History of photography (part 4):photography as a toolMarc LevoyComputer Science DepartmentStanford UniversityCS 178, Spring 2011! Marc LevoyOutline!the technology improves!popularization of photography!documenting the growth of America!gigantic undertakings (around the world)!the industrial aesthetic!scientific uses of photography!documenting the social scene!the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl!profile: photographers of the Farm Security Administration!still to come: photojournalism, modern art photography...2! Marc LevoyThe technology improves!1878!! dry-plate photography (Richard Maddox, Charles Bennett)•hardened gelatin-silver bromide•exposure time under one second•plates could be stored, separating shooting from processing!1885!! paper roll film (Arthur Melhuish, George Eastman)•gelatin coated onto paper (or film)•exposures under 1/10 second•multiple pictures without fiddling!1880s!! shutters (many people)•needed as films became more sensitive•focal plane (roller blind), leaf (diaphragm)3(wikipedia)! Marc LevoyThe Kodak Camera!1888!! Kodak camera No. 1•fixed-focus, single shutter speed (1/100 sec?)•100 shots per roll, then mail the camera back for reloading•“You press the button, we do the rest”•$25 for the camera, $10 per roll to process•contribution was not a single invention, but a system4George Eastman(1854-1932)(Newhall)(brightbytes.com)! Marc LevoyEdison’s lighting system!1880!! patent for incandescent light bulb!1882!! first lighting system, New York City!system components•central generating station•underground conductors•usage meter•wiring and plugs•sockets and fixtures•fuses to prevent overloading!misjudged one component•direct current versus alternating current5Thomas Edison(1847-1931)! Marc LevoyRelated technologies!1870s!! German chemistry / dye / drug industries:!!!new processes and compounds, purity, standardization!1880!! flash photography (using flash powder)!1890!! platinum paper printing (matte but with a deep black)!1873!! screen-based halftone printing for mass publication6(wikipedia)first photographprinted usinghalftoning(Tim Page)platinum print (you have to see it in person)! Marc LevoyScreen-based halftoning(simulated in Photoshop)!since a printing press can only print black or white (no grays), goal is to convert tones into dots of varying size7paperscreenimage focused on screenscreenedblurredthresholdedinvertedoriginalinvertedscreennow largely replaced with digital halftoning! Marc LevoyLater technologies1. 1850s!! telephoto lenses (Petzval Portrait Lens)2. 1890s!! anastigmatic lenses - corrects for all aberrations3. 1925!! 35mm camera (Leica I)4. 1932!! photoelectric meter5. 1930s!! zoom lenses for cinema (Cooke Vario 40-120mm)6. 1960s!! zoom lenses for still cameras7. 1981!! autofocus SLR (Pentax ME-F)81357diffraction-limitedIn response to a student question, the 35mm film standard was indeed introduced by Thomas Edison in 1892 as part of his movie camera system, as I guessed in class. The film stock is 35mm wide. In a movie camera this film travels vertically as shown on slide 46, and each frame is a rectangle 16mm tall x 22mm wide. In a 35mm still photographic camera like the Leica I pictured here, the same film stock moves horizontally, and each frame is a rectangle 24mm tall x 36mm wide.! Marc LevoyDigital photography!1994!! mass-market digital camera (Apple QuickTake)!1992!! digital SLR (Nikon-Kodak DCS 200)!1990!! Photoshop 1.0 9640"4801.5 Mpix! Marc LevoyPopularization of photography!before George Eastman, photographers were skilled, photographs were posed, and images were “crafted”!the Kodak camera was cheap, portable, and easy to use!photography became casual, spontaneous, and popular!concentrated on documenting everyday life!word “snapshot” invented by Herschel!privacy became an issue (it still is)!women started taking pictures - so subjects changed!Walter Benjamin, The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction (1935)10! Marc LevoyDocumenting the growth of America11Dome of the U.S. capitol, photographer unknown, 1857view in1906(Archives)! Marc LevoyDocumenting the growth of America12Washington Monument, photographer unknown, 1876view in1884(Archives)! Marc LevoyDocumenting the growth of America13Railroad viaduct, Ithaca, photographer unknown, 1873(Frizot)! Marc LevoyThe push west14Oklahoma, photographer unknown, 1893(Archives)! Marc LevoyThe end of the frontier15Opening the Cherokee Strip, W.A. Flower, 1893(Archives)(wikipedia)! Marc LevoyPhotography as proof of achievement16First Flight, Kitty Hawk, 1903,photographed by John Daniels! Marc LevoyIndustry and commerce17Waterfront at St. Louis, photographer unknown, 1909(Archives)! Marc LevoyGigantic undertakings18Brooklyn Bridge, 1881after completion(mid-1880s)! Marc LevoyGigantic undertakings19Statue of Liberty in Bartholdi’s Parisian workshop, 1882?fully assembled(in Paris)! Marc LevoyGigantic undertakings20! Marc LevoyGigantic undertakings21! Marc LevoyGigantic undertakings22! Marc LevoyGigantic undertakings23! Marc LevoyGigantic undertakings24! Marc LevoyGigantic undertakings25Gustave Eiffel,The Eiffel Tower,1889! Marc LevoySome projects were almost too gigantic26(Archives)Panama Canal, Miraflores Locks, photographed by Ernest Hallen, 1913The ship Lord Templeton traverses the Panama Canal’s Culebra Cut, 1915The bark Passat in heavy seas while rounding Cape Horn,photographed by Capt. H. PieningPort Blakeley Mill Company Dock,Puget Sound, photographed by Wilhelm Hester 1905! Marc LevoyAerial photography!from balloons!from tall buildings!from airplanes!from space30James Wallace Black,Boston from the Air,1860(Rosenblum)Berenice Abbott,New York at Night,1933(Rosenblum)! Marc LevoyTall buildings32Chrysler Building, 1930William van Alen, architectMargaret Bourke-Whiteatop the Chrysler Building! Marc LevoyTall buildings33Chrysler Building, 1930William van Alen, architectBurj Khalifa, Dubai, 2010tallest structure in world (2717’)! Marc LevoyThe industrial aesthetic in photography34Charles Sheeler,Ford Plant, Detroit,1927(Newhall)! Marc LevoyThe industrial aesthetic in photography35(Gardner)Charles Sheeler, The Upper Deck, 1929Lewis Hine,Powerhouse Mechanic,1925Margaret Bourke-White, Fort Peck Dam, 1936! Marc LevoyScientific uses of photography!aerial photography (already shown)!freezing motion!the birth of cinematography39! Marc LevoyMuybridge and Stanford!In a galloping horse, are all four hooves in the air at