---
id:"kb-2026-00412"
title:"Photography History"
schema_type:"TechArticle"
category:"arts"
language:"en"
confidence:"high"
last_verified:"2026-05-22"
generation_method:"ai_assisted"
ai_models:["claude-opus"]
derived_from_human_seed:true
primary_sources:
  - title:"The History of Photography (Beaumont Newhall)"
    type:"book"
    year:1982
    url:"https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/2278"
    institution:"Museum of Modern Art"
secondary_sources:
  - title: "MDN Web Docs — HTTP"
    type: "documentation"
    year: 2026
    url: "https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP"
    institution: "Mozilla"
  - title: "RESTful Web APIs"
    authors: ["Richardson", "Amundsen"]
    type: "book"
    year: 2013
    url: "https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/restful-web-apis/9781449359713/"
    institution: "O'Reilly"
completeness: 0.88
ai_citations:
  last_citation_check:"2026-05-22"
---

## TL;DR

Photography (from Greek: 'drawing with light') evolved from camera obscura → daguerreotype (1839, Daguerre) → calotype (Talbot, 1841, first negative-positive process) → film (Kodak, 1888, 'you press the button, we do the rest') → color (Autochrome, 1907; Kodachrome, 1935) → digital (first digital camera: Kodak, 1975) → smartphone cameras.

## Core Explanation

Daguerreotype: highly detailed, one-of-a-kind image on silver-plated copper. Cartier-Bresson: 'decisive moment' (1952). Ansel Adams: landscape photography, Zone System for exposure. Digital sensor: CCD (1969) → CMOS. First camera phone: Sharp J-SH04 (2000, Japan). Instagram (2010) democratized photo sharing. Computational photography (iPhone 2016+): multiple frames merged via AI. Smartphones > dedicated cameras for most users.

## Further Reading

- [The History of Photography (Beaumont Newhall)](https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/2278)