By: Jenna Costa

Photojournalism Timeline

The Timeline Outline

The 9 important things that I feel have made a huge impact on

photojournalism are:

1. Wet Plate Collodion 18512. Dry Plate Collodion 18713. Roll Film 18884. Kodachrome Film 19355. First Digital Camera 19746. Satellite Technology7. First Camera Phone 19908. Blogging 9. Wifi DSLR 2012

From the Start of the Wet Plate Collodion all the way to the Wifi-Enabled DSLR

<iframe width="640" height="390" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gmJPCccix2Q" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmJPCccix2Q

Just to put things in perspective

Wet Plate Collodion

1851The Wet Plate Collodion process was a stepping stone leading to the Dry Plate process. It was the beginning of big changes for photojournalism. This process required a dark room to capture images and required a long and dangerous process that included cutting glass, and many chemicals. The photo to the right is a sketch that shows the equipment required for the process.

To put the steps in simple terms first you have to:1. Clean the Plate 2. Silver Nitrate Bath 3. Take the picture 4. Develop the photo

This type of camera wasn’t easily moved around. “The popularity of the wet plate process was short-lived” according to the article by Joseph Smigiel, the wet plate wasn’t very popular but is being brought back by some art photographers. After developed, the images were very detailed but the process was so long that it made photojournalists job hard to do.

Image Source:

http://photohist.blogspot.com/2009/06/dark-room-tent-typ

e-used-for-doing-wet.html

Photo by: Quinn JacobsonImage Source: http://www.cpacphoto.org/classes/introduction-to-wet-plate-collodian-2/

Image Source: https://web.stanford.edu/group/spatialhistory/cgi-bin/hart/information.php

Dry Plate

1871 The Dry Plate process was much more popular than the Wet Plate Collodion. Invented by Richard L. Maddox, this process made taking a photo much easier and with less equipment requirements. The dry plate process allowed photographers to prepare the plates in advance and develop them long after the photo was taken. In 1879 factory made dry plates were introduced. They were made with gelatin and there was no longer a need for a portable dark room when taking the photo.

This gave photojournalists more mobility. They did not have to have vans to bring all of the equipment around which made their jobs easier. Being able to develop photos at a later time created much more opportunity for photojournalists. When taking a photo, the dry plate camera takes the light in so quickly that it gave photojournalists the opportunity to have hand held cameras.

Photo by: Unknown Image Source: https://sipyun1.wordpress.com/2011/04/

Roll Film

1888Roll Film was invented in 1888 by George Eastman. He made the film able to roll which brought on huge opportunities for photojournalism. The “material was flexible, unbreakable, and could be rolled”. This product was mass-produced and was used in a box camera. The negatives would be on the roll of film, and from there you can see the images that have been taken. After that they need to be developed.

Photojournalists experienced a huge change in their profession. This was a big leap in technology. The camera was now transportable so photographers could really take photos from many different perspectives. This type of film was carried out for so many years and although it is dying out right now, some people still use it today.

Image Source:

http://www.historiccamera.com/cgi-bin/librarium/pm.c

gi?action=display&login=kodak_film

Kodachrome

Film 1935

Kodachrome film was invented in 1935 but was used for many years after. The famous photo of the Afghan Girl was taken in 1985, 30 years after Kodachrome was invented. This was the first real success at developing color photos. The actual film was taken in black and white but when it was developed, color was added.

This type of film was the first that allowed photojournalists and amateurs to use the same camera and film. This was a little expensive when it first came out but eventually the price went down. This was a convenient way to have photos developed which was an advantage for photojournalists. It also created a problem because now regular people were taking the same quality photos as photojournalists were. Although other people didn’t have the skills, with the cameras being a lot smaller and the film being easy to develop, many people started taking photos.

Photo by: Steve McCurryImage Source: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2002/04/afghan-girl/original-story-text

Satellite

Technology

Satellite Technology didn’t just effect photojournalists, but effected the whole world. The launch of Sputnik in 1957 by the Soviet Union. This lead to leaps in developments for many sectors of the world. Photojournalists benefitted from the advances in technology. This meant that photos could be taken from a different angle of the world and one photo taken really stood out. The image of the earth from outer space really changed the perspective of the world.

Usually, satellite photos are taken by government agencies. Photojournalists had the opportunity to use satellite technology to send photos to where they needed to. This involved big bulky machines that they had to hook up to their cameras. With this technology it allowed them to send a photo instead of having to go back to their work to get it printed out. The drawback to this is that there was heavy equipment and the photojournalist taking the photo was not able to move from one place to another easily.

Photo by: Apollo 8 Image Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2132664/You-got-colour-film-Jim--Nasa-recording-reveals-astronauts-fluffed-photo-planet-space.html

First Digital Camera

1975The first digital camera was invented in 1975. This camera was made by Kodak and Steve Sasson. The photo took 23 seconds to develop and was taken with .01 megapixels. The camera weighed 8 pounds, so it wasn’t the easiest to move around. Sasson said he created it with “a lens that we took from a used parts bin from the Super 8 movie camera production line downstairs from our little lab”. The camera was made with a cassette and was read from the cassette to a television. The digital camera was not available to consumers until 1990.

Image Source:

http://petapixel.com/2010/08/05/the-worlds-first-

digital-camera-by-kodak-and-steve-sasson/

This was such a leap for photojournalists to be able to see the pictures on a T.V. screen right away. Digital cameras have come such a long way from this; but without this digital camera there might not have been the high-tech digital cameras that we have today. Photojournalists had the opportunity to see the photos they took right away, not just the negatives.

Image Source: http://www.journeyamerica.us/selecting-your-first-digital-camera/

First Camera Phone 1990

Japan had the first camera phone in 1990. Samsung created this phone. It was capable of taking 20 photos at .35 megapixels. After this, phones and cameras became so much more mobile. Cell phones by themselves was a huge leap in technology. When a camera was added it became even more advanced. I remember owning my first camera phone when I was around 13. At this time camera phones had been out for a while but they became popular to the consumer a little before I had gotten mine.

For photojournalists, this was something big. Cell phones are so light-weight and even though they aren’t the best quality, photojournalists could take a photo wherever they were and send it almost anywhere. This also lead to the smart phones that take decent quality pictures and can be sent anywhere. Many people who just take photographs for fun can do all the things that photojournalists do. This can be negative for photojournalists because some places now hire everyday people to take photos and publish them even from their iPhones.

Image Source:

http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/camera-p

hone-history/

Blogging 1994

Blogging has become so important when it comes to photojournalism. It is a way of expressing photos that do not get published in the media. This created an opportunity for everyday people to express photos for others to see.

For photojournalists, there are many advantages to this. Photojournalists often work for some sort of company that publishes photos. They usually only get one or two photos published, and they have taken so many quality photos that they want to share with other people. A blog is the perfect opportunity for that and is a good way to show the world quality images.

This can also be a way for people to learn more about photography . Everyday people can express their photos on a blog which can sometimes take away from the job of photojournalists. Today, people take some amazing photos with their digital camera and often blog about them. It is more of a hobby than a profession, but blogging creates more opportunity for amateurs. There are famous blogs like Tumblr that constantly posts pictures and encouraged a lot of people to start their own.

Photo by: PebblePadImage Source: http://www.gre.ac.uk/offices/ils/cis/guides/pebblepad/why-should-i-keep-a-blog

Photo By: TumblrphotographyxoxImage Source: http://theetumblrfamous.tumblr.com/

Wifi DSLR 2012

The Wifi DSLR was one of the biggest changes in history. The DSLR now has Wifi built into it so the photo can be sent through the internet right after it’s taken.

This really takes transportable to a new level. The cameras today are not only small and light, but now the photos can be sent right away. Before this, photojournalists had to have bulky equipment in order to send their photo instantly. This equipment would hold them down and would only allow them to shoot from one certain spot. Now, they can be on the move and can send/ post them whenever they want to. Again, this can create a problem for photojournalists because the equipment is not expensive or hard to use anymore. People who did not study photojournalism can take similar photographs to those who did.

Photo by: Briana R. Prince Image Source: https://bree365.wordpress.com/category/camera-used/canon-dslr-eos-xsi/