RICHARD LEACH MADDOX History of Photography Assignment by

RICHARD LEACH MADDOX History of Photography Assignment by: Adriana Abbas, Dominica Bilski and Gabriela Abbas

WHO WAS RICHARD LEACH MADDOX? Born in Bath, UK August 4 th, 1816 English photographer and physician Had two children, a son and a daughter Was prominent in what was called photomicrography, which is photographing minute organisms under the microscope � Invented lightweight gelatin negative plates for photography in 1871 The advantages of the dry plate were obvious: photographers could use commercial dry plates off the shelf instead of having to prepare their own emulsions in a mobile darkroom. Negatives did not have to be developed immediately. Also, for the first time, cameras could be made small enough to be hand-held, or even concealed: further research created 'fast' exposure times, which led to 'snapshot' photography � Poor health halted Maddox’s experiments � Died in a house called 'Greenbank' in Portswood, Southampton on May 11 th, 1902 � �

WHAT SIGNIFICANT THINGS DID THIS PERSON DO TO MOVE PHOTOGRAPHY FORWARD? Invention of light weight gelatin dry plates � � The collidion process of photography was invented in 1851 by Frederick Scott Archer. However the “wet plate” photography method was proven that it damaged Frederick’s health due to the strong interaction of chemicals. (cadmium bromide and silver nitrate vapor). � So Richard started to look for another way to take pictures instead of dry plates he invented the Lightweight Gelatin Dry Plates. � 8 September 1871 British Journal of Photography article An Experiment with Gelatino-Bromide published that sensitizing chemicals cadmium bromide and silver nitrate should be coated on a glass plate in gelatin (a transparent substance used for making candies. ) � Richard Leach Maddox made photography safer.

WHAT INVENTION WAS RICHARD REPONSIBLE FOR AND HOW DOES IT WORK? � In 1871 Richard Leach Maddox introduced the lightweight gelatin negative plates to photography. http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=i. SBFr. PWPS 80

TERM DEFINITIONS � � � Exposure is the amount of light per unit area reaching a photographic film, as determined by shutter speed, lens aperture and scene luminance. Luminance is a photometric measure of the luminous intensity per unit area of light travelling in a given direction. Photographic emulsion is a light-sensitive coating on paper or film; consists of fine grains of silver bromide suspended in a gelatin Pinhole camera is a camera with a pinhole aperture and no lens. Negative is an image on a photographic film that shows dark areas as light and light areas as dark, from which the final picture is printed.

TERM DEFINITIONS � � � Collodion Process is an early process in which the negative is prepared by coating a glass plate with collodion containing iodide, exposing in a camera while wet, developing with pyrogallol or acidified ferrous sulfate, and fixing in a cyanide solution or hypo. Photomicrography is a photograph or digital image taken through a microscope or similar device to show a magnified image of an item. Episcope is an optical projector that gives images of opaque objects. Zoetrope is a 19 th-century optical toy consisting of a cylinder with a series of pictures on the inner surface that, when viewed through slits with the cylinder rotating, give an impression of continuous motion. Stop-action series photography is an optical effect or technique in which a single frame or film is printed in a continuous series, which when shwon gives the effect of a still photograph.

QUIZ – TRUE OR FALSE � � � T or F – Richard Leach Maddox was born in Canada. T or F – Richard Leach Maddox invented the gelatin dry plates. T or F – Richard Leach Maddox wanted to find a better method than wet plates because he wanted to show his children that anything was possible. T or F – Luminance is a light-sensitive coating on paper or film; consists of fine grains of silver bromide suspended in a gelatin. T or F – Richard Leach Maddox made the first colored photograph on 1872, two years after inventing the gelatin dry plates.

CONTINUING EVOLUTION OF PHOTOGRAPHY