The history of photography is seemingly well aged and matured, but compared to other forms of art, it is still in its infancy. If you are not a fine arts major, you may have learned about the early forms of photography through small tidbits here and there. When we feature photographers who still practice the old ways, it almost seems like a history lesson explaining the processes each time. George Eastman House has created a short series explaining each significant advancement in photography in bite-sized 3-6 minute clips.
[REWIND: Through the Ground Glass: A Short Film About The Trials of Large Format Photography]
Before Photography
George Eastman House explains the process of how photography came to be; from the first silhouettes and the Daguerreotype of the 1820s all the way up to the digital camera of today and how they process light. The 12-part Photographic Process Series is a wealth of information shown through example pieces, demonstrations and interviews with historians and curators.
The Cyanotype
It is a truly an awesome experience for professionals and hobbyists alike. Warning: this series might make you want to create something amazing and even want to try the process for yourself. Personally, I would love to make a cyanotype, if I had room for a darkroom. You can check out the full series on the George Eastman House YouTube page.
[Via Fstoppers]
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What I love about articles like this is that they give us the chance of understanding more about large format photography that in todays world is very rare to find.
Go for the cyanotype Justin.
You don’t need a darkroom, it’s only sensitive to UV.
A desktop under tungsten light if you’re making your own paper, some sun or other source of UV for exposure, and some running water for processing the print and you’re good to go.
Very Cool!!
THAT WAS AWESOME!!!.
it brings back alot of memories .. i learned about all of those printing processes after i left the army in 1992.
i went to this small art school in Hamden CT. called Paier College of Art. i got an associates degree in photography. i was able to actually do the cyanotype printing, multiple gum bichromate printing,which is very difficult, also the platinum printing and the much cheaper and not mentioned brother the palladium print processing. it is the same process as platinum but a much cheaper metal. Basically these videos are a summery of the two years i spent at Paier college of Art.
Very interesting to see how much it has developed over the years.