Cameras are cool

Almost every person on the face of the Earth carries a camera everywhere they go.  I remember when the first cell phone camera came out.  I thought "well there's a dumb idea" which goes a long way towards explaining why I am not rich.  Who would have thought, just a few years ago, that the majority of all photos taken in the world today would be with a cell phone?  The digital "point and shoot" camera will soon be a thing of the past and with advances in camera phone technology, the same fate may await the consumer level DSLR for all but serious hobbyists.  Its always fun to take a look back at the history of photography and some of the tools of the trade.  Louis Daguerre was before my time and he deserves his own post, so I'll start with the type of camera that I, and a lot of America started with.  Even though I have taken photos with a view camera on glass plates (that's the kind of camera where the photographer stood behind the huge contraption, on a tripod, underneath a black cloth hood) those were mostly done by the time I got into photography as well.   

Yes, it's true, I started with a Kodak "Brownie" like most of my peers,  I recently shot some pictures of a friend's camera collection, and thought I would share the photos as a small walk down memory lane for all the people that ever took a picture and then had to wait with anticipation for the film to be developed.

Click on each image for a larger view

Kodak dominated the photography market for decades.  Almost anybody you talk to over the age of 50 will tell you that their first camera was a Kodak of some sort and usually one of the many Brownie iterations.  These cameras used roll film with a yellow paper backing and were iconic for decades.  The thing I remember most were the flashbulbs you had to use for indoor shots.  You tried your best to shoot everything outside because the bulbs were expensive, they cost more than the film, and if you forgot and popped a hot one into your hand, you would be living with a blister for a few days.

My next camera was a Kodak Instamatic, by this time the film was in drop-in cartridges, in color or black & white, and the smaller flashbulbs on the model above soon gave way to the "flashcube" which made indoor photography easier and cheaper.

The Polaroid camera, invented by Edwin Land changed the way amateurs all across the world took pictures.  If you could afford the film and flashbulbs, you could snap the picture, wait the required amount of time, peel off the backing and you had an instant photograph that would last forever, well maybe a few years if it was color film.  Most of the old Polaroid black and white photos,, however, are still looking good many decades later

The 35mm camera with its roll film revolutionized all aspects of photography.  Before this small lightweight camera, almost all professionals used view camera, medium format roll film, or cut sheet larger format.  I got my first 35mm SLR in about 1970.  It was made by the then very popular Kowa Co. of Japan.  Canon, Minolta, and Nikon had yet to become household names.

 This Kodak was before my time but I still think it's cool.  Makes you wonder and look forward to what is in store for photography in the next 100 years.



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