The late 19th and early 20th century introduced new innovation and technologies to an agricultural society. The inventions such as the petrol cars, lightbulb and telephone that we use day to day now helped kickstart the technological world we live in today and are forever evolving to become more efficient and adapting to the changes around us.
The first known photograph was taken in 1826 by French inventor, Joseph Niépce. Using a camera obscura, he took the photo through the window of the courtyard at his house which included. Although visually this photo doesnt really look like much, this revolutionary photograph is said to include a barn and a tree.
Louis Daguerre is known for working alongside Niepce to make a permanent image using light and chemistry. After Niepce death in 1833, Daguerre went solo and continued experimenting until 1836 when he produced his own astonishing photograph of France called, “Boulevard du Temple”. Compared to Niepce photograph, Daguerre’s is a lot clearer and less interpretation to what it is is needed.
Mathew Brady was one of the first American photographers who used photographs to document life. Best known for his photojournalism of the civil war, his work had a large impact on the society at the time of the war as it gave everyone an descriptive insight as to what was going on in the war as without then nobody would know what was happening. He also photographed the battlefields and camp life during the war as well as ‘celebrities’ of the era such as Abraham Lincoln.
In the 20th century, moving picture was fundamental for the evolving communication. Used to create a sense of interaction between the photos and the viewer, it displayed movement in a group of pictures. Dating back to the simplest cave paintings that illustrated movement, the moving picture has evolved a lot throughout the 20th and 21st Century.
The movement of the pictures would be created using a Thaumatrope, Zoetrope, Phenakistotrope or a mutoscope. These are all circular amination devices which created the effect that the image or drawing was moving as they spun. What looks like to us is old and outdated was an invention that changed the world.
Invented in 1824 by John Ayrton Paris, the Thaumatrope is an optical toy that uses a two-sided disk and string to create the illusion of two pictures as one when the string is spun. The name comes from the word ‘Thauma’ which means magic and ‘trope’ which is the name given to something that moves.
The zoetrope is a pre-film animation device that creates the illusion of motion by spinning 12-24 frames a second. Created by William George Horner, the rotating drum could be changed to show different moving images. In 1876, a zoetrope was used to project a story to an audience after Émile Reynaud adapted the design for this purpose and was later on referred to as ‘The Wheel Of Life’.
This is the earliest animation device that demonstrates continuous movement using illusion. Images are drawn onto a cardboard disc and slits are created between each image before they are attached using a spindle with a handle that goes through the middle and the tip is attached to a mirror. As the spindle spins, the illusion of a looping animation is created through the slits. The images appear so fast, your brain is tricked into believing it is a moving image, the same way as a frame of film tricks you.
