The History of Photography

The whole technicality of photography can be broken down into two very simple ideas. 1 No: To capture the light coming from any scene and reflect it on a screen. 2 No: To capture that reflected scene permanently through a medium.

The first thing to do is to reflect on the screen a long time ago. If a dark square box has a needle-like hole in the front floor and a white screen is placed on the opposite side of the box, that screen captures the front view in reverse. If a glass lens could be placed in the place of the hole, then this picture would be clearer, people knew about it around 1400. But until then. It took more than 400 years to discover the technology to capture this image permanently.

Picture 1: Pinhole camera

It was discovered in the early 1800's that coating a plate with a 'light sensitive' chemical and reflecting the image there reflected different levels of light in different parts of the plate depending on the light intensity of the different parts of the image. As a result, the image appeared on the plate. The problem is elsewhere… this picture could not be made permanent. Finally, in the early 1800's, a joint effort by Louis Duguerre and Joseph Niepce created the Duguerrotype process, in which a coating of a light-sensitive compound called silver halide was used as a means of capturing images. However, if I had a hobby of taking pictures, I would have sat in front of the camera for fifteen minutes without shaking my head!

Picture 2: The first dogerotype picture

See picture number three. This is also a street photo of Paris taken by Louis Doug. It took approximately ten to twelve minutes for the light to enter the camera to take this picture; As I said before, it would take a long time to capture a picture in Dagerotype, because the medium could not be made very light-sensitive even then. The funny thing is, the presence of two people in the picture (notice) Exposing a picture for such a long time usually doesn't catch anything moving in the picture (a lecture on exposure is coming up), but one of the two was a shoe polisher and the other a customer. Which is why they were fairly stable in one place.

Picture 3: Another dogrotype
picture - the streets of Paris.

Whatever. These basic processes came under control. Then began the development of technology. Dogrotype was a positive process, meaning the original image would go straight to the screen, although the exposure time was much longer. As it turned out, the reverse image (i.e. negative) of the image was caught on the screen very quickly. Knowing this, the exposure time decreased a lot, no one had to sit in front of the camera for hours to take a picture. In the late 1800's, George Eastman invented a kind of film that could be rolled up and rolled into a camera. Diameter! This time the camera has become a matter of human reach, portable. The world famous 'Eastman Kodak' is his company.

Picture 4: Camera designed by George Eastman.

Over time, there have been many modifications to the camera and film… small cameras, high-speed cameras, more or less light-sensitive films, and so on. But the basic process is the same.

And then? The world has gone digital. I will tell you later how digital cameras work. I am concluding this part of the lecture with the picture of the first digital camera.

Picture 5: Electronic camera invented by Steve Sessions. He was an engineer at the Eastman Kodak Company.

Film process:

Thought let's discuss in detail. Later I found out that I don't understand much myself, and since I won't talk much about film photography, as I said before, so why bother and tell me why I will take this risk! In short, let's talk about the black and white film process:

1. The film is coated with a chemical compound called 'Silver Halide'.

2. When the light of a scene is focused on this film, the photosensitivity breaks down through this silver halide reaction and turns into silver. Where there is not much light in the scene, the level of reaction is also very low. And the dark parts do not react, the silver halide remains intact. After the film is taken, the film is called 'exposed' film.

3. During the development of this ‘exposed’ film another chemical solution is used, which removes the unaltered silver halide from the film leaving only the silver. So at the last stage we get a film where different amounts of silver are deposited based on the intensity of light. The parts that are exposed to bright light in the negative will be darkened due to the accumulation of a lot of silver. Based on the intensity of the light, the actual picture will appear on the paper.

Digital process:

The main difference is very simple. While film cameras capture images as the 'end product' of chemical reactions, digital cameras capture images as 'binary data'. This means that digital cameras include a small computer that records the intensity of light entering the lens as a series of binary numbers. So, instead of film, digital camera has an electronic sensor. These sensors are equipped with thousands of tiny ‘cells’, which convert the intensity of light into electronic charge. Since there are different intensities of light in a scene, each cell of the sensor will ‘receive’ light of different intensity and as a result different amount of charge will be generated in each cell. The ‘Final image’ is created by recording and processing the intensity level of this charge from all the cells. There are basically two types of sensors; CCD and CMOS. The main function of both is the same, but due to the differences in the manufacturing process, CCD gives a much better image quality, but the energy consumption is much higher than that of C-Moss. For this reason, C-MOS sensors are now used in most digital cameras, although CCD sensors are important in astronomy or other research.

The whole thing is more complicated; For example, a ‘bare filter’ is placed on the sensor to capture the color information of different parts of the image. I did not discuss this matter to avoid complications.

Picture 6: Digital camera sensor.

Digital cameras are now the mainstay of photography, although many still experiment with film as a hobby. Like any new technology, the digital camera has not been as enthusiastic about it as experienced photographers, many have criticized it. But this is like seeing the excellence of technology in one case. In just a few years, the picture quality of these cameras has surpassed that of film. Now almost all new and old photographers take pictures digitally. And why not? As you can see from the picture, it is being deleted if not as expected. The opportunities for experimentation are endless! In the beginning, the digital image ‘megapixels’ (discussed later) were not very large, so it was not possible to print very large. Now that megapixels and sensor sizes have increased, the technology to enlarge images has also improved. A 30 ft x 30 ft billboard and 8 to 10 megapixel pictures can be painted very well. Due to this continued aggression of digital, companies are stopping making films one by one. Canon, Nikon and other companies are no longer making film cameras. So the world of the present and the future is ready for digital photography, it can be said emphatically.

Photography as a means of expressing creativity:

“Dude, there's no shortage of guitarists. He learns the guitar for two months, then he plays the ghating ghating, I know what, and he sings in unison. ”

“Dude, I see cameras in everyone's hands. You don't think so with the camera. I bought one, I take pictures too. ”

"Monir, the craze of the camera is gone. Now everyone wants to buy a bicycle. This is the new fashion. ”

Yes. These words are heard from different people at different times. I think you have heard similar comments. But look, there are so many guitarists around, how many can still make a guitarist cry like Ayub Bachchu? Once I was watching his guitar work in a concert, I didn't even try to guess how. Steve McCurry's Afghan Girl is just a picture, yet how does that picture stir the whole world? Or take a picture of the Vietnam War taken by Nick Eight, where a young girl was running for her life in fear of the Napam bomb. The film played a key role in shaping public opinion against the Vietnam War.

Picture 7: Afghan Girl.
Photographer: Steve McCurry

Photo 8: Napam Girl,
Photographer: Nick Eight, 1982.

Photo 9: Moonrise, Photographer: Ansel Adams. Hundreds of photographers still gather at a specific time of year to take these frames.

In my opinion, creativity is the thing that sets us apart from all other animals. And art is a global language that transcends the barriers of all conventional languages ​​(what we call language barriers) and conveys a truth, or a message, to all people, regardless of country or race. All human beings have more or less the practice of creativity; Everyone wants to have a touch of individuality in his work. At one point people realize that the geography barrier cannot be crossed with just the language of the mouth.

Picture 10: Guernica, artist Pablo Picasso's protest against the horrors of war.

I think I know why, the beginning of photography or guitar is relatively easy. The beginning of painting seems very difficult to me, but many may disagree. It is difficult to excel in these mediums because the beginning is easy. A small part of the whole process of photography is pressing on the camera shutter. The most important part of this process is the photographer's vision… it's a combination of your imagination, keenness to find content, and being able to click at the right moment. And these things can't be mastered easily, or very quickly, if you want to. "Your first 10,000 photos are the worst you have ever taken," said Henry Cartier's Bresson. It can be multiplied by tens of thousands in this digital age, what do you say? Or multiply by one hundred?

So the point is, like all other art forms, photography is a pursuit. It takes time, labor and of course love. The practice of finding an interesting subject with the eye is more important than hanging a camera around the neck to acquire the skill of extracting extraordinary frames from a common subject. Once this is mastered, the technical aspects of the camera will be in your hands. If after understanding all the controls of the camera, you can't bring the useful thing to your eyes, then the pictures will be snapshots, without any touch of your mind.

I don't know how the words in this section became incoherent. Even then, if this discussion feeds your thoughts, that is enough.

Photography Classification (Genre)

This classification is a big mess for me. Although it seems most helpless to remember the nuances of microbiology, the classification of photographs is much easier! The hierarchy of photography can be viewed from two different perspectives. One is the classification of 'photographs'. Another is the difference between 'photographer' and 'professional'. Many people confuse these two types, so I set them apart.

Types of photographs: Suppose-

Picture 11: Landscape:

Usually a picture of nature, much larger spread. In the picture, the basic elements of nature such as sky, water, sea these things prevail over the animals. Again, many make ‘Urban Landscape’, where the inert elements of the city can also come into the picture.

Picture 12: Macro:

A picture of the detail taken very closely. The subject of a macro image can be many things .. from insects to close-up of a part of an inanimate object. Macros require lenses that can focus very close to take pictures.

Picture 13: Action:

A film that shows a very fast subject. It could be a speeding car, or a moment of competition, and so on.

Picture 14: Still Life:

A picture of inanimate objects which creates an atmosphere due to the craftsmanship of light and shadow. Professionally speaking, there are many types of photography. Fashion, Events, Architectural, Wedding, Sports, Wildlife, Lifestyle… etc. Also a popular topic is street photography, where photographers try to capture candid moments while walking down the street. But one thing to keep in mind. No matter what kind of professional photographer they are, the pictures they take can be anything from landscapes to macros. Just like a sports photographer takes action pictures, he also takes portraits of a player.

Picture 15: Fashion; Photographer: Abir Abdullah

Photography in Journalism: (Photojournalism)
There is no way to deny the importance of photography in the media, especially the print media. For some strange reason, people love to see pictures. As much as a piece of news written across column after column appeals to people, it is a small picture that catches the eye much more. In my opinion, the need for photography in journalism is of two kinds. One is when the picture conveys a story more clearly to the reader. And another is when the picture itself tells the story. As you can see in the newspaper, often a news is given across a short line with a picture. Take the picture below. Isn't that weird? The appeal of this photo is extremely intense; Maybe a small caption is needed for those who don't know about the event, otherwise the caption is not needed either.