The History of Photography
You see them every day and have seen one in the past few seconds. Pictures and the broader art of photography attract the eyes of potentially millions each day.
But what really goes into taking each photo?
It begins with an idea, as most things do, and the knowledge of who you’re taking the photo for.
This is the art of photography that photography instructor for the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design Drew Gilbert teaches his class..
“Every time someone takes of photograph,” said Gilbert. “There are quite literally ten thousand of considerations that goes through the mind of a photographer.”
Photography has existed since the early 1800s, and has a rich history since.
From being used by Vermonter Wilson Bentley to capture images of snowflakes.
To the spy planes of World War 1, the modern uses today seem trivial.
“Most people when they take a photograph, it is a record of them, at that time, in this place, like, I was here.” Said Gilbert.
Photography as a field, and an art form, is wider than just pointing a camera and snapping a photo.
It’s about knowing the emotion and the aesthetic of what you’re taking a photo of.
And how different angles display different emotions in photographs.
“There is a lot that goes into a photograph and it all depends on what the photograph is about.,” said Gilbert. “Who is it for, what context it’s going to be]seen in, all these things.”
As the art of photography advanced, so did the tools used.
Cameras have evolved from the old Brownie Camera to the DSLR.
Gilbert takes inspiration from the earliest source of photography, the camera obscura or pin-hole cameras.
“I build cameras that are very simple, they’re just a box with a hole in it,” said Gilbert. “But they create images in a very raw manner. The same way our eyes allow us to see the world.”
Gilbert believes that everyone is born with the creative eye, however, not everyone knows how they’re creative, and he hopes everyone wants to learn more about their creative side.
“I think that we should learn to use our camera as a way to communicate and make change,” said Gilbert. “Because if we don’t, we’re going to drown in selfies and photographs.”
