Take a Picture, It'll Last Longer: A Brief History of the Still Camera

As we've read about in Culture + Technology:  A Primer and discussed in class, the western world believes that the advancement of technology equals progress.  This is especially true of the United States since the days of Manifest Destiny when columnist John L. O'Sullivan wrote of our country as, "destined to be the great nation of futurity."  Since then, our nation has held a forward-thinking, advancement-driven mentality.  With each advancement, from the the railroad to the internet, the idea of reaching point B from point A almost instantaneously has been the goal.  But, let's narrow the field of view and focus on the advancement of a technology specifically engineered to instantly transport someone to not only a specific place, but also a specific time.  No, not a time machine.  I'm writing about the still camera.

Ansel Adam's "The Tetons - Snake River" c. 1942.

Cameras can be traced back to, believe it or not, the early 11th century when Middle-Eastern scientists developed a device known as the camera obscura.  The problem with the technology?  Early models were large, the size of a room to a house.  Later models were scaled down to small wooden boxes, but it still produced just a tracing and an exact reproduction of that specific image was nearly impossible.

A simple camera obscura.

The real revolution in photography came with a man named George Eastman who began manufacturing celluloid to make photographic film to be used in his Kodak camera.  Exposing Eastman's film to light resulted in a film negative which, when processed, could produce a print of an image in the proper perspective and color, or highlights and shadows in the case of black and white.  From this point on, Eastman's Kodak cameras served to democratize still photography as Eastman's camera and film were sold to a mass-market at a cheap cost.  However, Eastman's advancement also served as the broad commercialization of photography.  One had to buy Eastman's camera, Eastman's film and ship the film off to Eastman's labs in order to processed.

An early Kodak Brownie c. 1910s.

The advent of the modern-day 35mm Single-Lens Reflex camera (SLRs) also marked another peak in the democratization and commercialization of the still photography world with the release of the Soviet "Sport."  These 35mm SLRs eliminated the problematic phenomenon known as parallax, infamous in twin-lens reflex cameras, and introduced interchangeable lenses.  This meant a photographer didn't have to be Ansel Adams, treking through the Tetons with a large format field camera.  Instead, the photographer could buy a much cheaper SLR and cheap and easy to load 35mm film.  Anyone could pick up this technology and, with some skill, create "professional" and "artistic" images, thus democratization.  But, the advancement is two-fold,  also aiding in its commercialization.  Soviet companies like GOMZ competed with German companies like Zeiss and Japanese companies like Pentax for photographer's respect in the market.

The Pentax Asahiflex, the first Japanese SLR.

Now, in the present day photography world, the market has changed once again with the Digital Single-Lens Reflex camera (DSLRs), which has once again continued to democratize and commercialize the photography world.  With light striking a cheap computer chip, film is no longer necessary, cutting down cost for the consumer.  These DSLRs can be loaded with a memory card, capable of holding more pictures than a single roll of 35mm film could.  These pictures, or files, can be uploaded onto a computer, edited and distributed and all by the photographer him or herself.  This means cutting out the processing charges and giving the photographer complete control over the end result of the print.  These DSLRs are even branching outside of the world of still photography and into the world of motion pictures as most of these DSLRs now support a High Definition movie mode.  Not only are these cameras valuable to still photographers, but also to digital cinematographers.  While standard HD camcorders are certainly able to shoot a movie, the DSLRs give the filmmaker the ability to use interchangeable lenses to create a depth of field similar to that of analog film.  Actual movies can be shot on these cameras at low costs, giving power to the independent filmmaker.  The video below is shot entirely on DSLRs, specifically the Canon 5D Mark II and the Canon 7D.

Though the features on these cameras open up a new world to filmmakers, it's also stepping up the commercialization.  Canon, Nikon, Panasonic and others are creating lens adapters for their cameras to support other companies' lenses, meaning I could shoot footage on a Canon camera, but with a Nikon lens.  The companies are stepping up their lens manufacturing, increasing cost, but also creating more selection and options in how one shooting his or her footage.

Basically, the advancement process is two-fold.  It democratizes an industry while simultaneously commercializing it.  Is it a bad thing?  No.  Photographers and cinematographers are always looking to push the medium to create more stunning and mesmerizing images.  In order to make this new technology affordable for all, commercialization is inevitable.  As long as the market is in healthy competition, we're going to see amazing still and moving images created by Canon, Nikon and Panasonic, among others.  It's not the technology that makes photographers and cinematographers do what they do.  It's the craftsmen behind this technology that will ultimately decide what to do with this technology.

Most people typically think or assume that hair weaves were created and only used by African American women. Women of all races are using hair extensions to make their hair have more body and volume and to appear more fashionable. The practice of hair weaving dates back to the days of Ancient Egypt. Throughtout history hair weaves have thought to be a fashion and status symbols.Ancient Egyptian men and women used hair extensions to give themselves a more sophisticated appearance. It was a regualr practice among the wealthy Egyptians to shave thier heads and than wear wigs deprived or human hair.Men often wore more extravangant wig styles than the women did.Women often utilized hair weave methods to supplement for thinning hair.Hair extensions and wigs were constructed using knots,resin.beeswax; wigs were often padded with date palm fiber.Wigs of all shapes and sizes were stylish in the late 17th century.

Hair weave tracks,tracks glued or sewed into the roots of your own hair with a special adhesive,did not become popular until the early 1950's.Even then only celebrities used them.In the early 1950's an African American women invented and patented hair weave on the track making a long term change in hair care for many African American women. Hair weave became a way to add techinique to the hair without damaging already sensitive African American hair with heat and chemicals.By the end of the 20th century appromitaley 25 percent of all African American women used some form of hair weave or extensions according to Cicely A. Richard, eHow contributor. In additions women of other ethnic groups began to get pleasure from the versaltility of hair weaves. Christina Jenkins and her husband Duke established a company called Christina's Hair Weaves in the early 1950's.During the company's peak, people from around the world wanted to learn from the woman who invented hair weaves, and these individuals paid her to come to thier counties and teach them her unique weaving technique. In the 1980's hair dressers improved Jenkins' invention by creating hair that looked natural and flowed, instead of being stiff and unmovable.According to the Encyclopedia of Hair by Victoria Sherrow, African American women wanted longer,straight,and natural hair that moved as they walked.Some hair weaves are barely detectable.Hair weaves are a popular way to change your hairstyles without drastically changing the cut and style of your own hair.Hair weaves come in two forms synthetic and natural(human hair) and the cost depends on the attached method and material.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Iqult1OfwY&feature=player_detailpage

http://www.ehow.com/

http://www.livestrong.com/

The iPad: Enter The Revolution...right?

The iPad is a mobile computing device that has a 9.7 inch screen, a 1 Gigahertz processor, weighs 1.5 pounds, and an oleophobic (really?) coating that resists fingerprints. Interesting stuff, right? Not really. What IS an iPad? To some, it is a fun toy that provides an escape from the everyday monotony. To others it presents a new way to consume the ever growing mass media market, from social networks to emails to news outlets- all battling for space in front of each consumers eyeballs. The idea of the iPad is not necessarily a new one (it is proposed that the iPad was in development before the famed iPhone). It is not the first tablet computer either, whose touchscreen panels have been around for years. Apple CEO Steve Jobs had the idea to move away from the standard input devices consumers have come to rely on- the keyboard and mouse- and to create a flat, interchangeable multi-touch surface. The mission: to bring the internet to the palm of your hand, to have the ability to take it anywhere you want to go, and to make a ton of money doing it. Is it revolutionary? The true answer lies in the eyes of the beholder. The iPad means different things to different people. It attempts to usher in a new era of convenience, to be able to combine productivity and entertainment in one easy to use device that’s small enough to take with you. If you have ever been in a group of people and someone pulled out an iPad to update their Facebook status which resulted in an assortment of stares, oos, and aahhs of the surrounding group, then you know that the iPad is something special, but for whom? Is it a status device? Does it divide the population between the have and have nots? Does the device boost your productivity so much that you become the superior being, maneuvering through a sea of lower life forms? There are no single answers to these questions. The answers depend on your status, your wants, and desires. This iPad is a direct derivative of what the culture is asking for, but now it is beginning to change the culture itself, as many new iPad competitors prepare to enter the market, fighting for our hard earned money and time. As slick and sexy as it may be, the iPad’s true power and worth lies not with the device itself, but the applications that it houses. Think about the internet for a second. The value of the internet is the ability to bring everything the world has and has ever had to offer at your fingertips. Anything you have ever wondered or thought about, somewhere at some time someone else has thought about the same thing and had the wherewithal to create an article or post about it on the net. Classes are held online, you can learn how to play an instrument or send your vacation pictures instantly to grandma’s house without ever changing out of your pajamas. What the internet lacked was a viable portable way to take it with you. Consider the options for mobile internet we had before the iPad’s introduction. We had laptops, cell phones, and the newest was the netbook. The way we have viewed these technologies have evolved over time. As stated on page 30 of our textbook, the convenience of yesteryear only creates a new hurdle to overcome. The laptop- the biggest mobile computing system of the time, is now thought of as too bulky. Our cell phones eliminate the bulk issue, but provide small screens to view. The netbook was thought of as the perfect solution to these problems. It was more portable, had a midsized screen, and placed itself right in the middle of the traditional laptop and the cell phone, but it was plagued with sluggish behavior and processor limits that could only run a few programs at a time, if at all. This created the perfect atmosphere for the release of the iPad. It set out to be its own thing. It is portable, has a nice screen size, and runs programs well, since it only runs programs that are specifically made for the platform, and they are all at your fingertips in a device that not only can you take it anywhere, you actually WANT to. One question, though: Did you need an iPad before the iPad existed?

Bioscanners

Biometric Technologies

Panopticon

Blueprint of Betham Panopticon

Presidio Modelo prison in Cuba

Presidio Modelo prison in Cuba

Marshall McLuhan Videos

Here are a few videos that feature and engage with Marshal McLuhan.  Remember, the medium is the message!