Nov. 2001
President's
Message
Portrait of Laszlo Hopp
Article - "A Snapshot in Time"
A Snapshot in Time
- Bill Talarowski
During this summer one hot and steamy day I was cloistered in my studio trying to stay away from anything that looked like work. I picked up a magazine and studied an article with the title of “A Snapshot in Time” which dealt with the history of the hardware we use to take our photo images and how photography as an industry began.
From daguerreotype to digital, the past 150 years have seen an extraordinary technological evolution of cameras with a single purpose in mind, to capture the fleeting moment. The word “camera” is derived from the Latin word when translated means “dark chamber”. These dark chambers have evolved from large devices needing a form of transportation to carry them to the small digital wonders that we now carry in our pockets.
The first known permanent photograph was taken by Joseph-Niepce in 1826. The image was a scene outside his studio, which took eight hours to make the exposure. It would take several years and collaboration with Louis Daguerre to develop the first workable photographic process. These images would become known as “daguerreotype types”. Recorded on copper plates that were impregnated with light sensitive chemicals, they would be loaded into a wooden box equipped with a lens on one end and a plate holder on the other.
As the 19th century progressed, cameras became smaller and lighter. In 1850 the folding camera came on the scene and was followed in the 1880”s by a handheld camera that made exposures in fractions of seconds.
In 1881 George Eastman formed
his company and marketed the first roll film camera using the slogan “You
press the shutter, we do the rest”. The price of the camera was $25
and came with film for 100 exposures that had to be sent to Kodak for
processing. In 1900 the “Brownie” model was introduced that
cost a dollar and was aimed mainly at the children’s market. More
than 100 versions of this camera were produced and marketed through 1970.
An original 1881 model of this series can bring between $2,500 and $3,500
today. In 1925 Leica introduced the first high quality, mass produced
35mm camera. The 1950 M3 model now brings $1000 in the market.
George Eastman left a dual legacy. He not only introduced Americans to
simple-to-use cameras, but he also left his former residence in Rochester,
New York, now The George Eastman International Museum of Photographic
and Film. It houses a collection of over 4,000 cameras and is well worth
a visit