The Future of Photography

When looking at the history of photography on a timeline, it is clear that in comparison with other innovative discoveries, the practice of capturing images is still very new, and in recent years the growth has been exponential, not only in photographic technology, but technology in general. When considering the history of photography it is difficult to not think of the future and speculate on the possibilities surrounding the photoimaging profession.

Light Field Photography is a buzzword making the rounds at the moment, especially since ‘Lytro’ burst onto the scene. Light Field cameras dispense with the normal optics, instead placing micro-lenses over each pixel. Combining this with some clever software gives you a camera that does not need to be focussed, in fact you can set the focus point after the shot on your computer and change it to suit. This technology is in its infancy but it has the potential to replace current lens technology allowing not only post-production focusing but also depth of field changes and possibly focal length changes.

Cross-section of the Lytro

The 'Lytro' Camera

Although it is still just a concept, Seattle firm; Artefact Group has developed a 31 megapixel, full frame sensor camera phone. According to the group, the sensor is housed within the lens, which continues to function even when removed from the body, allowing the screen to be used as a remote viewer. This technology may still be a few years off but it gives a great insight into the equipment that could be available in the not too distant future.

'Camera Futura' Concept

There are numerous cameras available now with built in GPS. Virtually all cameras on the market have face recognition, automatic focus, and a database of scenes to determine exposure. Taking this forward a few years, industry professionals believe cameras will have a constant connection to the internet, not only to upload but to download information that can be collated with the GPS data to determine exactly what you are looking at, virtually anywhere in the world. By referencing all of this data, the camera could, quite possibly, tell you the best positions for shooting. Yes I know this will always be subjective, but what it does mean is that the average, non-photographer will not have to think about their composition in the same way that today they don’t need to think about exposure or focus.

There is, of course, much more that can and will happen, some of it obvious. The increase of megapixels and dynamic range, the increased connectivity, but there is probably also much more waiting in the minds of brilliant photographic engineers and scientists that we cannot even begin to comprehend yet. Part of what makes us human is the desire not only to look at the past, but to also contemplate the future and consider how we as a species will progress technologically.

The Creation of Digital Photography

Charge-Coupled Device (CCD)  

After film photography, of course, came the era of digital photography and although it seems like very new medium, digital imaging has actually been around for a few decades.

On October 17, 1969, George Smith and Willard Boyle invented the charge-coupled device (CCD) at Bell Labs. In 1970 the inventors built a CCD into the first solid-state video camera.

A digital image sensor like the CCD works similarly to film in that it records light that is exposed, however, instead of physically storing the resulting latent image, the sensor will transfer the recorded light into a digital reading.

Today, CCD technology is pervasive not only in photography but also in video applications that range from endoscopy to high-definition television. Facsimile machines, copying machines, image scanners, digital still cameras, and bar code readers also have employed CCDs to turn patterns of light into useful information.

Sony Mavica (1981)

However, it wasn’t until 1981 that Sony Corporation released the first prototype digital camera. The Sony Mavica (at this stage labeled the first electronic camera) used two CCD chips to record images onto a floppy disk that held a total of 25 images. While the Mavica wasn’t technically the digital camera that we know today, it did spark interest in digital image making.

Dycam Model 1 (1990)

The first commercially available digital camera was released in 1990, the Dycam Model 1. It used a CCD image sensor, stored pictures digitally, and connected directly to a computer for download. The Dycam Model 1 had a fixed focus f/4.5 lens, shot at a non-variable 200 ISO and produced only Black and White images. Although 20 years since it’s production, the Dycam seems like ancient technology, this camera put digital photography in the hands of the public and helped start the digital revolution.

Today it is almost impossible to be a professional photographer without having the capability to work with digital technology. Over 40 years after the invention of the CCD sensor, humanity has witnessed an astronomical leap in the way photographs are captured and stored, no body truly knows what the future holds for photography as a profession.

The Beginning of Colour Photography

'Tartan Ribbon' - James Clerk Maxwell
The worlds first permanent colour photograph

In 1861 the first permanent colour photograph was taken by physicist James Clerk Maxwell. He used what is known as the 'colour separation' method, shooting three separate black and white photos using three filters: red, green, and blue. He then projected the three images registered with their corresponding filters overlapping them to create a color image. 

Although this development came prior to the invention of Monochrome roll film, colour in photography was not truly embraced until 1936 when Kodak released Kodachrome; the first multi layered (Integral Tripack) colour film. Prior to this, methods such as ‘colour separation’ and ‘Joly Screen process’ were common for those wishing to take colour photographs, however, Kodachrome made colour photography affordable and available for the public.

 

Multiple colour film variations

Even by the 1950’s the expense of colour film as compared to black-and-white and the difficulty of using it with indoor lighting combined to delay its adoption by amateurs. Black-and-white snapshots were still the norm and even by 1960, colour was much more common but still tended to be reserved for travel photos and special occasions.

In 1963 Polaroid introduced instant colour film and like their contemporary instant black-and-white film, their first colour product was a negative-positive peel-apart process. The negative could not be re-used and was discarded. Interestingly, a problem arose when carelessly discarded, chemical-laden Polaroid negatives, began to accumulate, especially heavily at the prettiest, most photograph-worthy locations. Polaroid founder Edwin Land was horrified and promptly developed the later SX-70 system, which produced no separate negative to discard.

In the 1970’s, colour film prices were coming down, sensitivity had been improved and in most families colour had become the norm for snapshots. Black-and-white film continued to be used by some photographers who preferred it for aesthetic reasons but by 1980, black-and-white film in most formats as well as commercial developing and printing services, had nearly disappeared.

All forms of photography have evolved from monochrome photography. Colour film is black and white film with three layers of emulsion. Each layer has a coloured coupler that makes the resulting black metallic silver deposits in the negative respond to colours in the visible spectrum; red, green and blue. Digital photography employs a silicon sensor that records focused light falling onto it in much the same way that light rays reaching the film expose that portion of the film. So all photography has evolved from the original techniques created to record light rays onto silver halides.

Commercialising Photography

A Cyanotype
portrait of John Herschel

In the early 1830’s, popularity surrounding photographic image production and reproduction was growing. English scientist, astronomer and chemist John Herschel discovered and patented the ‘Cyanotype’, a process that uses a photosensitive compound applied to a paper or cloth surface which is secured to a contact negative and then exposed to UV light. When the latent image is placed in water, the chemicals react, revealing the positive image in a cyan blue colour; a characteristic that gave birth to the name ‘Cyanotype’.

The ‘Cyanotype’ gained popularity through its simplicity and economical nature and although he created this process, Herschel never applied it to photography, using this photogram style process 
primarily for research purposes, duplicating notes, diagrams and blueprints.

Cyanotype of Algae - Anna Atkins 1843

In later years, Herschel coined the terms ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ in relation to photography and also conducted experiments on platinum process and colour reproduction, however, possibly the most significant influence Hershel had on the history of photography came when he discovered ‘sodium thiosulfate’ to be a solvent of silver halides and therefore, could be used as a photographic fixer.

This innovative research was read at London’s Royal Society and Herschel passed on said information to two men who pioneered early commercial photographic processing; William Henry Fox Talbot and Louis Daguerre.

Louis Daguerre

William Henry Fox Talbot

In 1840, William Henry Fox Talbot of England and Louis Daguerre of France almost independently announced their photographic process discoveries. Unbeknownst to either party, both men had been experimenting with largely differing photographic processes, that at the time, were in close competition with one and other to become the first widely used commercial photographic process. Daguerre’s process was superior in its day, however, the future belonged to Talbot’s technology and aspects of his process resemble film techniques that are still used today.

A Daguerreotype that is widely recognised as the worlds first
photograph of a human being - Louis Daguerre 1838

Daguerre’s process; the ‘Daguerreotype’, exposed images on a silvered copper plate, not unlike that of his short-term colleague Joseph Nicéphore Niépce. Talbot’s ‘Calotype’ process created a negative image from which multiple positive images could be printed.

When released to the public, the ‘Daguerreotype’ had some benefits over it’s rival British technique. The advantage of having a much sharper image recreation, and the fact that Daguerre was able to release his process to the public for free, resulted in the ‘Daguerreotype’ gaining precedence as a commercial photographic method.

The ‘Daguerreotype’, however, did have serious limitations. The reflective nature of the silvered positive images meant photographs could only be viewed well from certain angles. The process also could only produce one-of-a-kind images that did not permit duplication. These factors, along with the discovery that due to the presence of mercury in the development, many of those to use the process began to fall ill and die, contributed to the demise of the commercial ‘Daguerreotype’.

Calotype of Chain Bridge, Newhaven - 1841

The public began to move away from the 'Daguerrotype' process, especially in the United Kingdom and Europe, and replace it with Talbot's 'Calotype'. Primarily due to the inexpensive nature of the process; the 'Calotype' became widely used until wet plate processes were discovered in the late 19th century

The ‘Daguerreotype’ process preceded contemporary ‘Tintype’ and ‘Ambrotype’ plate processes and although it was a prominent photographic process for over 15 years after photography’s invention, it was Talbot’s ‘Calotype’ – duplicate images printed from a negative – that became the basis for 20^th century photography.