Community/ February 12, 2021/

The historical timeline of photography and the camera

Prehistory to 1490

The discovery and use of camera obscura.
Camera obscura derived from the Latin for dark chamber, was precisely that, a darkened room with a small hole in one wall. This hole would then project whatever was outside of it onto one of the room’s walls, upside down.

The projected image was then used to trace the picture onto the wall, and there are theories that this method was used in palaeolithic cave artworks. But one of it has been recorded that artists used it like Da Vinci to trace artwork. Philosophers and artists discussed the method, and its invention was then credited to Ibn al-Haytham

1700

Silver Nitrate used to create photos.
Johann Heinrich Schulze, a German polymath, discovered that silver nitrate reacted to light and that by combining silver nitrate and chalk, therefore he could create temporary photographs.

1800

Louis Daguerre created the daguerreotype, which recorded images created by camera obscura on a metal plate. From this, William Henry Fox Talbot developed this method to create a similar product on paper instead.

1861

The first colour photo was created in 1861.
A photo of a piece of tartan ribbon was captured by Scottish Physicist James Clerk Maxwell. He achieved the image by combining three photos taken through colour filters in yellow, red and blue.

1930

Amateurs had access to photography and film was developed for still photography.

The 1940s

First polaroid image and instant return mirror SLR cameras introduced. Single-lens reflex cameras were inspired by the early camera the Camera Obscura.

The 1950s

Digital images introduced. Russell Kirch produced the first digital image in 1957. Kirch then used a computer to create an image of his son, Walden.

The 1960s

Underwater cameras were then invented, also the first photo on the moon was taken. Jean de Wouters is credited for the Calypso photo camera.. The picture of the moon is credited to NASA and was taken in February 1966.

The 1970s

First digital cameras. Steve Sasson, a Kodak engineer, created the first digital camera in 1975.

The 1980s

First megapixel sensor. Kodak scientists invented the first megapixel sensor in 1986.

The 1990s

First photo CD. In 1991 Photo CDs were launched by Kodak and evidently, worked by saving photos onto a CD. The discs Kodak created held up to 100 images.