Photographs
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photographs is a technique allowing to fix an image in a permanent way on a significant surface, using the light and objects which reflect it. It more generally indicates the branch of graphic arts who uses this technique as means.
Synopsis |
Photography, a technique
Since its invention there is nearly 170 years, photography knew to benefit from many innovations technological and techniques in the fields ofoptics, chemistry, mechanics, electricity, electronics and ofdata processing.
Invention
The two phenomena necessary to obtaining photographic images were for certain known for a long time. Since Aristote, one could put reality out of box: it is enough to bore a "small hole" (pinhole) in one darkroom (camera will obscura) to see appearing an image reversed in the white zone of the box. In addition, the alchemists knew that the light blackened it cerargyrite. On its side John Herschel in 1819 described the properties ofsodium hyposulphite who will become it fixer.
Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, an inventor of province, associate these three processes to fix images (of average quality) on plates oftin covered with bituminize from Judaea, left natural tar which has the property to harden with the light (1826 or 1827): the first photography represents a wing of its property with Saint-Loup-de-Varennes (Saone-et-Loire). If one looks at this image well, his particular lighting is noticed. Indeed, the installation lasted several hours. The sun lit the wall of right-hand side then that of left later in the course of the day.
Nicéphore dies in 1833 and Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre the improvement of the process continues. By discovering the principle of the development oflatent image, Daguerre finds the means of shortening the exposure time to a few tens of minutes. In 1839, It promotes its invention near the scientist and deputy François Arago, who grants his support to him.
Thus, the official date of the invention of photography is 1839, date to which Arago presents toAcademy of Science the "invention" of Daguerre, daguerreotype, who is in fact an improvement of that of Niépce. French state acquires against one life annuity annual of 6000 franks with Daguerre and 4000 franks with Isidore Niépce, the son of Nicéphore, then makes "gift in the world of it".
Thanks to the daguerreotype, one obtains images after "only" half an hour of installation (when the sky is released perfectly). This slowness poses some problems: streets of Paris, even at a rush hour appear completely empty. But what imports, photography was invented!
Evolution
Thereafter, photography evolves/moves very quickly. Indeed, the result of research being acquired by the French State, each one can improve it.
Progress follows three directions:
- reduction of the exposure time by increase
- speed of significant surfaces
- luminosity of the objectives
- improvement of the stability of pulling
- simplification of the use, thanks to the invention:
- increasingly light and less and less expensive apparatuses
- stable preparations avoiding chemical handling
- introduction of data processing with the digitalization of the image, said numerical photograph
Invention of the negative one
William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-1877) undertakes research parallel with those of Niépce and Daguerre from 1833. In 1840, it invents it " calotype ", negative-positive process which allows the multiple diffusion of the images.
Other research follows, who gradually allow to improve quality of the images, sensitivity of significant surfaces, and to simplify the procedure of catch of sight: 1847 " process with albumin "(Abel Niépce de Saint-Victor, cousin of Nicéphore), 1850 "proceeded to wet collodion" and 1851 " ambrotypie "(Frederick Scott Archer), 1852 " ferrotype "(Adolphe-Alexandre Martin).
Felix Tournachon more known under the name of Nadar in fact a commercial use. It carries out portraits of the personalities of the time, and in 1858 it realizes with Beavers the first air photography, taking a sight of Paris since an airship.
Invention of flexible film
The first stereotypes (black and white or autochrome plates) were carried out on glass plates, relatively cumbersome, doors and fragile. In 1884, George Eastman develops flexible significant surfaces. The film in celluloid, allowing to store several images in the store of the camera, supplant the glass plate then. The reduction in the size of the apparatuses facilitates the practice of the catch of sight in (almost) all places and all circumstances.
Invention of photography colors
Charles Cros and Louis Ducos of Hauron present the same day at the "French Company of Photography", the principle of indirect photography colors in subtractive three-colour process in 1869.
An important stage was then the first truly practical process of photography colors, " autochrome plate ", invented by brothers Louis and Auguste Lumière in 1903 and marketed from 1907.
The film 35 mm and apparatuses of small size
In 1913, Oskar Barnack the first prototype built of Leica, who was marketed from 1925 and was the first of the apparatuses using the format 24×36, who remained most current until the end of the XXE century.
See on this subject: History of photography
Invention of the instantaneous photograph
Towards 1948, the doctor Edwin Land the first instant camera develops, Polaroid, and in 1962, it adapts this process to the color.
Between the years 1935 and 1970, the majority of the adventurers used the camera 8 mm RibaldBolex H16.
Numerical photography
Techniques data processing allow to transform an image into a series of points, pixels, whose characteristics are codified with numbers, what makes it possible to rebuild it on a data-processing peripheral. The difficulty of this technology, who marks a complete rupture with the initial physicochemical processes, is located in the design of sensors electronic of the image which replaces film. The definition of these sensors, the number of pixels of an image that they are able to analyze, evolve/move very quickly. On the marketed apparatuses they reach in 2005 up to 39 million pixels for the apparatuses format means and allow to obtain an image of quality for a size of approximately half of square meter. As for the old techniques, this quality also depends on the optics of the objective and the mechanics of the case.
Uses of photography
As of its invention, the use of photography is closely related to the evolution of its technique. It thus became the first really popular art.
An objective technique
Photography inaugurates a new era in the representation: one is now able to have an "objective" representation of reality. I.e. the man does not represent any more reality such as it sees it and such as it can it but it is the reality which impresses, "only", the support. Thus photography quickly finds its use in the report, in anthropometry, invented by Alphonse Bertillon. There is the ambition to carry out one inventory of the world.
We know however today that this objectivity has its limits. Already silver photography made it possible to disguise reality, to add or cut off from the elements from an image by a patient work from laboratory. But with the advent of numerical photography, these fakings which were before accessible only to experts, become almost with the range of all. Moreover, one is really able to represent the world objectively, since each one has of it a vision which is clean for him?
Influence on painting
Until the use of photography, it is the painting which had as a role the representation of reality. The painters were pulled about between the need for a representation faithful to reality and the desire to embellish their tables to make them more attractive. With the arrival of the photograph, painting could be released from its role of witness of reality and become an artistic means of expression.
A popular art
Photography also inaugurated a time when almost everyone could have its portrait or representations of objects or places which remained held for an economic elite up to that point, when it was necessary to ask one painter to carry out an image. That resulted initially in certain photographs which approached much the painted portrait most traditional.
But the realization of photography was also quickly diffused. And today, almost everyone has easily access to the capacity of " to take a photograph ". The representation of the world in was transformed and the sociologists do not fail to study the practices and the results of this popular photography. Let us think only of the tourists Japanese, the camera always in shoulder-belt, or with our shoe boxes full with old photographs of family.
This very favorable environment thus makes it possible to speak about "popular art" by the possibility thus offered to general public to have the forms of this art and to produce the artifacts of them.
The sixth art
Photography is average a technique and mechanics to reproduce moments, objects or people of chart. But photography is also a more or less abstract means of expression, carrying the signature of its author, photographer, and whose objectivity is equivalent to any?uvre artistic. Locked up a long time in the imitation of painting (picturalism, navy, portraits...), photography found its own way artistic with the appearance of surrealism...
Quotations
- If your photography is not good, it is that you were not rather near. Robert Wrapped.
- Wrapped said that if the photograph is not good, it is that one is not rather near. Me, I think that if the photograph is not good, it is that one is too near. The distance makes it possible to widen the point of view. David Burnett
- A photograph, it is a cardiac arrest of a split second. Pierre Movila
- Photography is a short complicity between the precaution and the chance. John Stuart Mill.
- How of people wanted to commit suicide and were satisfied to tear their photography! Jules Fox
- A theory does not resemble one fact more that a photograph does not resemble its model. Edgar Watson Howe
- Photography acquires a little the dignity which it misses, when it ceases being a reproduction of reality and shows us things which do not exist any more. Marcel Proust
Large photographers
To find lists of photographers, to defer you to the side stringcourse in top on the right of this article, or click here.
See too
- Objective
- History of photography
- Lomography
- Air photography
- Trekearth
- Numerical photography
- Underwater photography
- Photo agency
- Photographs for the beginners
- Average format photographs
- Some words to smile
- (in the course of drafting)
External bonds
- Photo B@R - a site for the impassioned photographers! with Wiki of photography
- Galleries of several thousands of photographers throughout the world
- Forum-photo, forum intended for the impassioned photo hobbyists
- Gallery of photography of fauna
- Photographic topicality
- Photo directory of the largest international photographers
- Pixelvalley -- Any knowledge on the numerical photograph
- Free courses on photography
- Absolut-photo: All on the numerical photograph...
- Photophilic: Magazine of photography
- Macro photography
- Photographs black and white
- Photo studio located at the Paris doors
- Photoclub of Paris-Valley-of-Bievre - Paris XIVe, organizer of the Fair to the photograph of Beavers
- Toulouse association of photographers, exchanges of knowledge and techniques around the topic of the photograph and organization of teaching exits
- Portrait of the life in Geneva
- Megapixel: Webzine on the numerical photograph
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