The History When was the first permanent photographic image taken?
1826: Joseph Nicéphore Niépce
1839: First person photographed. Louis Jaques-Mandé Daguerre
1847: First Photographs of War by Charles J Betts
1861: First colour photo by James Clark
1878: The first action photograph by Edweard Muybridge
1890: First National Geographic photograph of North America
1893: The first underwater photograph by Louis Boutan
1926 : First underwater colour photo
1940s: High Speed photography by Harold Edgerton
1946: First photograph from space
: Photographic survey of the sky
1985: Discovery of Titanic
1991: First digital still
2005: First digital trap photography
So that's the technology, How has it affected our society? Documentary then and now..
Consider these points Is our nation becoming Desensitised by the news? Are we too interested in other peoples devastation? Would we want people to take photos/footage of our final moments? Would you photograph of record these significant events if you were in that situation?
Watch this compilation of amateur and news footage from the September 11 th terrorist attacks. Think about these discussion points..... Do you feel uncomfortable watching the footage? Do you think that we need to know about these events around the world? If you had a camera in your hand and were in New York on that day, what battles would you have to overcome if any? What is your opinion of this event? What would your opinion of this event be without any visual evidence of it? Should money be exchanged for these images? Where can you see documentary reportage in 5-10 years time?