Activity 1: What is Photography? The Science, Art and Technology
OverviewStudents examine the history of photography and the process of photography becoming an art form. Students examine historical photographs and deconstruct the images as a diagnostic assessment that gauges the student’s ability to view images critically. Students engage in a short quiz that reinforces material in the content pages. Students are given an opportunity to discuss their deconstruction with their peers under the guidance of the course facilitator.
ExpectationsOverall Expectations:
THV.02 Explain the historical foundations of media arts; ANV.01 Use the stages of critical analysis to examine and discuss the aesthetic and compositional components of current and historical media artworks. Specific Expectations: TH1.03 Recognize and use vocabulary specific to media art; TH2.01 Identify and describe the foundations of media art by viewing/experiencing selected media artworks and/or productions; AN1.02 Use the stages of critical analysis to critique early forms of artwork; AN1.03 Use correctly an appropriate vocabulary to discuss media art in-group settings. |
ContentIt is difficult for us to imagine a world that does not include the photographic image. We have become so accustomed to the realist documentation of our world and ourselves that it is sobering to realize that photography as we know it has only been in existence since 1839 when the process first became public and Sir John Herschel first coined the term "photography" derived from the Greek words for light and writing.
Photography did however have predecessors. First came the most basic piece of equipment which was some sort of "camera". While there is no hard evidence to pinpoint when the camera obscura was first discovered, it has been claimed that Islamic mathematician and astronomer, Ibn al-Haitham (965-1039 CE), built a working camera obscura in Egypt sometime during the 10th or 11th century. As a drawing tool the camera obscura was useful in assisting with the realistic portrayal of perspective; what was outside the box was exactly what was projected inside. The camera obscura did have some drawbacks. The image was projected upside down (later the use of mirrors would fix this problem). Also, while a smaller hole projected a sharper image, the decrease in the size of the hole also decreased the light-sensitivity (lenses were later used instead of a simple hole to help focus the image).
The camera obscura was soon recognized as a drawing tool for artists. In the 15th Century, Leonardo Da Vinci described the camera obscura in his Codex Atlanticus. In the 17th Century, Dutch painters such as Johannes Vermeer were thought to have utilized a camera obscura because of the meticulous detail in their paintings (although this has never been proven beyond a doubt).
So by means of the camera obscura an image could be projected but how was one to transfer that image directly to the paper without the hand of an artist? This next step in the evolution of photography came about through the intervention of science and a knowledge of chemical reactions. In January of 1829 Niepce began collaborating with Louis-Jacques Daguerre in the experimentation of this new science. When Niepce died suddenly, Daguerre continued with the process. It was Daguerre who first discovered a process using a metal plate and with a mixture of iodine, mercury vapour, heat and salt, he produced a photographic image etched into the metal. He named the process a Daguerreotype and in 1839 patented his invention. It is here that we should point out that there is a controversy over who can lay claim to producing the first practical photographic image as both Daguerre and another man, William Fox Talbot revealed their creations at the same time. Daguerre announced his process on January 9, 1839. Talbot, hearing of Daguerre’s process, quickly produced evidence of his four year old photographs on January 25, 1839 and immediately published his technical process of "photogenic drawing". Daguerre instead would keep the details of his process secret until 1841. Either way, both men, while contributing to the technical process of photography, also helped to slow its development by taking out patents on their process and thereby restricting who could use and develop either the Daguerreotype or Calotype. Despite the restrictions, several people continued to experiment with this new process of photography. Enrichment
Wonder what it would be like to get your portrait taken in 1870?
The McCord Museum in Montreal has an animated recreation of the historically famous Montreal studio of photograph William Notman. Please browse the following link to view “Watch the Birdie” at the McCord Museum website: http://www.musee-mccord.qc.ca/en/keys/virtualexhibits/notmanstudio/exploration/games/birdie/hi/ In 1871 Dr. Richard Maddox discovered a way of using gelatin instead of glass plates and thereby created the first dry negative known as the dry plate process. Not only did this process mean that photographers could produce their photographic plates ahead of time for use at their own convenience, but photographic plates could be mass-produced for sale. Plates did not have to be developed right away and the size of the gelatin negative could be made smaller and smaller to the point that a camera could be made small enough to fit in the hand.
It was not long after in 1884 that American George Eastman created the first celluloid roll of negative film. Four years later, after registering the trademark, Kodak, Eastman patented a camera that used his roll film and thereby brought the photographic process to the mainstream consumer and general public. Enrichment
For more information on Kodak and the George Eastman collection of historical photographs, please visit the George Eastman House website:
http://www.eastmanhouse.org/ Questions for your BlogAnswer the following questions in your blog with a title heading of Unit 2: Activity 1 - What is Photography.
Is the following statements true or false? Give a supportive reason for picking true or why you choose false.
Resources
You can now move on to Assignment 2.1.1 |