Mid-term Project

1. By: Jenna Costa

2. The Timeline Outline
The 9 important things that I feel have made a huge impact on
photojournalism are:
1. Wet Plate Collodion 1851
2. Dry Plate Collodion 1871
3. Roll Film 1888
4. Kodachrome Film 1935
5. First Digital Camera 1974
6. Satellite Technology
7. First Camera Phone 1990
8. Blogging
9. Wifi DSLR 2012

3. From the Start of the
Wet Plate Collodion
all the way to the
Wifi-Enabled DSLR

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src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gmJ
PCccix2Q" frameborder="0"
allowfullscreen></iframe>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmJPCccix2
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Just to put things in perspective

5. The Wet Plate Collodion process was a
stepping stone leading to the Dry Plate
process. It was the beginning of big changes
for photojournalism. This process required a
dark room to capture images and required a
long and dangerous process that included
cutting glass, and many chemicals. The photo
to the right is a sketch that shows the
equipment required for the process.
To put the steps in simple terms first you have
to:
1. Clean the Plate
2. Silver Nitrate Bath
3. Take the picture
4. Develop the photo
This type of camera wasn’t easily moved
around. “The popularity of the wet plate
process was short-lived” according to the
article by Joseph Smigiel, the wet plate wasn’t
very popular but is being brought back by
some art photographers. After developed, the
images were very detailed but the process
was so long that it made photojournalists job
Photo by: Quinn Jacobson
Image Source:
http://www.cpacphoto.org/classes/in
troduction-to-wet-plate-collodian-2/
Image Source:
https://web.stanford.edu/group/spatialh
istory/cgi-bin/hart/information.php

6. The Dry Plate process was much more popular than the
Wet Plate Collodion. Invented by Richard L. Maddox,
this process made taking a photo much easier and with
less equipment requirements. The dry plate process
allowed photographers to prepare the plates in advance
and develop them long after the photo was taken. In
1879 factory made dry plates were introduced. They
were made with gelatin and there was no longer a need
for a portable dark room when taking the photo.
This gave photojournalists more mobility. They did not
have to have vans to bring all of the equipment around
which made their jobs easier. Being able to develop
photos at a later time created much more opportunity for
photojournalists. When taking a photo, the dry plate
camera takes the light in so quickly that it gave
photojournalists the opportunity to have hand held
cameras.
Photo by: Unknown
Image Source:
https://sipyun1.wordpress.com/2011/04/

7. Roll Film was invented in 1888 by
George Eastman. He made the film
able to roll which brought on huge
opportunities for photojournalism. The
“material was flexible, unbreakable,
and could be rolled”. This product was
mass-produced and was used in a
box camera. The negatives would be
on the roll of film, and from there you
can see the images that have been
taken. After that they need to be
developed.
Photojournalists experienced a huge
change in their profession. This was a
big leap in technology. The camera
was now transportable so
photographers could really take
photos from many different
perspectives. This type of film was
carried out for so many years and
although it is dying out right now,
some people still use it today.

8. Kodachrome film was invented in 1935 but
was used for many years after. The
famous photo of the Afghan Girl was
taken in 1985, 30 years after Kodachrome
was invented. This was the first real
success at developing color photos. The
actual film was taken in black and white
but when it was developed, color was
added.
This type of film was the first that allowed
photojournalists and amateurs to use the
same camera and film. This was a little
expensive when it first came out but
eventually the price went down. This was
a convenient way to have photos
developed which was an advantage for
photojournalists. It also created a problem
because now regular people were taking
the same quality photos as
photojournalists were. Although other
people didn’t have the skills, with the
cameras being a lot smaller and the film
being easy to develop, many people
started taking photos.
Photo by: Steve McCurry
Image Source:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2002/04/afghan-
girl/original-story-text

9. Satellite Technology didn’t just effect
photojournalists, but effected the
whole world. The launch of Sputnik in
1957 by the Soviet Union. This lead
to leaps in developments for many
sectors of the world. Photojournalists
benefitted from the advances in
technology. This meant that photos
could be taken from a different angle
of the world and one photo taken
really stood out. The image of the
earth from outer space really
changed the perspective of the world.
Usually, satellite photos are taken by
government agencies.
Photojournalists had the opportunity
to use satellite technology to send
photos to where they needed to. This
involved big bulky machines that they
had to hook up to their cameras. With
this technology it allowed them to
send a photo instead of having to go
back to their work to get it printed out.
The drawback to this is that there was
heavy equipment and the
photojournalist taking the photo was
not able to move from one place to
Photo by: Apollo 8
Image Source:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2132664/You-
got-colour-film-Jim--Nasa-recording-reveals-astronauts-
fluffed-photo-planet-space.html

10. First Digital Camera
1975
The first digital camera was invented
in 1975. This camera was made by
Kodak and Steve Sasson. The photo
took 23 seconds to develop and was
taken with .01 megapixels. The
camera weighed 8 pounds, so it
wasn’t the easiest to move around.
Sasson said he created it with “a lens
that we took from a used parts bin
from the Super 8 movie camera
production line downstairs from our
little lab”. The camera was made with
a cassette and was read from the
cassette to a television. The digital
camera was not available to
consumers until 1990.
This was such a leap for
photojournalists to be able to see the
pictures on a T.V. screen right away.
Digital cameras have come such a
long way from this; but without this
digital camera there might not have
been the high-tech digital cameras
that we have today. Photojournalists
had the opportunity to see the photos
they took right away, not just the
negatives.
Image Source: http://www.journeyamerica.us/selecting-
your-first-digital-camera/

11. First Camera Phone 1990
Japan had the first camera phone in
1990. Samsung created this phone.
It was capable of taking 20 photos at
.35 megapixels. After this, phones
and cameras became so much more
mobile. Cell phones by themselves
was a huge leap in technology. When
a camera was added it became even
more advanced. I remember owning
my first camera phone when I was
around 13. At this time camera
phones had been out for a while but
they became popular to the consumer
a little before I had gotten mine.
For photojournalists, this was
something big. Cell phones are so
light-weight and even though they
aren’t the best quality,
photojournalists could take a photo
wherever they were and send it
almost anywhere. This also lead to
the smart phones that take decent
quality pictures and can be sent
anywhere. Many people who just take
photographs for fun can do all the
things that photojournalists do. This

12. Blogging 1994
Blogging has become so important when
it comes to photojournalism. It is a way
of expressing photos that do not get
published in the media. This created an
opportunity for everyday people to
express photos for others to see.
For photojournalists, there are many
advantages to this. Photojournalists
often work for some sort of company that
publishes photos. They usually only get
one or two photos published, and they
have taken so many quality photos that
they want to share with other people. A
blog is the perfect opportunity for that
and is a good way to show the world
quality images.
This can also be a way for people to
learn more about photography .
Everyday people can express their
photos on a blog which can sometimes
take away from the job of
photojournalists. Today, people take
some amazing photos with their digital
camera and often blog about them. It is
more of a hobby than a profession, but
blogging creates more opportunity for
amateurs. There are famous blogs like
Photo by: PebblePad
Image Source:
http://www.gre.ac.uk/offices/i
ls/cis/guides/pebblepad/why-
should-i-keep-a-blog
Photo By: Tumblrphotographyxox
Image Source: http://theetumblrfamous.tumblr.com/

13. Wifi DSLR 2012
The Wifi DSLR was one of the
biggest changes in history. The
DSLR now has Wifi built into it so the
photo can be sent through the
internet right after it’s taken.
This really takes transportable to a
new level. The cameras today are
not only small and light, but now the
photos can be sent right away.
Before this, photojournalists had to
have bulky equipment in order to
send their photo instantly. This
equipment would hold them down
and would only allow them to shoot
from one certain spot. Now, they can
be on the move and can send/ post
them whenever they want to. Again,
this can create a problem for
photojournalists because the
equipment is not expensive or hard
to use anymore. People who did not
study photojournalism can take
similar photographs to those who did.
Photo by: Briana R. Prince
Image Source: https://bree365.wordpress.com/category/camera-used/canon-dslr-eos-xsi/