Lesson 1 • Intro to the photograph

Lesson 1 • Intro to the photograph

1. Blyth Academy • Term 3
Mr. Sargento AWQ3M/4M
Photography

2. Today, I will learn…
Brief history of the photograph
Daguerreotypes
Film (Kodak)
Learning Goals

3. Weekly
Photo Journals
Every Friday, you will post a photo journal to your blog consisting of…
Five of your favourite photographs you took (“made”) that week
A short artist’s critique for each photo
Submit the direct link to the post via Edmodo
10% of final grade

4. Thoughts?
What do you think it means…
You don’t take a photograph, you “make” a photograph

5. “Making” Photographs
The ways in which we’ve “made” photographs over the past two
centuries, has changed drastically,
Let’s a take a brief look at some major developments…

6. A Brief History of the Photograph

7. What is Photography?
The word “photograph” was coined by Sir. John Herschel in 1839.
He combined the Greek words photos (light) and graphe (drawing).
Photograph literally means “drawing with light”

8. Joseph Nicéphore Niépce
The inventor of still photography was a French inventor
Joseph Nicéphore Niépce (knee-eps)
This is his first known photograph using a camera obscura,
and also regarded as the first still photograph…

9. ‘View from the Window at Le Gras’ (1826-27)
Joseph Nicéphore Niépce

10. It’s in the Chemicals…
Originally, photographs were made by using chemicals that
reacted with light to burn images on to pieces of
silver/copper.
Niépce used a chemical called bitumen (be-tyou-min).
Another French inventor named Louis Daguerre built on
Niépce’s work and started using silver nitrate and mercury to
capture images.
These were called Daguerreotypes and became very popular.
This is Louis Daguerre’s first ever picture of a person…
Bitumen
Louis Daguerre

11. ‘Boulevard du Temple’ (1838)
Louis Daguerre

12. The first “Where’s Waldo”
It took ten minutes to capture this image
This busy street looks empty because the
traffic was moving too fast to be captured.
It also means this dude was standing there
with his leg up for an unusually long
time :S

13. Basic Concept
Light would come into the camera through a lens, which would direct the light towards
the chemical covered plate
Light
LensPlate

14. Daguerreotypes
Posing for a Daguerreotype was a long
difficult process
Subjects had to stay completely still or the
image would be blurry
Many rich and famous people had
Daguerreotypes done in the 1800s.
Lets check some out!

15. Edgar Allan Poe, 1848
Poet/Writer

16. Abraham Lincoln, 1848
Former P.U.S.A.

17. Eventually, through decline in costs, common people
also had Daguerreotypes done
And, they’re all creepy…

21. Film
In 1884 George Eastman, developed dry gel on
paper, or film, to replace the photographic
plate
A photographer no longer needed to carry
boxes of plates and toxic chemicals around.
In July 1888 Eastman's camera went on the
market with the slogan “You press the button,
we do the rest.”
Today, it still uses the same brand name of
Kodak

22. Photography for the Masses!
Now anyone could take a photograph
and leave the complex parts of the
process to others
Photography became available for the
mass-market in 1901 with the
introduction of the Kodak Brownie

23. Early Timeline
1827
Joseph Niépce
First still photograph
‘View from the Window at Le Gras’
1838
Louis Daguerre &
Daguerreotypes
‘Boulevard du Temple’
1884
George Eastman
Invents film (Kodak)
1901
Kodak Brownie
Personal camera

24. So… What do we take photographs of?
People (Portraits)
Landscape
Architecture
Important moments
Wildlife (and pets)
Editorial / “Time Life”

25. A Moment Preserved
Photography can be used…
To capture an important historical moment
To express the culture of a time or place
To show a shocking moment
Report the news
To document a group of people
To document everyday life

26. ‘Victory over Japan Day in Times Square’, 1945

27. ‘Lunch Atop a Skyscraper’, 1932

28. ‘Burning Monk’, 1963

29. ‘Vietnam War’, 1968

30. The Search for Beauty
Photos are more than just historical documents, they
are also a form of ART
Photography can be…
Used to find beauty in nature
Used to capture movement (visible time)
Used to capture things the human eye can not
see
Manipulated to create interesting and artistic
images

31. An original Sargento!
Cambridge, UK • 2014Hrg t D.t
rfAS/to.3s4t
WQtfhea.lQ4V
What two
things could
be improved?

36. Manipulated Photos

42. Digital Camera (dSLR or Prosumer) +
SD Card (8 GB +)
Required Tools

43. URL: first initial + last name (i.e. msargento.tumblr.com)
If unavailable, add course course (i.e. msargentoAWQ3M4M.tumblr.com)
Title: Full name
Description: Photography - Digital Portfolio
Pages/Sections:
We will add throughout the term...
Setup ISP Digital Portfolio

44. Use one of the following websites to find a photograph that interests you...
500px
Flickr
Write a short, 1/2 page reflection on why you think your chosen
photograph is an example of “good” photography...
Colour
Framing (Composition)
What’s in the frame? Left out of the frame?
Activity:
What makes a good photograph?

45. To Do
Sign up for Edmodo
Sign up for Remind
Complete & submit Facebook Profile PowerPoint (Edmodo)
Setup ISP blog
Reflection #1 – “What makes a ‘good’ photograph”?
Bring cameras tomorrow!!!!