AbigailTull

17March2016
HistoryofPhotography(forPhysicsProject)

In the current age of digital photography, usage of film photography seems ancient. But
photography existed before that, although it used a very different process from even the dated
process of film development.5 The earliest process was called daguerrotype, invented by
LouisJacquesMande Daguerre in 1839. The daguerrotype consisted of a sheet of copper that
was polished and then exposed to halogen fumes, such as bromide, to increasethesensitivityof
the sheets silverhalidecoating.Thedaguerrotypistwouldthenplacethesheetinthecameraand
expose thesheetforaslongasdeemedfitforthesubject,dependingontheamountoflightinthe
room. After exposure,thesheetisdevelopedusingheatedmercuryfumesinaspecialdeveloping
box. Finally, the copper sheetwasfixedwithasodiumthiosulfatetoremovetherestofthesilver
halidecoating.Thephotoisthenabletobeviewedontheplate.1
The first type of flexible film, consisting of chemicalcoated paper, was introduced in
1885 by George Eastman, but a much more progressive clear film became commonplace in
1889. This was formallycallednitratefilm.However,thisfilmwasmadeofnitrocellulosewhich
is extremely flammable2, so Kodak put outsafetyfilmin1908toresolvethisissue.Thesafety
film, or cellulose acetatefilm,wasoriginallynotusedformuch,butby1934thisfilmhadallbut
replaced the unsafe nitrate film. In fact, cellulose acetate film is still sometimesusedtothisday
for movies. However, this type of film hasatendencytoreleaseaceticacidwhenexposedtotoo
much heat which results in a vinegary smell and ultimately, the degradation of the film. The

acetic acid that was released breaks the chains of polymers that make up the cellulose acetate
film base, causing the basetoweakenandshrink.3Becauseofthisunfortunateprocess,polyester
film was introduced in 1980 as a substitute for safety film. The polyester is stronger, hard to
break,anddoesnthavethevinegarsmelllikecelluloseacetate.4
The history of film dates back a good length and has consisted of a lotoftrialanderror.
As photography has evolved, scientists have constantly had to evolve and think of ways to not
only invent new types of film, but troubleshoot when those inventions have strong chemical
errors. While film is now the less common photographic choice, its history is richininnovation
in the fields of science and chemistrya history worthknowingforphotographerswhointendto
trulyunderstandtheircraft.

Sources
1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daguerreotype#Polishing

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrocellulose#Nitrate_film_2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellulose_acetate_film

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_base#Polyester

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photographic_film