Photography as an artistic medium emerged first during the 19th century. But mediums of photography- the cameras had existed since the 5th century BCE. Scholars studied optics and light since ancient times and created image projectors like cameras. Although they couldn’t capture photographs, these inventions laid the groundwork for developing traditional photography in the 19th century and AI Images in the 2000s.
The Age Of Analogue Photography
Long before people found a way to infuse color into their photographs or produce AI Images, they portrayed the world through a monochrome palette: black and white. Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, while experimenting with a camera obscura and bitumen-covered plates, discovered a way to record light and captured ‘View from the Window – Le Gras,’ the oldest image. This resulted in the debut of photography during the mid-1820s.
1820 To 1840
Louis Daguerre developed Daguerreotype images. He exposed light-sensitive plates in a camera and chemically treated them. This allowed humans to be photographed, as evidenced by his ‘Boulevard du Temple, Paris’ from 1838. The following year Hippolyte Bayard started the use of paper instead of plates. John Herschell’s chemical discovery of performing photographic fix baths occurred in 1839. William Henry Fox Talbot introduced the calotype procedure (Darkroom Photography) in 1841 to make paper negatives of photos. Photojournalism emerged during the 1840s.
1840 And Onward
Fizeau made portraiture famous with his contribution to photography. Soon after, Abel Niépce de Saint-Victor replaced the paper with glass in 1847. The classic tintype picture trend emerged during the Victorian age and was popularised by William Kloen and Hamilton Smith.
One of the first instances of color-touching greyscale photographs was in the 1860s. Thomas Sutton accomplished this by implementing the science of James Clerk Maxwell’s color wheel. French inventor Louis Arthur Ducos du Hauron also achieved the feat around the same time. In 1871, Richard Leach Maddox used gelatin to develop a more simple and favourable photography method. Then George Eastman created flexible roll films and the first Kodak Camera, making photography accessible for non-professionals.
Technological advancements like shutters and light measuring meters were introduced as the end of that period neared. Kodachrome and Afgacolour pioneered color films in the 1930s. There was a shift towards making the camera body and its inner mechanism more compact and simple.
The Age Of Digital Photography
With the advent of videotape recorders in the 1950s, digital photography, which has been around for roughly 20 years, was first introduced. Russell A. Kirsch produced the first digital image in 1952 by utilizing a drum scanner that could detect light and dark in an image. Because scientists created basic digital cameras that could be sent into orbit by satellite, the development of digital photography was intimately tied to the Space Race.
The Rise Of CCD Chips
CCD chips for use in video cameras were created in 1969 by Bell Laboratories’ Willard Boyle and George Smith. By 1975, broadcast television could use the first CCD cameras. Steven Sasson of Eastman Kodak created the first real digital camera in December 1975, utilizing CCD chips.
The Era Of Fuji & Kodak
With the introduction of cameras such as the Fuji DS-1P, Kodak DCS100, and Logitech Fotoman, digital camera technology advanced further throughout the 1980s and 90s. Despite its exorbitant cost and poor quality, the Fotoman was the first digital camera to be sold commercially. The 1991 DCS100 was designed to make taking pictures on-the-go easier. It was based on a Nikon F3 with a digital back that downloaded images to a large, 200 MB storage unit with a 1.3 MOS sensor.
In today’s world, digital cameras are found in a wide range of gadgets, such as DSLRs, point-and-shoots, phones, laptops, and more. Since cameras such as the DCS100, DS-1P, and Fotoman became widely available to photographers in 1957, the digital era paved the way for technological development, like the generation of AI Images in the next century.
The Age Of AI Images
Presently, AI has permeated almost every aspect of human life. Its influence is also prevalent in the field of photography. AI software now goes beyond the limits of traditional photography by enhancing picture quality and producing clean, highly detailed images. AI-operated systems can also automatically identify and categorize images and edit them. Some models also aid in photo composition by providing feedback.
Artificial intelligence is now challenging human creativity and man-made art. It has displayed the ability to modify photos and generate images. AI Images can even triumph over real-life photos with their uncanny semblances to the same.
In the 21st century, photography underwent a tremendous transformation under AI. From helping photographers with processing images to assisting them with videos – background removal, noise reduction, and style transfer, AI can do it all. Making it possible for anyone to produce high-quality images. Also, AI helps streamline repetitive processes – photo selection, cropping, and minimal editing allowing shutterbugs to zero in on shooting images. AI lends versatility to photography regarding its aspect, which would have been impossible to achieve with the conventional photo method.
Monumental changes in the photography sector have resulted from the refining and accessibility of artificial intelligence software that generates AI Images. Professionals in the field are struggling to establish themselves and their art in the face of being overpowered by the advancement of technologies.
Photography is one of the breakthroughs of human inventions. Its innovative journey stretches over two centuries, beginning with greyscale images and AI Images.
