History

History

Q1. Who is Louis Daguerre and why is he so special?  How did he become independently wealthy?

A1.

 Louis Daguerre was a painter and photographer that lived during the 18^th and 19^th century (1787-1851). Daguerre was famous for inventing the daguerreotype, which was a process of photography. He became wealthy because his photography process that he invented was the first photographic process for the widespread public. 

Q2. What types of photos did people take when photography was first invented?  What were some of the difficulties they had to endure?

A2.

 When photography was first invented, many scenes of landscapes were captured. Pictures of cities and fields were common. Also, a common subject in early photos were people. Self portraits and still photos were common. To complete a photograph, it would take many days to create exposure as well as the images were crude and hard to see details.

Q3. Name three different types of early photographs. What did they look like?  Why were they called what they were called?

A3.

One of the first photography types was the daguerreotype. In this process, you would only need a few minutes of exposure to get a clear and detailed photo. These pictures were usually self portraits and in black and white. The daguerreotype process was named this because it was the last name of the inventor of the process, Louis Daguerre. Another process, made by William Henry Fox Talbot, was called the calotype or talbotype. This type of photography would use paper coated with silver iodide.  These pictures in general, were brown were the darker hues were and the lighter parts of the photograph were a lighter shade of brown. Calotype was named this because the word comes from the Greek word Kalos, which means beautiful, and Tupos, which means impression. They got the word talbotype from the inventor’s last name. Another early photography process was the tintype process, also called melainotype or ferrotype. These photographs were made by creating a direct positive on a sheet of iron that was covered in a dark lacquer of enamel. These photographs usually would portray people in black and white details. It was names tintype because of the material use to create these photographs.   

Q4. What is a Kodak Brownie.  How did it work?  What made it so popular?  Can you buy one today?

A4.

The Brownie was a simple and cheap series of cameras that was invented by Eastman Kodak. This camera worked by using a simple meniscus lens in a cardboard box.  It was so popular because it was cheap and easy to use. Anyone could afford and use it.  You can buy them today as vintage and for a much higher price than it was.

Q5. Who were the Dadaists?  What was their photographic work like? Why are they considered "important" in the history of photography?

A5.

The Dadaist was a series of people who would create poetry, visual arts, literature, art manifestos, art theories, theatre and graphic design that would show anti-war works. The photography would include abstract pieces and cultural topics. These photographs were important in the history of photography because influenced later styles of photography.