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Washington Evening Journal
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Henry County Heritage Trust offers 19th Century Photography Program
David Van Allen and Haven Noble presented a very interesting overview of the history of photography. The emphasis was mainly on the 19th century. Several tables were filled with samples of daguerreotypes, tintypes, photos and photographic equipment. The history of photography actually dates from the fifth century B.C.E. to 2024 C.E.
David and Haven presented roughly two centuries of photography. These two centuries were crowded with solving the chemical issues pertaining to fixing images, improving the time needed to produce an image, inventing diverse camera styles, producing multiple images, and the strategies developed for commercial success. It was no small task to present all this in 1.5 hours. The many items on display helped. David showed many daguerreotypes from his collection. Haven’s cameras and demonstrations of early techniques in making photographic plates were amazing. David and Haven visited with members of the audience after the presentation. Everyone was pleased with the presentation but determined to find out more about this interesting technology.
It was surprising to hear how long ago this technology was proposed, described and used. During the fourth and fifth Centuries B.C.E. Chinese and Greek philosophers described the basic principles of optics and the camera. Ḥasan Ibn al-Haytham was a medieval mathematician, astronomer, and physicist of the Islamic Golden Age. He invented the camera obscura. He is referred to as "the father of modern optics."
David mentioned the use of the camera obscura and its importance in the history. In researching the derivation of the word “camera,” it was discovered that Hasan Ibn al-Hatham was the inventor of the camera obscura. Camera is derived from the Arabic word “Kumra” meaning room. Some sources claim the derivation of the word “camera” meaning vaulted room came from the Latin derivation of the Greek word “kamera” meaning vaulted chamber. More importantly, the camera obscura was used for centuries to view eclipses of the Sun without endangering the eyes.
By the 16th century it was used as an aid to draw. Artists such as da Vinci used the device to trace an image onto paper. Early inventors of cameras and photos were well aware that the image produced would be upside down and backward. All the centuries of knowledge were well used.
