• 5th century BC: The camera obscura, a basic principle of photography, was discovered by the Chinese. It consists of a dark box with a small hole at one end, through which light enters and projects an inverted image on the opposite surface.
• 10th century: The Arabs advanced the development of the camera obscura, transforming it into a portable dark box used for image projections.
• 1558: Giovanni Battista della Porta, an Italian scientist, described the camera obscura in detail in his book “Magia Naturalis,” providing a broader understanding of its functioning and potentialities.
• 1727: Johann Heinrich Schulze, a German chemist, conducted experiments that showed that certain silver salts darkened when exposed to light, paving the way for the development of photography.
• 1816: Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, a French inventor, managed to capture a permanent image using a camera obscura and a pewter plate covered with Judean bitumen. This image, known as “View from the Window at Le Gras,” is considered the first permanent photograph.
• 1839: Louis Daguerre, a French painter and stage designer, perfected the photographic process known as daguerreotype, which produced sharp, detailed images on silver plates. At the same time, William Henry Fox Talbot, a British inventor, developed the calotype process, which used paper sensitized with silver salts to produce negatives that could then be reproduced on positive paper.
• 1851: Frederick Scott Archer, an English photographer, invented wet collodion, a cheaper and faster photographic process than the daguerreotype, which allowed the production of images on glass plates.
• 1888: George Eastman, founder of Kodak, introduced the Kodak camera, the first roll film camera. This camera was pre-loaded with film, making it accessible to a wider audience and making it easier to use.
• 1900: Pocket cameras became popular thanks to the introduction of the Kodak Brownie, an inexpensive and easy-to-use camera that contributed to the democratization of photography.
• 1936: Kodak released the first 35mm color film, Kodachrome, which revolutionized color photography by providing vibrant, long-lasting images.
• 1948: Edwin Land, founder of Polaroid, introduced the first instant camera, the Polaroid Land Camera, which allowed photographers to obtain instant images without the need for development.
• 1975: Steven Sasson, a Kodak engineer, invented the first digital camera. Although primitive compared to modern digital cameras, this invention laid the foundation for the digital revolution in photography.
• 1989: Adobe launched Photoshop, an image editing software that revolutionized the way digital photographs were processed and manipulated.
• 2000s: With the advancement of digital technology, digital photography became popular and analog photography began to decline. The arrival of compact digital cameras and smartphones with built-in cameras further democratized photography, allowing anyone to capture and share images anytime, anywhere.
These short stories provide context and understanding about important milestones in the evolution of photography, from its beginnings to the digital age. Each of these events contributed significantly to the development and democratization of photography as an artistic medium and tool of expression.
