Light, Magic, Chemicals - Photography and the emergence of the modern world

 In this lecture, the main discussion points were the history of photography and the processes used to enhance particular photographs.


We first need to define the terms 'history' and 'culture' and how they relate to photography.
History - continuous records of past events, or the study of past events. So photography can be part of history as a photograph can represent a certain time and place.
Culture - Intellectual and artistic achievement or expression, or customs and civilisations of a particular time and people. Photography can portray these cultures, or can be part of universal culture in every day life.


According to Steve Bezencanet: "We are locked into a limited and traditional perception of a medium developing from one master to another, marginally influenced by technical factors and with a minimal relation to anything else: the key point of analysis being the individual photograph…
(Stevie Bezencanet, „What a History of Photography‟, Creative Camera, April 1982).
I interpret this to mean that Bezencanet believed a photographer isn't as original as they first thought, that they only reproduce images from other photographers without bringing much to it themselves. I feel this statement is very pessimistic because photography should be seen as a creative outlet that is different for every photographer.

Joseph Nicephore Niepce, View from his window at Le Gras, c1827

This image is known as the first photograph to be made, created by Joseph Nicephore Niepce. It is a heliograph, with direct bitumen positive on a pewter plate.

Alternative Processes

Dageurretype - A silver plate process. Method = coat a silver plate, add iodine vapour, which forms silver iodide. Expose to light, which forms a latent image (cant see but can be developed). It is then developed in mercury vapour and fixed in sodium thiosulphate. A dageurretype produces a sharp, dark image, but cant be reproduced.

Calotype -  Fox Talbot created this negative / positive process. Method = coat paper with silver nitrate and silver iodide. Dry and expose to light. The latent image is developed in gallo nitrate of silver and fixed in hypo. The texture of the paper can be seen on calotypes.

Cyanotype - Ferric based not silver based process. Method = coat paper with an ammonium iron and potassium ferricyanide solution. Expose to natural or ultraviolet light which, when rinsed, produces a high blue image when oxidised.