29.11.2001 History of the media
The History of Press Photography
Bartłomiej Dwornik
The birth of photography is dated to 1839, when French painter Louis Daguerre announced the principles of daguerreotype (an image projected through a lens onto a silver-plated copper sheet, developed with mercury vapor, and fixed with sodium thiosulfate).
At the same time, English scientist W. Talbot invented a method called talbotype, in which the photosensitive material was paper soaked in a silver nitrate solution and, after drying, dipped in a solution of sodium chloride or bromide. The negative exposed in the camera was developed with a gallic acid solution, fixed with sodium thiosulfate, rinsed, and dried. Daguerreotype, however, gained much greater popularity.
- In 1840, Hungarian mathematician J.M. Petzwal built a portrait lens, reducing portrait time to one minute.
- A year later, the first metal camera by Voigtlaender appeared.
- In 1851, English photographer Frederick Archer and French photographer Gustave Le Gray introduced the collodion process (using glass plates coated with collodion—a mixture of alcohol and ether, developed in acid. They had to be exposed while wet).
- 1855 - English physicist James Maxwell produced the first color photographic images, using the principle of additive color mixing.
- In 1862, Englishman Charles Russell discovered a method of chemical development in an alkaline environment.
- In 1873, German chemist Hermann Vogel developed optical sensitization (increasing light sensitivity and expanding the range of photosensitive materials).
- 1874 - Frenchman Ducos du Hauron invented the first practical autochrome method, where light passed through a layer of colored grains (the raster) before reaching the photosensitive emulsion. During development, color appeared from the colored raster grains.
- From 1887 to 1889, Americans Hannibal Goodwin and George Eastman (independently) invented celluloid photographic film.
- In 1890, the first anastigmat was created (a lens system that provided a clear, undistorted image of all points in the subject).
- 1910-1914 - German chemist Rudolf Fischer developed the principle of multilayer photosensitive material and color development (simultaneous image formation in each layer—black and white and color. The images in each layer combined to form a color image). These principles came into use about 20 years later by KODAK (USA) and AGFA (Germany).
- In 1925, infrared-sensitive plates were introduced.
- 1926 brought a revolution with the appearance of the first 35mm Leica camera, sparking rapid development in photojournalism, which reached its peak after World War II.
- 1929 - the first twin-lens reflex camera, Rolleiflex.
- 1936 - the 35mm single-lens reflex camera, Exakta.
In the 1930s, magnesium flash lamps appeared worldwide—magnesium powder was poured onto a glass plate and ignited just before taking a picture. This method was dangerous, leading many photojournalists to suffer severe burns, loss of eyes, fingers, and sometimes entire hands.
Only after press magnate William Hearst fell victim to such a flash did he order all his photojournalists to use the new magnesium bulbs, which dominated the market from the 1940s. They were slightly less dangerous but often exploded. True progress came with electronic flash units housed in substantial cases and powered by batteries. Photojournalists resembled burdened camels, but they were safe.
- 1941-42 - diffusion copying method (photographic reproduction).
- 1947 - the "one-minute" Polaroid-Land camera and pentaprism (light rays reflected from the reflex mirror are bounced three times, making the viewfinder image upright and not inverted).
- 1954 - the 6x6 cm single-lens reflex camera, Hasselblad.
- 1964 - Voigtlaender’s Zoomar variable focal length lens.
- 1966 - the introduction of electronic components in cameras began.
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