9 March 2006

 

It took Joseph Niépce 10 years of failed experiments to get it right, but in the summer of 1826, the world’s first photograph was created. With the 180th anniversary of Niépce’s contribution to photography upon us this year, digital imaging leader Epson provides its take on the future of photography– from electronic paper to printing from television.

Ramon Ollé, CEO Epson Europe says, “Photography has been an important part of our society for decades. We all possess the desire to produce a photo, to show, to share and to store for years to come. The persistence and discoveries of innovators during the last 180 years has brought us to where we are today - a premium quality photo is now easily printed at home in less than a minute.  There is no doubt that Joseph Niépce would have been amazed to see how easily we now obtain our photos” 

A snapshot of photography

To capture the world’s first permanent image, Niépce set up a camera obscura and placed within it a pewter plate coated with bitumen of Judea. After more than eight hours exposure time, the image was made visible on the plate through a mixture of lavender oil and white petroleum, which dissolved away the parts of the bitumen that had not been hardened by light.

The image depicts the view from the window of Niépce's workroom at his estate in Gras, France. Since Niépce’s success, there have been countless others who have paved the way for what we know as photography today; a technology that has continued to filter through our everyday lives.

The 1830’s brought with it Louis Daguerre and the Daguerreotype. Using a process that produced images on silver-plated copper. By 1840 William Fox Talbot had revealed his own process to develop a photo, using paper sheets with silver chloride that could produce positive prints. His ideas were later refined and by 1901, chemical photography was established.

Black and white output was mainly used until 1935 when the first modern colour film was launched and access to photography grew from professional customers to the consumer. It was 55 years later (1990), the DCS 100 camera launched for the professional customer and marks the milestone of the first digital camera.

In 1994, there was a household adoption of computers, the introduction of digital cameras and high-quality inkjet printers, such as the Epson Stylus Colour, (the world’s first 720dpi photo printer.) It is from here that we see the most rapid developments in photography technology in its 180-year history.  

Photography today

In 2003, 3.6 billion digital images were printed or stored in Western Europe. In 2006, that figure is predicted to grow to a staggering 34.6 billion images[1].

Today the chemical photo processing has been largely replaced with digital photo printing and photos are easily produced from inkjet printers offering up to 5760dpi for a premium quality photograph.

“We are now much more involved in the photography process – after we have captured an image, we can change the colours or even the people in the photo and print it ourselves, making further choices such as the number of copies, size of the photo and type of paper. The most amazing part is that we can do all of this at home and even without a computer,” says Ollé.

“The move towards photo-labs for the home has played a major role in getting people more involved. You can now scan, print and copy images all without a computer. This technology has allowed us to really enjoy the benefits that digital has brought us. You don’t need to be an expert or spend hours producing a photo, as Niépce had to do only 180 years ago.”

The future is digital

As the digital revolution has occurred largely in the past ten years, it begs the question - what does the next ten years hold?

It was through the convergence of two processes – optics and chemistry – that photography was born. In the past ten years we have witnessed another convergence – between optics and information technology. Information technology replaced the chemical process in capturing and saving an image, opening up new and exciting possibilities for the printing, displaying and sharing of the digital photographic image.

Ollé says, “At Epson we believe that colourful images will be everywhere and immediately available at the touch of a button. The desire to capture special moments in our lives with photography will remain. It is simply the options we have to view the photos that will continue to expand.”

“We have already developed prototypes of electronic paper that may replace the traditional photo album. Imagine your memories moving on the page. “

“Also the way we print our photos will continue to develop, imagine printing your digital photographs directly from your TV by simply pressing a button on your remote control.”

“Our homes may feature large flexible wall displays with changing images that will ‘open-up’ the walls of our homes, creating different settings and atmospheres. You choose what you want from your digital photo library, depending on the occasion and your mood.”

Ollé says, “I have no doubt that photography of some form will always have a place in our lives. However, the technology will transform dramatically, and that provides an exciting challenge for us as digital imaging specialists – to keep pushing the boundaries. In the next 180 years, we are bound to see developments equal in magnitude to the transformation from pewter plates to pixels.”

Photography Milestones

1820’s:

 Niépce creates the world’s first permanent image

1830’s:

 Louis Daguerre develops the Daguerreotype – a process that produced images on silver-plated copper

 William Henry Fox Talbot invents the Calotype- a technology that enabled the production of the first paper negative in the world

1850’s:

 Frederick Scott Archer improves resolution with a new chemical mixture on sheets of glass

1860’s:

 Scottish physicist James Clerk-Maxwell creates the first colour photography system – the colour separation method

1870’s:

 Dr Richard Maddox invents the dry plate process – the next major development in photography. Before this, photographers used a wet chemical substance to coat the plates, meaning that images had to be developed immediately. By the late 70’s, dry plates were being manufactured commercially

1880’s:

 The first photograph appears in the New York Graphic daily newspaper.

 The first camera is introduced to the masses, containing a 20-foot roll of paper. This is soon improved with a roll of film instead of paper

1900’s:

 Panchromatic black and white film becomes available, allowing high quality colour separation and colour photography

 The first commercial colour film is developed

1920’s:

 The first high quality 35mm camera is developed

 A twin-lens camera is developed which produces a 6x6 cm image on film

1930's:

 Technicolor arrives in the movie world

 The first multi-layered colour film is created

 The 35mm single-lens reflex (SLR) camera is developed

 The modern flash bulb is invented

1940’s:

 Medium-format SLRs becomes available for commercial sale

1960’s:

 Epson develops the world’s first smallest digital printer, the EP-101

 Colour instant film is developed

 Cameras hit the water as the first underwater camera is introduced

1970’s:

 The first point-and-shoot camera hits the stores

 The first electronic camera was patented

1980’s:

 The world's first auto-focus SLR system comes to the fore

 The first commercial digital camera becomes available

 PhotoCD’s are introduced to the world of photography

1990’s:

 Epson develops the world’s first 720 dpi Micro Piezo ink jet printer, the Epson Stylus Photo

 The first consumer digital camera was launched

 LCD screens are introduced in digital cameras

2000’s:

 Home photo printing is a reality for everyone, even those without a computer

 The world’s first digital rangefinder camera is developed by Epson

 By 2006 it is predicted that 34.6 billion digital images will have been taken[2]

[1] Understanding and Solutions 2006

[2] Understanding and Solutions 2006

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