Louis Daguerre and The First Practical Process of Photography

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How could one be in two places at one time? Is it possible to see the bulls running in Pamplona and Shaun White win the silver in Sochi as you sit in your home in Maryland? In the not so distant past, this would have been impossible, but with today’s camera technology, one can see events occurring in real time as they are captured and posted for the world to see by spectators at these events. Cameras have evolved throughout the years and these evolutions have changed society forever. We are able to capture images and share them instantaneously on phones and tablets. This current technology is drastically different from the cameras of the past. As one takes a journey through the history and evolution of cameras and photography, one can see how cameras have changed and how society has changed along with these evolutions.

Cameras were invented in the early 1800’s and have evolved throughout the years. Photography is a word derived from the Greek words photos ("light") and graphein ("to draw") The word was first used by the scientist Sir John F.W. Herschel in 1839. The first camera was invented by Alhazen Ibn Al-Haytham who lived around 1000 AD. He invented the pinhole camera which is also called the Camera Obscura. The images from this camera were upside down. In 1827, Joseph Nicephore Niepce made the first photographic image with the Camera Obscura. Before this, people simply used cameras for viewing or drawing purposes. Niepce’s sun prints or heliographs set the stage for modern photography as they let light draw the picture for the image. He did this by placing an engraving onto a metal plate coated in bitumen and them exposed it to light. The whiter areas of the engraving allowed light t...

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...ocial media.

In conclusion, cameras and photography have evolved throughout history. As a result, our society has been changed forever. One now see news as it happens and are offered eyewitness accounts of events throughout the world. The amount of information that one is exposed to is great. Most of these changes are positive as an individual can gain knowledge more easily and see things that before where impossible to witness. However, the negative side is a society who shares too much which can sometimes lead to difficulties in the present and future. These images that are shared cannot be erased and will forever be living somewhere on the internet. Therefore, think before you post that selfie or any image that you may regret. Finally, as technology expands and develops, society will have to learn how to navigate this new and unchartered territory.

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