Chapter 9: Photography — Key Concepts and Milestones

Root words of photography:
- $\text{photo} = \text{light}$
- $\text{graphy} = \text{writing/recording}$
- Photography = writing/recording with light.

First photograph using a camera: $1826$ , "View From Window at Le Gras" by Joseph Niépce.
Daguerreotype invented: $1839$ ; first widely used process; long exposure (~ $10\text{ minutes}$ ) at Place de la République; earliest human presence captured in a photo.
For over $500\text{ years}$ , only royalty or rich white Europeans could have exact likeness captured in painting; photography changed this dynamic.
Daguerreotype marked a shift from paintings to more accessible likeness capture.

Alfred Stieglitz (1870s–1940s): born $1864$ , died $1946$ ; championed photography as an art form; influential career spanning over $50\text{ years}$ .
- The Steerage (1907) as a notable work.
Edward Weston: explored ordinary subjects from multiple angles; notable work: "Toilet" (study of a plumbing fixture).
Man Ray: pushed photography’s art potential; camera-less images (Rayographs) in the 1920s.

Early film and photographs were black-and-white for the first $100\text{ years}$ due to technology.
The Steerage (1907) as an example of early photographic art.
Color photography emergence:
- $1930\text{s}$ : Kodak developed color film; color photos initially associated with family/advertising.
- Color as art form recognized much later, around $1960\text{s}$ .
Darkroom basics (for black-and-white): completely dark room, red safe light, enlarger, and chemicals (developer, stopper, fixer).

Photography as a social reform tool in America:
- Portable camera allowed on-the-spot documentation; print media spread stories widely.
Jacob Riis (late $1880s$ ): photographer-reporter for the New York Tribune; published photo essays and lectures.
- Resulted in policy reform, including the Tenement House Commission in $1884$ for slum reform.
- Work example: "Five Cents a Spot" documenting illegal lodging in Bayard Street slums (1880s).

Ansel Adams: prominent landscape photographer; Yosemite images in the $1940s$ helped establish one of the first U.S. National Parks.

By the $1960s$ , color photography began to be recognized as an art form among artists using color.
Throughout mid-20th century, color photos grew in personal, commercial, and documentary contexts.

Photographic record in personal life:
- Do you have printed photo albums? The traditional family album is increasingly a thing of the past as digital and other formats prevail.
Photography as a record of life: the transition from paper-based albums to digital archives affects how future generations view past lives.

What do the roots of photography mean, and how do they define the medium? $\text{photo} = \text{light},\; \text{graphy} = \text{writing/recording}$
Name two early photographers who shaped photography as art: $\text{Alfred Stieglitz}$ and $\text{Edward Weston}$ ; include one contribution each.
When did color film become commercially available, and when was color photography widely recognized as art? $1930\text{s}$ ; $1960\text{s}$ .
Who used photography to push for urban reform in the 1880s, and what commission did his work help establish? $Jacob Riis$ ; Tenement House Commission in $1884$ .
What role did the camera and printing press play in social change? Short answer: portability + dissemination of images via printed media.

Brief history of photography (watch for historical milestones and figures).
Daguerreotype and early processes (watch for differences from painting and later reforms).