The soft click of the camera, a flash of light and a moment in time captured forever. Maybe digitally, maybe on film, the medium is never as important as the memory or moment caught. A group of people, a sunset, or even a fish jumping out of the water, a photograph is a way to feel the emotion and context of that exact moment. Celebrate that, on this picturesque Photography Day!
History of Photography Day
The photograph originally was made by Nicéphore Niépce, using silver chloride coating a piece of paper. However, the photo would eventually turn fully dark as he knew no way to remove the silver chloride from the paper to preserve the photo. Photographs got better and better over the years, first with the ‘still camera’, and the ability to take a picture that way. Think the old west in America, and that camera’s differences to the ones of World War 2, then compare them to modern cameras. The major jumps in technology affected photography as much as any other facet of life around the world. With Kodak, Canon and so many other brands out there, it was of no surprise when the market of photography got such a jump, even more so with the military and surveillance capabilities offered as cameras got better, lighter and more easily used. Yet for all the innovation and creativity, science and even the large amount of art that occurs in the photography realm, not much can beat the simple pleasure of snapping photos and developing your frames to enjoy the integrity of the photos.
How to celebrate Photography Day
Why not go out and snap a few pictures yourself? Find an older camera, and enjoy the feel, and look, of 35mm film. Walk around and snap some pictures to preserve the time in photographic form. Make a collage, which is a mixture of pictures, sometimes cut into different shapes than the usual rectangles of photos. Go snap some wildlife, either in the wild or at a zoo. Maybe some family photos wouldn’t be out of the question; and you could even use them in the yearly holiday cards in place of the stock sitting stills. Or go see a museum about photography, if you have one nearby to visit. Many museums have cameras in them, and some even explain the use of photography in major events worldwide. How do you think they get the pictures of these events anyways? With a camera of course! So go out there, snap some photos and maybe record a piece of history on this year’s Photography Day!