Long before phones made photography instant, capturing an image was a slow and careful art. The idea began in the early 1800s, when scientists discovered that light could leave a mark on certain chemicals. French inventor Joseph Nicéphore Niépce used a metal plate coated with bitumen to create the world’s first photograph — an image that took eight hours to form!
Soon after, Louis Daguerre refined the process, producing clearer pictures on silver plates. These “daguerreotypes” amazed people — for the first time, faces and landscapes could be frozen forever instead of fading from memory. In 1888, American inventor George Eastman changed everything again with the Kodak camera. It used film rolls that anyone could load, making photography simple and portable.
From heavy boxes to pocket-sized phones, cameras have evolved beyond imagination. Yet their purpose remains the same — to stop time for a moment, preserving a slice of life that might otherwise be lost.