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Tag: photography

  • Major Events in Film History

    Major Events in Film History

    If we go to the cinema to relax without thinking too much about its inner workings, it remains the result of an incredible technological evolution marked by groundbreaking firsts.

    Kinetograph: The First Camera

    The camera is arguably the most iconic tool of the film industry, and it has undergone numerous transformations. The first was the Kinetograph, invented in 1891 by Thomas Edison and William Dickson, based on the work of Étienne-Jules Marey, who had designed an instrument to study the flight of birds. The Kinetograph used 35-millimeter celluloid film perforated on both sides—also invented by Edison—and the moving image had to be viewed inside a wooden box through a peephole called the Kinetoscope.

    Invention of Film

    A camera needs a recording medium—this is where film comes in, another major symbol of cinema. It was invented in 1888 by John Carbutt and commercialized the following year by George Eastman. He developed nitrate-based film coated with a gelatin emulsion containing silver halide crystals, which reacted to light to capture images. Initially 35 millimeters wide, film later became available in 16 and then 8 millimeters, making amateur filmmaking possible.

    First Movie Screening: A Moment of Wonder

    L’arrivée d’un train en gare de La Ciotat (translated from French into English as The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station, Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat

    The first paid film screening took place in 1895 in the Indian Salon of the Grand Café in Paris. It was organized by the Lumière brothers, who were inspired by their father, who had witnessed the marvels of the Kinetograph in 1894. To modern audiences, these films may not seem like “movies” in the artistic sense, as they had no scripts or creative direction. However, Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat left the well-to-do spectators in awe.

    Where Was the First Movie Theater Built?

    The Indian Salon of the Grand Café, where the Lumière brothers’ film was shown, could be considered the first movie theater. However, this was a repurposed space, not originally designed for cinema. The first buildings dedicated to film screenings appeared in the early 20th century: Le Petit Journal in 1904, Cinéma-Théâtre in 1906… The Pathé cinema chain, known for its comfortable theaters, was also founded in 1906.

    First Sound Film

    The Jazz Singer

    Until this point, all films were silent. Music was played live by a musician or a phonograph to accompany the visuals.


    However, in 1927, The Jazz Singer, produced by the Warner brothers, became the first sound film. It contained only 354 spoken words, but this was a revolution in cinema history. The arrival of sound created a clear divide between the silent era and the new age of “talkies.”

    First Film Studio

    The concept of the “first film studio” depends on how one defines a studio. If we consider a studio as a dedicated space for filming, the title likely goes to Thomas Edison’s Black Maria, built in 1893 in New Jersey, USA. This tar-paper-covered wooden structure was the world’s first film production facility, designed to shoot short clips for Edison’s Kinetoscope.


    It featured a rotating base to follow sunlight, as artificial lighting was not yet advanced enough for indoor filming. The Black Maria primarily produced experimental clips, such as Fred Ott’s Sneeze (1894), as well as vaudeville acts and athletic demonstrations. However, it lacked narrative storytelling or special effects, focusing instead on technical novelty.

    Around the same time, the Lumière brothers in Lyon, France, were pioneering cinema in a different way. While they did not build a traditional studio, their workshop became the birthplace of the Cinématographe, a device that could capture, project, and print films.


    The Lumière brothers are best known for hosting the first public film screening on December 28, 1895, in Paris. Their films, such as Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory and The Arrival of a Train, were documentary-style “actualités” shot outdoors or in factory settings. Though groundbreaking, their work did not involve a controlled studio environment.

    The first modern film studio, designed specifically for narrative filmmaking and special effects, was built by Georges Méliès in 1897 in Montreuil, France. Méliès, a master illusionist, transformed his family estate into a glass-roofed facility with artificial lighting, trapdoors, and painted backdrops. This studio allowed him to control lighting and weather conditions, enabling the creation of fantastical films like A Trip to the Moon (1902). Méliès pioneered techniques such as stop-motion, double exposure, and hand-painted color, establishing cinema as a storytelling medium and inspiring future filmmakers.

    While Edison’s Black Maria and the Lumière brothers’ workshop laid the technical and commercial foundations of cinema, Méliès’ studio marked the transition of film into an art form. Other early studios, such as Robert Paul’s in London (1898) and Nordisk Film in Denmark (1906), further expanded the industry by experimenting with special effects and producing large-scale narrative films.

  • George Eastman: The Kodak Era and Popular Photography

    George Eastman: The Kodak Era and Popular Photography

    George Eastman and the legacy he left for the world. Only a few professionals and enthusiastic amateurs were interested in photography in its first fifty years. It was expensive, time-consuming, cumbersome, and demanding expertise. All these adversities changed in 1888 when the American inventor George Eastman introduced a machine that was both cheap and convenient.

    Who Was George Eastman?

    George Eastman was born on a small farm in New York. When he was 5, his family moved to Rochester. George lost his father when he was 8 years old, and his family suffered a lot during that time. Eventually, George was forced to give up his education at the age of 13 and start to work. He was eager to learn and learned many things through his efforts.

    Eastman’s interest in photography started when he was planning a trip abroad while working as a bank clerk at the age of 24. When a colleague told him to record his trip, Eastman bought a camera. The machine consisted of a large, coarse box and was attached to a heavy tripod. Inside the box were individual glass plates, which were placed in large plate slots and covered with photosensitive emulsion instead of film. The plates had to be prepared for outdoor shots in a portable tent that served as a darkroom.

    In 1878, George Eastman learned about “dry plates,” invented in 1871 by British photographer Richard Leach Maddox. The emulsion was coated on the plates with gelatin. These plates could be stored and used at any time. Thus, the majority of the equipment Eastman purchased was unnecessarily large. While Eastman continued to work at the bank, he devoted all his free time to finding the most competent method of producing dry plates in series.

    In 1880, he founded the Eastman Dry Plate Co. In 1881, he began to produce and sell dry plates and soon decided to use a lighter, more flexible material instead of glass. In 1884, he considered rolling the flexible plate. Accordingly, the machine would have a rolling slot instead of a plate slot. The first device, known as a “detective camera” using a film roll, appeared in 1885. The roll was made of paper, and this method did not produce the desired result because the fibers in the paper were visible in printing.

    George Eastman: “You press the button, we do the rest”

    1440px Film strip
    35 mm roll films took over the market since 1925, when it was used for still photography. This continued until the advent of digital machines in the 1990s. Image: Bart Everson.

    In the meantime, other researchers were working on flexible and dry plates too. Some researchers have been experimenting with nitrocellulose, also known as celluloid. Eastman launched celluloid film in 1889.

    Eastman’s genius move showed that he had to expand the photography market to succeed. The way to do this was to make photography, in his own words, “as convenient as the pencil.” He had to develop a new, smaller, and reasonably priced machine. In 1888, the first Kodak machine was introduced and soon achieved great success.

    The camera is equipped with a roll that can store up to 100 photos. Once the camera owner took the photos, all he had to do was send the camera to Eastman’s company, wait for the photos to come out, and take it back with a new film. The main factor in Kodak’s success has been taking photography to a level that everyone can reach. Eastman’s short statement suited the situation: “You press the button, we do the rest.”

    Later, George Eastman renamed the corporation Eastman Kodak and dominated the market by offering “cheap photography.” He was never married and never had children. He assisted universities, hospitals, and dentistry clinics as a significant benefactor. He had been suffering from a deteriorating bone ailment for the last two years. He took his own life in 1932 by shooting himself in the heart. “My work is done, why wait?” he said in his suicide note.

    Brownie Camera

    Kodak’s first camera with widespread demand had a retail price of $25. That was half the amount Eastman paid for his first camera. But it was still a high price for amateur photographers. In 1900, Eastman Kodak introduced a new, very cheap camera solution: the Brownie. Between 1900 and 1980, Eastman Kodak produced and sold 99 different Brownie models.

    The first Brownie Machine was a cardboard box with a roll holder, a roll of film, and a lens. Outside the box, there was a shutter and a winder. The world’s cheapest camera was sold for $1 (approximately $30 today). Thus, the “snapshot” era began. It was able to capture the moments without requiring any preparation.

    Quotes

    “Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography.”

    “What we do during our working hours determines what we have; what we do in our leisure hours determines what we are.”

    “You push the button, we do the rest.”

    “If a man has wealth, he has to make a choice, because there is the money heaping up. He can keep it together in a bunch, and then leave it for others to administer after he is dead. Or he can get it into action and have fun, while he is still alive. I prefer getting it into action and adapting it to human needs, and making the plan work.”

    “I used to think that music was like lace upon a garment, nice to have but not necessary. I have come to believe that music is absolutely essential to our community life.”

    “I don’t believe in men waiting until they are ready to die before using any of their money for helpful purposes.”

    References

    1. Ackerman, Carl W. (1930). George Eastman: Founder of Kodak and the Photography Business. Beard Books. ISBN 1-893-12299-9.
    2. Brayer, Elizabeth (1996). George Eastman: A Biography. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0801852633.
    3. “The Wizard of Photography”. PBS.
    4. Collins, Douglas (1990). The Story of Kodak (1st ed.). New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. ISBN 9780810912229.
  • History of Photography and the Camera

    History of Photography and the Camera