Download - Lesson 1 • Intro to the photograph
Blyth Academy • Term 3
Mr. Sargento AWQ3M/4M
Photography
Today, I will learn…
� Brief history of the photograph
� Daguerreotypes
� Film (Kodak)
Learning Goals
Weekly Photo Journals
� Every Friday, you will post a photo journal to your blog consisting of…
� Five of your favourite photographs you took (“made”) that week
� A short artist’s critique for each photo
� Submit the direct link to the post via Edmodo
� 10% of final grade
Thoughts?
What do you think it means…
You don’t take a photograph, you “make” a photograph
“Making” Photographs
� The ways in which we’ve “made” photographs over the past two
centuries, has changed drastically,
� Let’s a take a brief look at some major developments…
A Brief History of the Photograph
What is Photography?
� The word “photograph” was coined by Sir. John Herschel in 1839.
� He combined the Greek words photos (light) and graphe (drawing).
� Photograph literally means “drawing with light”
Joseph Nicéphore Niépce
� The inventor of still photography was a French inventor Joseph Nicéphore Niépce (knee-eps)
� This is his first known photograph using a camera obscura, and also regarded as the first still photograph…
‘View from the Window at Le Gras’ (1826-27)Joseph Nicéphore Niépce
It’s in the Chemicals…
� Originally, photographs were made by using chemicals that reacted with light to burn images on to pieces of silver/copper.
� Niépce used a chemical called bitumen (be-tyou-min).
� Another French inventor named Louis Daguerre built on Niépce’s work and started using silver nitrate and mercury to capture images.
� These were called Daguerreotypes and became very popular.
� This is Louis Daguerre’s first ever picture of a person…
Bitumen
Louis Daguerre
‘Boulevard du Temple’ (1838)Louis Daguerre
The first “Where’s Waldo”
� It took ten minutes to capture this image
� This busy street looks empty because the traffic was moving too fast to be captured.
� It also means this dude was standing there with his leg up for an unusually long time :S
Basic Concept
� Light would come into the camera through a lens, which would direct the light towards the chemical covered plate
Light
LensPlate
Daguerreotypes
� Posing for a Daguerreotype was a long difficult process
� Subjects had to stay completely still or the image would be blurry
� Many rich and famous people had Daguerreotypes done in the 1800s.
� Lets check some out!
Edgar Allan Poe, 1848Poet/Writer
Abraham Lincoln, 1848Former P.U.S.A.
� Eventually, through decline in costs, common people also had Daguerreotypes done
� And, they’re all creepy…
Film
� In 1884 George Eastman, developed dry gel on paper, or film, to replace the photographic plate
� A photographer no longer needed to carry boxes of plates and toxic chemicals around.
� In July 1888 Eastman's camera went on the market with the slogan “You press the button, we do the rest.”
� Today, it still uses the same brand name of Kodak
Photography for the Masses!
� Now anyone could take a photograph and leave the complex parts of the process to others
� Photography became available for the mass-market in 1901 with the introduction of the Kodak Brownie
Early Timeline
1827Joseph Niépce
First still photograph‘View from the Window at Le Gras’
1838Louis Daguerre &Daguerreotypes‘Boulevard du Temple’
1884George Eastman
Invents film (Kodak)
1901Kodak Brownie
Personal camera
So… What do we take photographs of?
� People (Portraits)
� Landscape
� Architecture
� Important moments
� Wildlife (and pets)
� Editorial / “Time Life”
A Moment Preserved
� Photography can be used…
� To capture an important historical moment
� To express the culture of a time or place
� To show a shocking moment
� Report the news
� To document a group of people
� To document everyday life
‘Victory over Japan Day in Times Square’, 1945
‘Lunch Atop a Skyscraper’, 1932
‘Burning Monk’, 1963
‘Vietnam War’, 1968
The Search for Beauty
� Photos are more than just historical documents, they are also a form of ART
� Photography can be…
� Used to find beauty in nature
� Used to capture movement (visible time)
� Used to capture things the human eye can not see
� Manipulated to create interesting and artistic images
An original Sargento!Cambridge, UK • 2014
What two things could
be improved?
What two things could
be improved?
Manipulated Photos
� Digital Camera (dSLR or Prosumer) + � SD Card (8 GB +)
Required Tools
� URL: first initial + last name (i.e. msargento.tumblr.com)
� If unavailable, add course course (i.e. msargentoAWQ3M4M.tumblr.com)
� Title: Full name
� Description: Photography - Digital Portfolio
� Pages/Sections:
� We will add throughout the term...
Setup ISP Digital Portfolio
� Use one of the following websites to find a photograph that interests you...
� 500px
� Flickr
� Write a short, 1/2 page reflection on why you think your chosen photograph is an example of “good” photography...
� Colour
� Framing (Composition)
� What’s in the frame? Left out of the frame?
Activity:What makes a good photograph?
To Do
� Sign up for Edmodo
� Sign up for Remind
� Complete & submit Facebook Profile PowerPoint (Edmodo)
� Setup ISP blog
� Reflection #1 – “What makes a ‘good’ photograph”?
� Bring cameras tomorrow!!!!