FIND OUT MORE. Colour 180 • Lenses 181 • Light 178–179 • Media 298–299• Painting 320–321
Arts and Entertainment^325
Photography
The word photography comes from two Greek words
meaning light and drawing. Photography is the process
of creating fixed images on a chemically prepared
surface, or on an image sensor in a digital camera.
WHO INVENTED PHOTOGRAPHY?
Joseph Nicéphore Niépce (1765–1833) took the first
photograph c. 1827. However, his process needed eight
hours of exposure to light, and the picture was fuzzy.
In 1837 Louis Daguerre (1787–1851) created a sharp
but one-off image in a few minutes. In 1839 William
Henry Fox Talbot (1800–1877) presented negative film
and prints – still used in today's photography.
WHEN DID CAMERAS BECOME PORTABLE?
In the early days of photography, cameras were
large and cumbersome, and pictures were made on
individual glass plates. The big breakthrough came
when George Eastman (1854–1932) invented flexible
film. In 1888, he introduced the Kodak camera – it was
small, light, and loaded with a roll of film. The craze
for snapshot photography soon spread.WHAT DO DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHERS DO?
Since the 19th century, documentary photographers
have recorded the experiences of others. Photographs
of Victorian street-sellers and poverty-stricken US
farmers in the Great Depression made a huge impact
on public awareness. Tragic images of the Vietnam
War reduced public support for the war in the USA.HOW DOES DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY WORK?
Today, the popularity of digital cameras has grown.
Using light-sensitive electronic sensors instead of film,
digital cameras ensure that each picture gets the right
amount of light (autoexposure) and is perfectly sharp
(autofocus). The images are usually stored in removable
memory cards, which can be transferred to a computer
and printed out or sent over the Internet.HAS PHOTOGRAPHY INFLUENCED PAINTING?
The influence has always worked both ways. In the
early days of snapshots, for example, Impressionist
painters were inspired by their accidental effects, such
as the blurring of moving figures, and figures being
cropped by the photo's edge. Photographic portraits
and landscapes are often inspired by painted ones.1 LANDSCAPE BY DENNIS STOCK
In this coloured landscape, American photographer Dennis Stock (1928–)
uses the effects of the stormy sky to create atmosphere. Dark foreground
shadows contrast with the trees and path, which glow in shafts of light.
1 INTERIOR BY EUGENE ATGET
The French photographer Atget (1857–1927) recorded the
changing face of 19th- and 20th-century Paris in more than
10,000 photos. His work is both art and social document.4 AFGHAN GIRL BY STEVE MCCURRY
This photograph of an Afghan girl in a Pakistani
refugee camp was taken in 1984 and appeared
on the cover of National Geographic magazine.
It shows her as ragged and scared, yet dignified,
gazing directly at the photographer and the
viewer. In its way, it is as unforgettable a portrait
as the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci.1 MOTION IN PICTURES
Eadweard Muybridge (1830–1904)
developed a technique for taking
a rapid sequence of photographs,
which revealed surprising truths
about the way animals moved.
Before his photographs were
published, painters wrongly
depicted galloping horses with
all four legs outstretched.photography