The Invention Of Photography

A photograph is created by light falling onto a light sensitive surface usually by using film or digitally, most are to be created by using a camera and by using the lens to focus the visible wavelength of light that is also visible to the human eye.  The term 'Photograph' was coined by Sir John Herschel in 1839 and is based on the Greek term 'Phos' meaning light and 'Graphe' meaning drawing.

The first black and white photograph was made in 1822 by French inventor  Joseph Nicephore Niepce built on a discovery by Johann Heinrich Schultz that silver mixture darkens under exposure to light.

The process of this technique was refined by Louis Daguerre, he found that by firstly exposing the silver to the Iodine vapour, before exposure then to the mercury vapour which was heated to 75 Celsius and exposed them to light for several minutes, after the photograph was taken the image was then 'Fixed' in salt water. This is what then led to the famous Daguerreotype. Most of his work consisted of portraits as they were thought to be more rare and sought after, this process took several minutes and differed from his pictures of the streets in Paris which showed no human activity or and people in the street, this was not because he didn't photograph any people, due to there being a long exposure with movement the people became invisible, this was when the faster lens' were introduced for portraiture. 

In the 1840s the first attempts of colour photography was tested. Early results were encouraged by obtaining a solar spectrum by projecting it onto a surface, this proved to be successful, but the dim  image found in the camera required an exposure for hours even days. Over the next 70 years or so, experiments increased and raised hopes making nothing of practical value. The 'Three Colour Method' was first suggested in 1855  by Scottish Physicist James Clerk Maxwell.

In the late 1981, Sony invented the first electronic camera called the 'Sony Mavica' This was a new camera that didn't have a film to work and was the first commercial electronic camera. After images were taken on the camera they were then put onto a television monitor or colour printer to be viewed. Event though this was technically the first electronic camera to be made, it is not considered to be a true digital camera, it was just the start. Since the 1970's Kodak had invented a number of sensors that converted light into pictures, until Kodak then came up with the worlds first mega pixel sensor that produced 1.4 million pixels and was capable of recording a 5 x 7 inch quality print. 

This is the Sony Mavica, which was the first electric commercial cameras.

http://inventors.about.com/od/pstartinventions/a/stilphotography.htm