In 1839, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce and Louis Daguerre were hailed
by the French academicians and bureaucrats for the daguerreotype, the first
publicly available photographic process. The daguerreotype mechanism of
capturing images was embraced by the French Academy of Sciences. The same year,
on August 19, the French government purchased the patent to the daguerreotype
camera and made it free for use to the public. And thus began the celebration
of World Photography Day, which is observed on August 19 every year, to
celebrate the magic of cameras and photography.
The Photo Journalists’ Association Goa (PJAG) is celebrating the
completion of 15 years and on the occasion of World Photography Day is
inaugurating their new office opposite Don Bosco School, Panjim. The annual day
celebrations will include felicitation of veteran photo journalists, prize
distribution and photo exhibition. The state level photography contest which
was open to the general public and school students, will have the winning
photographs of 2021 and 2022 on display and the winners will be declared
together.
Rozario Estibeiro, a photographer based in Panjim says “During
the pandemic, work slowed down and the new comers were most impacted as it was
sudden, but now it’s slowly recovering to pre-pandemic levels.”
In the 21st century, the camera has become a very useful and fun
tool in our daily lives, whether professional photographers or not. World
Photography Day brings together people who share a passion for photography and
also raises awareness and appreciation for this art form.
“Honestly, I will be celebrating it like how I do it always, by
taking my camera and capturing whatever intrigues me like my grandmother making
chai or my little cousin goofing around the house. I feel a story can be
captured in everything you see, in the simple yet beautiful things!” says Elton
Mascarenhas, a content creator and photographer from Margao. He further adds,
“I used the Covid lockdown to work on making content for my social media by
telling stories within the constraints of my house. Of course, Covid stopped
most of the commercial work but that’s where home-grown brands came about so I
used that and started making advertisements and content for such local brands.”
Photographer Siddesh Mayenkar says, “The market flow has been
affected, but slowly picking up, and will take time since it’s off season now.
We are expecting a good wedding season, this year.” Photography has always been
much more than viewing an image on a screen. The first known permanent
photograph of any object was taken in 1826 by French Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, a
view from a window of his house in Chalons-sur-Saône which required an exposure
of about eight hours and was far from the camera mechanisms known to today’s
world. Niépce used a portable camera obscura that used heliography ‘drawing
with the sun’. In 1837, Niépce teamed up with Louis Daguerre to make the
daguerreotype camera. Later, this became the foundation of camera developments
and photographic treatments.
The earliest known written record of the camera obscura is found
in the writings by Chinese philosopher Mozi, dating back to the 4th century
BCE. A natural phenomenon, known as camera obscura or pinhole image, projects a
reversed image through a small opening onto an opposite surface. This principle
may have been known and used in prehistoric times. Until the 16th century, the
camera obscura was mainly used to study optics and astronomy, especially to
safely watch solar eclipses without damaging the eyes. In the 1880s, Kodak
launched their first consumer-based cameras in the market. Camera films became
affordable only as late as the 1940s.
The
camera became a means to show the grim realities of war and reshaped the way we
looked at humanity. Photojournalism was on the rise and soon camera became a
tool of communication.
