The Royal Institution
Andrew takes us on a tour of his vintage camera collection, explaining the physics and chemistry of photography along the way.
The tour is followed by a demonstration of the chemical processes of developing photographic paper by making a simple photogram. This video is the first of two videos exploring the history and chemistry of photography – the second part will be published next week.
Chapters:
00:00 – Introduction
03:55 – Pinhole cameras
05:10 – The first photograph
10:09 – The first cameras
19:35 – Henri Cartier Bresson
22:00 – SLR cameras
23:25 – Other interesting cameras
27:55 – Digital cameras
29:37 – Demonstrating the chemistry of photograms
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Another lockdown special from the indomitable Andrew Szydlo. This one is actually a two-parter, where we go on a tour of the history of photography and end up making one of the simplest photographs – a photogram. Next week – Victorian photography.
Thanks RI and thankyou Andrew Szydlo.
when he said "children" (11:07) i sat up straighter in my chair then remembered i'm 50!
I could watch this man explain literally anything and I'd be happy. His energy and enthusiasm are infectious. Thank you for the upload!
Nice vid to start a morning with
👍👍👌
Looking forward to next week!!!! I miss taking pictures on film. Digital is just not the same.
i think the reason why your positive photo paper reacted the same was simply because it was overexposed, it is made to be exposed for a set amount of time to get the positive print but you fully exposed it to metalic silver which is dark
also why the coins imprinted, the paper or gel is a finite thickness and/or the coin is also not flat and different angles of reflection caused different areas to be more or less exposed
my thoughts anyway
Thank you for this wonderful explanation and demonstration Dr Szydlo… Took me back to when I was 13 and with friends, tried to develop a roll of "African-American" and white film !! Ha ha… We made a royal mess of it all because the film wetting in the developer tray, as explained by a local photo shop guy, was not as simple as shown by him. It kept curling up and splashing our faces !!! Needless to say, we got very good images of our fingerprints !!
Very nice video…
Love it, enlighten me!
@The Royal Institution: please send this man a Lapel Microphone, the audio is horrible!
Dear Andrew keep these videos coming, I’m enjoying being educated by you and wishing that I had someone like you as my teacher when I was in school
Looking forward to watching this later!
Love videos with Andrew Szydlo so much! Thank you.
Thank you for your work. It is so much fun and interesting.
Thank you very much, for your exceptional tutelage Dr. Szydlo. Your lectures are always so interesting.
I enjoyed this but felt out of breath just listening to it. There was enough in here for three presentations at a more leisurely pace which could have included more detail. For example, I'm not sure that most kids nowadays would know what a photographic films was, never mind a plate. And being shown a cardboard box (which I don't think contains the right format of film for the camera being discussed) and a space in a wooden box doesn't convey the convenience that film made over plates. I'm also surprised at the dismissal of stereo photography as this was a major driver in popularising early photography.
Another classic video by Andrew. "It's done something unexpected, but we're having fun!" Truly a great educator and explainer of all things! I like the way he impressively pronounces all the European scientist's names correctly, no matter which country they come from. Also, I bet his house is full of scientific curiosities collected over the years, a wondrous place!
I am not in the least scientific but when Mr Szydlo gives a talk I am so mesmerised by his enthusiasm for whatever the topic under discussion is about that I am immediately engaged. This is important because we need MORE people like Mr Szydlo who can inspire children and adults to think about not just science but art and the humanities too.
He is awesome I love the way he speaks. More ppl need to know about this man.
Mr. Szydlo. I'm am absolutely amazed by your intellect. The knowledge you have and shared with people with young adults and children is very important. You are a wonderful role model. Thank you . You have enlightened everyone . You are a brilliant person. Thank you again sir.
The Szydlo is back!!!!!
Enjoyed the video and your presentation. Young folks today need to see this. However…lay off the coffee!!!
I have only watch this for 5 mins and there are already 3 inaccuracies, his dismissive attitude to Digital technology show his biased views. Film still has its place, but please open mind please.
Silver in the coins?
Very interesting history of photography!
Great video, enjoyed it. Reason for seeing the underside of some coins on the photosensitive paper: wave/particle character of light with quantum-mechanical consequences. Similar to the double-slit experiment with light, the particle-wave character of photons interferes through gaps of the side of the coins and reflects from underneath onto the paper. Similar effect is seen when taking film photos and the light shines into a scene – it might form light halos behind where you would only see it pitch dark in the digital photo in comparison. One reason why film is a different medium than digital and which makes it so interesting!
Great video! Love the idea of working from the beginning of photographic technology which is also near the beginning of science as an open professional endeavour
This brings back memories. I had a Krokus enlarger when I was around 14 years old, paid for with money I made washing dishes in a restaurant during weekends and holidays. Photography was a passion I was disallowed to pursue as a career but I have always remained a fan. Presented with Andrew Szydlo's enthusiasm, I can't help but have warm fuzzy feelings of nostalgia.
I love the video! I do have one small suggestion though. The hollow sound of the room makes the video hard to listen to for very long. This is likely caused by using the mic on the camera instead of having the mic attached to the person speaking using either a cheek boom mic on the head or a small mic on the persons chest. If at all possible, switching to such a mic would make the video much easier on the ears listening to. Again, I love the videos! Thanks for making them!
Professor Szydlo is a genuine treasure and I'm so glad we are getting to see him so much more often recently!
Pin-Hole camera was invented by a Muslim Scientist
I would trust this man with my drink.
Thank you Sir