This weeks first learning activity was to pick three events in the timeline of our lesson “history of photography: An introduction”. We were to find photographs of these events either online, or at a library, and write a paragraph explaining the events in more detail.
The pinhole camera
A pinhole camera, or the “camera obscura”, is a simple camera without a lense. It is basically a little black box, with a pinhole in one end. The box has to be all black on the inside, so that nothing reflects the light. Light from the outside of the box will flow trough the hole in the box, and transfer an upside down image of the outside onto a photo paper on the inside. The pinhole camera was invented in the middle ages by a man called Alhazen.
Image source: http://blocktdarkroom.blogspot.no/2012/01/creative-darkroom-making-pinhole.html
Dry plate negatives and hand-held cameras
Dry plate negatives was the gateway to hand-held cameras. It was created in the 1870s and was also known as gelatin process. The dry plate, a glass negative with a dried gelatin emulsion, could be stored for a long period of time and absorbed light quickly. This would allow the photographers to develop their photos at a later time, making it simpler for the photographers to work and allowing them to expand their business.
Image source: http://www.moma.org/explore/inside_out/2012/02/07/eugene-atget-black-smoke-and-white-shadows
Flexible roll film
This was invented in 1889, by Eastman Kodak. The great thing about this film was that it was flexible and unbreakable, unlike older films. It saved the photographers from having to carry around portable darkrooms, and made photography accessible for the normal man. It was also possible to roll this film up, so that it didn’t take alot of place, and this gave the photographers the possibility to shoot more photos in one “session”.
Image source: http://therealrevo.com/blog/?p=65027
captainmildred 