Clik here to view.
A Trend Altered
The once-popular carte de visites were eventually replaced by similar, but larger cabinet cards. They generally measured about 6.5 x 4.25 inches and carried the photographer’s imprint at the back....
View ArticlePhotography Contests and their Benefits
Do photographers benefit from taking part in photography contests, especially ones that charge a fee for submissions? Answer by: Raj Lalwani, Photographer Photographers benefit from photographing. Any...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Jacob Riis
He is considered a pioneer in the use of photography as a medium for social reform. Through a series of reports he did for the New York Tribune, Riis explored the slum conditions in the Lower East...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Popular Printing Process
In 1874, Silver gelatin paper became commercially available. Its usage became commonplace by the 1890s, making it the most popular black and white photographic print process in the 20th century.
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Horse in Motion
In 1872, the Governor of California, Leland Stanford, approached Edweard Muybridge to help settle a popular debate at the time—whether, during a gallop, a horse lifted all four of its legs off the...
View ArticleHow to Overcome a Photography Block?
There are weeks on end when I don’t feel like picking up my camera. How do I get over this mental block over photography? Answer by: Chirodeep Chaudhuri, Photographer Just because you are a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Radical Idea
LIFE had originally been a general interest magazine founded in 1883. In 1936, Henry Luce bought the rights for its name for his company, Time Inc. Luce was insistent on starting a news magazine with...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Passage de Venus
French astronomer Pierre Jules Cesar Janssen developed a ‘revolver’ that could make 48 exposures in 72 seconds. This device managed to record the transit of Venus around the sun.
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Study of Movement
Étienne-Jules Marey may not be the first name that comes to mind when we discuss locomotion, but he made significant contributions to its study. A physiologist and doctor, Marey found himself...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Postcards of Grief
Photograph/Fridtjof Nansen; Image Source: Wikimedia Commons This photograph of two brothers was a part of a set of 9–10 picture postcards published by Rotogravure SA, a Swiss printing press and showed...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Snowflake Bentley
At 15, Wilson Bentley would study snowflakes under a microscope and then laboriously illustrate them. He eventually began using a bellows camera, and after much trial and error, he managed to make the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Modern Mugshot
While photographing criminals had become commonplace by the 1840s, the lack of a standardised identification procedure for criminals led to a surge in crime in Paris during the 1800s. This drove...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Advent of Amateur Photography
The launch of Eastman Kodak’s first camera brought forth the dawn of amateur photography. Before its launch, the process of capturing and processing images was far too ardous. The box camera made round...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Meeting of Minds
Photograph by: Benjamin Couprie Image Source: Wikimedia Commons Arguably, no other image comes close to earning the title of the ‘Most Intelligent Photograph’ in the world. The group seen in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Modernist Photography
As a student of Lewis Hine, Paul Strand had visited the 291 art gallery operated by Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Steichen. There, he found inspiration in modernist photography, sculpture and paintings....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Photographie Sous Marine
Louis Marie Auguste Boutan was a marine biologist from Versailles. He took the help of his brother and a lab technician to develop their first underwater camera in 1893. It used dry glass photographic...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Brownies for Everyone!
The Brownie by Kodak was a simple cardboard box camera, housing an elementary meniscus lens. It contained a 117 roll film and took 2.25-inch square pictures. The first Kodak camera, priced at USD 25,...
View ArticleImportance of Colour Cards
How important is a colour card while shooting still life? Isn’t it simpler to adjust colours in post-processing? Answer by: Girish Mistry, Photographer and Dean, Shari Academy There are many variables...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The First Streaks of Light
Image Source: www.lightpaintingphotography.com Photographs of light trails have always enthralled and fascinated people. But then, have you ever wondered how this technique first came about? Unlike...
View ArticleClik here to view.
When Panoramic Photography Became Accessible
After the advent of photography in 1839, people were eager to share the landscapes and overviews of cities around them. Early panoramas, which date as far back as 1845, were created by arranging two or...
View Article