the years, doing this every 2 years have really helped me grown to like photo's and generally pose in general.

In Year 9, At my previous school, i took up photography enrichment which i actually didn't enjoy because it wasn't taken as seriously as on might have hoped as we just went around school bi - monthly for an hour taking pictures on our smartphones of randoms meaningless items around the school which wasn't fulfilling at all. Although it did teach me what angles to take certain things at depending on what smartphone or camera I was using. This would help me in the future when taking selfies became trendy. The Following photo's, i took on a blackberry curve so please excuse the quality.

Photo's That I Took During my Photography Course

I would also like to mention that when it comes to relevance in terms of social media, i am fairly
involved, i see photo's across my every day life on Facebook. but i am more involved when it comes to Instagram and Snapchat which are both photography based apps. i use at least 3 times a day, or even more i  am bored. I post on Instagram a photo or video at least every 3 weeks and i post on snap chat an healthy amount of at least once a week, these are mostly pictures of my current activity and it is usually babysitting.

I actually was exempt from photography for about 2 years from about 2013 - 2015 because of the phone i had. I had  a Samsung  galaxy S4 Zoom which is a great camera phone but 3 months into my cocntract my back camera broke and i couldn't get it fixed. it made taking photo's difficult on a front camera and i found too difficult to take photo's so i just stopped for this period of time.

I would also like to add that i recently visited a photographic exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. This exhibition was about teh Magazine "Vogue" Through the ages and how it got to where it was today from 1916 - 2016. I found it incredibly interesting at how fashion has also gone through the ages and it was an enjoyable trip.


Finally, My Relationship with photography has actually extended into my every day life. I take selfies every so often with friends and family, as i previously mentioned that i do use my phone and social media on a daily basis and i look at other people's photo's more than my own, I also prefer taking photo's of people rather than abstract pictures. Because i like recording reasons and taking pictures of people who are natural and caught in te moment rather than posed or touched up.

Double Page Spread Conventions

Here are some typical things that should available to see when we are observing a double page spread
In this case we are referring to a music magazine which I hope to produce at the end of the unit.


Body Copy - This is the main piece of text that is on the page. Usually a story or an article. This the text that the reader is reading in order to find out information about the band or musician that the article is based on.


Byline: This indicated to thee reader who has written the article they are about to or have read. This is also done in case you would like the style of a particular article and would like to read more by this writer, you can find other articles by him easily, This also promotes the staffbox, this includes names of the editors, a phone number, and usually a statement of policy.


Caption: This a small line of information that backs up and explains the photo on a page to the audience viewing it. it could tell the reader about where the photo was taken, it could become complex and inform the reader about the certain area in which this took place and what occurred.
usually magazines make the caption shorty and sweet so it doesn't steal focus from the rest of the article.


Drop Cap: This is a Capital Letter, larger than the body copy itself which starts the story/article. it is done this to enhance the  professionalism of the magazine.


Gutter: Space between the individual columns of text. This is done so that the readers aren't confused when reading or the text would squash  together and be uncomfortable to read.


Headline: Text at the top of the page in large, bold and distinctive font. this will catch the readers eye as they are flipping through the magazine and draw their interest to the headline of a story.


Pagination: This indicates what number page you are on in the magazine.


Pull Quote: This is a phrase or sentence that has been extracted from the main text. his has been enlarged and placed on a shape with a bright colour backing. this is used to emphasise the content and makes the reader want to continue reading the article.


Standfirst: Basic and broad introduction to the story tat the reader is about to read. this outlines the sorts of thing that they will come across in the article. it's usually a paragraph and is accompanied with a Byline which shows who is writing the article/interview/story up. it is important because it's the first thing the reader see's due to it's position on the page. All Magazines have Standfirst on the page in order to entice the reader into reading the article.


Main Image: This is the main picture that is featured on the double page spread. usually takes up majority of one of the two pages. It will also have something to do with what is on the article itself. it also catches the readers attention because it is usually big,colourful and bold.


Images: These surround the main image and all have something to do with the article and the main image itself. They are all supporting images and it makes the reader feel like they getting to know the subject of the story more rather than just reading about them briefly. It makes the reader feel more comfortable about reading about them. It makes them want to read further about the article based on the pictures they are provided with.


End Blob:  This is a symbol used by magazine companies in order to inform the reader that the article is finished. similar symbols can also be shown if the article would go over to the next page.

My Magazine

In Class today, I started modifying and re designing the cover of woman owns magazine This was part of the task that our teacher has given us in order to get more familiar with adobe Photoshop and this will hep us when the actual assignment roles around.

This is a screenshot of what my redesign is going to look like for my Magazine. The photo of the woman in the wedding dress is actually my mother, Dana on her wedding day in 2013 to my step father and there was a professional photographer there so I borrowed some of the photos this also includes the cute boy in the bottom left corner, this is actually my cousin and  he is very much still healthy alive despite the caption.

This is the idea I want woman's magazine to look like in the end as I am, using Photoshop to make it look more professional and better than using Microsoft word.

I will hopefully continue to be successful in my work and by the end of the unit, I will be able to confidently use Photoshop and create an even better design for woman's own magazine despite the one that already exists. ( I also apologize for the size an d the excess the image has created)

Photographers

Don McCullin, Is a Famous British Photographer who has been working in the photography field since 1959. In Particular, he is very well known for
His pictures to do with war and internal strife. He mainly focuses on photos that show the side of the world that is always there but people tend to forget such as unemployment and Poverty.


Don McCullin was born in Finsbury Park, London, in 1935.However, he was evacuated during the Blitz to somerset and attended secondary school there. despite being severely dyslexic he displayed talent in drawing and arts. so much so, he went to Hammersmith School of Arts and Crafts purely on a full scholarship. He left school at 15, with no qualifications and worked on the Nation Railway as a caterer, He then got called to the National Service and worked in the RAF.

The Fact that he may have been severely dyslexic have impacted greatly on the pictures that has he has taken because he can relate strongly to those who are also disabled in some other way, which is why the shell shocked soldier also relates to the life of McCullin to an extent. This also makes his other senses heightened. His work in War Zones are highly regarded as they publicly show the rest of the world what some people are going through and how sympathetic we should feel or them such as the Shell Shocked Soldier who is now scarred for life, yet his innocence is still there.


His most famous and celebrated picture is this one.

Shell-shocked US marine, Hue, Vietnam, February 1968.

This was taken during the Vietnam war in the City of Hue. It shows the idea of intensity and silence which were heard throughout the war. It shows the effects of fighting on this particular young soldier and gives the same message out to other young boys fighting in Vietnam. The important part is that the man is not looking directly at the camera but above it signifying that he is staring into nowhere much like the Vietnam war.













David Bailey is another Famous British Photographer who was born in Leytonstone in East London in 1938, Bailey attended Clark's College in Ilford, however as an undiagnosed dyslexic and Dyspraxia he faced problems at school where they didn't teach even basic essential education.


His attendance in school was incredibly low to the point that he left the college when he was 15 to become a copy boy at the fleet street offices of the Yorkshire post as he believed that would be more beneficial for him. He then had a rough couple of years stuck in dead end jobs before joining the RAF when he was 19. He bought a Roliflex camera during his time serving in Singapore as he realised he had to pursue something more creative. He left the army in 1958 and was ambitious to begin his career in photography. He couldn't get into the prestigious school "London College of Printing" because of his disastrous school attendance record I.e in one year, he only went in 33 times. He therefore worked he became a second assistant to David Ollins, in Charlotte Mews. £3.50 a week, and acted as studio lackey. He was delighted to be called to an interview with photographer John French and his career sped up from there..


He started working around the same time as McCullin. However, he specialises in a different fields rather than suffering


 Bailey chooses to photograph Fashion and is considered to be a portrait photographer.






He is famous for photographing famous people. He has photographed many celebrities and was extremely popular in the 1960's
including: The Beatles, Kray Twins, Andy Warhol and Jean Shrimpton and even Mick Jagger.

Here are some examples of his most famous work:

Laurence Olivier

Queen Elizabeth II

Audrey  Hepburn

I Chose this pictures in particular because i wanted to show the extent of the work that he has produced. These are some of his most famous shots and he even has had the honour of taking pictures and creating the portrait of HRH Elizabeth II. Which not many photographers have the honour to do.

William Egglestone is an American Photographer and has been working in the picture business around the 1960's and 70's.  He is credited as he increased recognition for colour photography. His most notable piece of art work is known as The Red Ceiling. He is famous for photographing other photo's in colour definition.

Egglestone was born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1939 and was raised in Memphis. He grew up as an introvert and was not incredibly sociable, he enjoyed staying indoors by himself, playing piano, games and working with electronics. from an extremely young age, he was seen making collages by cutting up postcards and magazines to make  a new picture. when he was 15, he went to Webb school which was  a boarding establishment. As it was an all boys school, he felt that the school pushed it's students away from creative things like art, drama and music because they were all considered "effeminate" which the school frowned upon greatly.

William attended may different school over the next few years, these included  Vanderbilt University (for a year)  Delta State College (for a semester) and University of Mississippi AKA Ole Miss (for 5 years) none of these resulted in a degree or any qualifications. But he did discover his knack for photography but friend at Vanderbilt gave Eggleston a Leica camera. Eggleston studied art at Ole Miss and was introduced to abstract expressionism by visiting painter, Tom Young. This resulted in the artwork he has produced to this day. Here are some examples:



The Tender - Cruel Camera, 

Perfectly Banal, 1976

Untitled, 1965-68 and 1972-74

The Red Ceiling AKA Mississippi 1973

This Photo in particular was considered to be his most challenging piece of work and his most famous. This stands from his other photos which use lighter and more retro colours. The most significant aspect of this picture may be the white wires contracting with the deep red ceiling. This Photo is also known as Mississippi 1973 in honour of the place and year it was taken as Egglestone himself considers it be his most recognisable and most exempt piece of artwork.

Martin Parr is a British Photographer, photo journalist and photo collected. He was born In Surrey in 1952.

He is credited in taking pictures that are intimate, anthropological and satirical and looking at the aspect of Modern life in Britain. He looks mainly at Social Class and the wealth of the Western world.

Parr was particularly famous for creating the photographic Project "The Last Resort" which was looking at people enjoying a day at the beach in New Brighton in 1985. However, the pictures aren't of happy family's or smiling children but rather a day looking at the resort alive with greed and disgust  such as an overcrowded café or a over litter bin and people are eating fast food sitting right next to 3 day old rubbish. He is making a satirical comment with these pictures showing us how the middle class act at the beach when they are not acting how they should be and are acting like lower class folk.