We reached out to professional photographer and host of the "History of Photography" podcast Jeff Curto to get some insight from an expert in the field. When asked what he loves most about photography, Jeff told us, "What I love most about photography - its ability to interpret, alter and enhance our perception of the world in a purely visual way. It's a universal language that allows everyone to communicate on an equal basis - what you see is what I see - no translation needed." We also asked him why learning photo history is important. "If someone wants to learn photography, learning about who came before them is critical," Jeff says. "The way I always put it is this: if you wanted to start to write novels, don't you think that reading as many novels as you can, learning the history of what constitutes a novel and how they are structured would be important? Why should it be different for photography?"

Lastly, when asked how photography enhances our understanding of history, Jeff told us that "photography records history". He went on to explain that, "As soon as the camera's shutter closes, the image recorded is in the past. We can only know the past with any degree of specificity if we have a photograph of it because the camera records each and every detail. Certainly the photographer can editorialize on the scene in question by choosing what to include and what to exclude, but the moment frozen in time is still that exact moment."

While enjoying all of these great historical images, let’s take some time to learn about the history of photography itself. According to an article on The Spruce Crafts written by Liz Masoner, a professional photographer and author, the “basic concept of photography has been around since about the 5th century B.C.E”. Back then, Liz explained, “cameras” could not quite record images, but they could project them onto other surfaces. The first camera obscura, “an optical device that creates an image by focusing rays of light onto a screen or sheet of paper”, used a pinhole in a tent to project images from outside into the dark tent. While they existed before, camera obscuras were not small enough to be portable until the 17th century. Liz mentions that “basic lenses to focus the light were also introduced” around the same time.

Photography as we know it today began in 1826 with the French inventor Joseph Nicéphore Niépce. Niépce created the first permanent photograph by using a portable camera obscura to “expose a pewter plate coated with bitumen to light”. Advancements in photography came rapidly in the following decades, with the daguerreotype, emulsion plates and dry plates being formed by the end of the 19th century. 

The daguerreotype was a forerunner of modern film but was replaced by emulsion plates, or wet plates, in the 1850’s. These were less expensive and required only 2-3 seconds of exposure time, but they became obsolete quickly as well, with the invention of dry plates. The new dry gelatine plates were as high quality as wet plates but could be stored, “rather than made as needed”. These were also a huge step forward in allowing for smaller, hand-held cameras. 

Photography was still an elite privilege until the 1880’s, when George Eastman started Kodak. Eastman invented a flexible roll film that no longer required photographers to constantly change the solid plates. He then went on to develop a small box camera, with one lens and no focusing adjustment, that could hold 100 film exposures. Photographers could take their own pictures then send the camera back to the factory to get their film developed and have photos printed. This was the first time cameras were accessible to the average person.  

Since then, photography has developed and adapted over time to capture cultural events and allow individuals to record their own milestones. In the 1930’s, Henri-Cartier Bresson and others began photographing “life as it occurred” rather than only staged portraits, and once World War II began, photojournalists ran with this style. A couple decades later, Polaroid released their Model 95, which blew the public’s minds by developing photos instantly. Polaroid has had a complicated history, reaching its peak in the 1960’s and 70’s, filing for bankruptcy twice between 2001 and 2009, then making a revival over the past few years, with a successful online store today.

After the peak of instant images, the digital age was soon approaching. But first, SLR-type cameras became all the rage after being made widely available in the 1950’s by the Japanese brands Pentax and Nikon. These cameras made image control much easier for photographers, with new accessories like interchangeable lenses. Then, in the late 70’s and early 80’s, “compact cameras that were capable of making image control decisions on their own were introduced”. “Point and shoot” cameras allowed amateur photographers to take pictures without having to worry about controlling the shutter speed, aperture and focus. Then finally, in the 80’s and 90’s, digital cameras became widely available, leading to the advanced cameras we know and love today.    

You might be wondering why photography is so important, but it has greatly impacted our lives in ways we don’t even realize. Federico Alegria, photographer and professor, explored this topic in his piece “How Photography Changed The World”. One point Alegria mentions is how “photography changes history” and “alters our perspective of the past”. Being able to broadcast events worldwide instantly allows our world to be more in sync, but having images of historical events also deepens our understanding of them. Having photos of our own lives is a great blessing as well, allowing us to better remember events and loved ones and enjoy the nostalgia of looking back whenever we want. 

Photography has also affected how we experience social events. Wedding photos are one of the most exciting aspects of many people’s big days, and holding onto family photos is an excellent way for us to connect with our heritage. We photograph the most exciting days of our lives, our children as they grow and our travels that we want to remember for years to come. Nowadays, we can share all of these images on social media for friends and family to see as well. While Instagram has probably given some too much confidence in their photography skills, it has made sharing images with loved ones extremely accessible (not to mention that many of us find it fun too!).

When it comes to pictures helping tell stories, photojournalism has become crucial to news sources in the past century. Modern photojournalism developed in Germany in 1925, followed by another German innovation: the photo magazine. But once Hitler began to gain power in Germany, many of these magazines were suppressed, and most of the editors ended up fleeing the country. By 1936, however, American magazine magnate Henry Luce launched Life Magazine in the US. Life became incredibly influential, especially during World War II, and photojournalism became an important way of documenting global events.    

Some regard the golden age of photojournalism as 1935-1975. For the first time in history, startling images of war and other historical events were widely available with captivating stories alongside them. Famous images from the years between the Great Depression and World War II live on in many people’s minds. One of the most iconic examples is “Migrant Mother from Nipomo”, a photograph taken by Dorothea Lange in California in 1936. The photo, featuring a mother with two of her children turning away from the camera, was taken during a project “commissioned by the Farm Security Administration in the pursuit of capturing the impact of the Great Depression on the American families”.