The World Photography Day is celebrated on August 19. NewsMobile recaptures the evolution of Photography – which led to Photo Journalism and Television Journalism, two of the most powerful tools of Modern Media.
To capture the pure essence and beauty of life, to tell a story, or to simply communicate an idea is the art of Photography. It is now a powerful means of communication and a mode of visual expression that moves human life in many ways. Photography is all about vision of the mind. It is the observation of the photographer which generates a plethora of “wows” on a photograph.
There is no doubt that a picture is worth a thousand words!
Evolution of Photography
Photography, in layman’s terms is a process of drawing with light. It was first formulated in the 1820s. The advancements in photography were carried out by inventors from across the globe. The first surviving image was produced by French inventor, Nicephore Niepce in 1825.
An English inventor, William Fox Talbot came up with an improvisation. He created translucent negative which in turn could be used to print multiple positive copies, the basis of most chemical photography up to the present day. John Herschel made plenty of contributions to the field, notably, the cyanotype process (blueprint). Many advances in photographic glass plates and printing were made during the rest of the 19th century. In 1884, George Eastman invented an early type of film to replace photographic plates, leading to the technology used by film cameras today.
Classic Black and White Photography
All photography was originally monochrome (black and white). The tones and contrast between light and dark areas define black-and-white photography. Monochrome printing or electronic display can be used to salvage certain photographs taken in color which are unsatisfactory in their original form; sometimes when presented as black-and-white or single-color-toned images they are found to be more effective.
Color
The first permanent color photograph was taken in 1861 using the three-color-separation principle. However, Implementation of color photography was hindered by the limited sensitivity of early photographic materials. This difficulty was soon forgotten with the discovery of dye sensitization by photo chemist Hermann Vogel in 1873.
Autochrome, the first commercially successful color process, was introduced by the Lumiere brothers in 1907. These plates were one of several varieties of additive color screen plates and films marketed between the 1890s and the 1950s. Kodachrome, the first modern “integral tripack” color film, was introduced by Kodak in 1935. It captured the three color components in a multilayer emulsion. This complex processing procedure was simplified with the introduction of Agfacolor Neu by Agfa’s in 1936.
Instant Color film, used in a special camera which yielded a unique finished color print only a minute or two after the exposure, was introduced by Polaroid in 1963.
Digital Photography
In 1981, Sony unveiled the first consumer camera to use a charge-coupled device for imaging, eliminating the need for film: the Sony Mavica. In 1991, Kodak unveiled the DCS 100, the first commercially available digital single lens reflex camera. With this invention, commercial digital photography was born.
Digital imaging uses an electronic image sensor to record the image as a set of electronic data rather than as chemical changes on film. Digital imaging is a highly manipulative medium which allows for a degree of image post-processing that is comparatively difficult in film-based photography and permits different communicative potentials and applications.
All time greats of Photography
Here are the legends of photography, who, with their photographs have elicited thoughts, feelings, and emotions when words simply will not suffice. They are an inspiration to thousands of young budding photographers and photo journalists.
Ansel Adams
Highly influential master of the monochrome landscape, the American is still famous for his Nature and wilderness photography. He developed a system to combine exposure and contrast in photography, giving the final product an unforgettable quality; this is known as the Zone System. His photographs have been widely reproduced on calendars, posters, and in books.
(View of the Teton Mountain Range and the Snake River in Wyoming, US by Ansel Adams)
Diane Arbus
“Photographer of freaks”, Diane Arbus’s photographs bordered between reality and the surreal. She produced emotionally intense and often disturbing portraits of people on the margins of society, including giants, dwarves, circus performers and transsexuals. The American believed that a camera could be “a little bit cold, a little bit harsh” but its scrutiny revealed the truth.
(Child with Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park, New York by Diane Arbus)
Richard Avedon
Avedon was considered to be America’s leading fashion and portrait photographer. He was admired for his fashion photography for Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue and for his penetrating black and white portraits of people against a white background.
(Arnold Schwarzenegger by Richard Avedon)
David Bailey
Bailey is arguably one of Britain’s best English fashion & portrait photographer. He is famous for “Swinging London” a BBC documentary and iconic fashion and portrait photographs (Krays, Beatles).
(Jean Shrimpton by David Bailey)
Yousuf Karsh
The Armenian-Canadian photographer has taken photographs that tell a story, and that are more easily understood than many others. Each of his portraits tells you all about the subject. Karsh’s portraits communicate with people. His famous portraits include Winston Churchill, Humphrey Bogart, Muhammad Ali, and Grace Kelly.
(Winston Churchill by Yousef Karsh)
World Photography Day
World Photography Day was carried out as a project by Korske Ara photographer in 2009. The project aimed to unite local and global communities in a worldwide celebration of photography. It is about celebrating the ability we have to communicate though this powerful visual medium.
Aug 19th, 1839 was chosen as the date behind World Photo Day based on 2 historical merits:
The Daguerreotype was the first practical photographic process.
The purchase and release of the Daguerreotype patent by the French government.
On August 19th 2010, World Photo Day hosted it’s first global online gallery. With 270 photographs shared and website visitors from over 100 countries, this marked the first official, globally reaching World Photo Day.