History of photography in Russia. First photographs and cameras

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:46

The desire to capture the moments of life that happen to a person or the world around him has always existed. This is evidenced by rock paintings and fine arts. In the paintings of artists, accuracy and detail, the ability to capture an object from a favorable angle, light, convey a color palette, and shadows were especially valued. Such work sometimes took months of work. It was this desire, as well as the desire to reduce time costs, that became the impetus for the creation of such an art form as photography.

Photo Appears

In the 4th century BC, Aristotle, a famous scientist from Ancient Greece, noticed a curious fact: the light that seeped through a small hole in the window shutter repeated the landscape seen outside the window with shadows on the wall.

Further, in the treatises of scientists from Arab countries, the phrase camera obscura begins to be mentioned, literally meaning "dark room". It turned out to be a device in the form of a box with a hole in the front, with the help of which it became possible to copy still lifes and landscapes. Later, the box was improved by providing moving halves andlens, which made it possible to focus on the picture.

Thanks to the new features, the pictures have become much brighter, and the device was called the "light room", that is, the camera lucina. Such simple technologies allowed us to find out what Arkhangelsk looked like in the middle of the 17th century. With their help, the perspective of the city was shot, which is distinguished by accuracy.

Stages of development of photography

In the 19th century, Joseph Niepce invented a method of photography, which he called heliogravure. Shooting by this method took place in bright sunshine and lasted up to 8 hours. Its essence was as follows:

• A metal plate was taken, which was covered with bituminous varnish.

• The plate was directly exposed to strong light, which caused the varnish to not dissolve. But this process was not uniform and depended on the strength of the lighting in each of the sections.

• Next, the plate was treated with a solvent.

• After poisoned with acid.

As a result of all the manipulations, a relief, engraved picture appeared on the plate. The next significant stage in the development of photography was the daguerreotype. The method got its name from the name of its inventor, Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre, who was able to get an image on a silver plate treated with iodine vapor.

The next method was the calotype invented by Henry Talbot. The advantage of the method was the ability to make copies of one image, which, in turn, was reproduced on paper impregnated with silver s alt.

First exposure to artphotos in Russia

The history of Russian photography has been going on for more than a century and a half. And this story is full of different events and interesting facts. Thanks to the people who discovered the art of photography for our country, we can see Russia through the prism of time as it was many years ago.

The history of photography in Russia begins in 1839. It was then that a member of the Academy of Sciences of Russia, I. Hamel, went to Great Britain, where he got acquainted with the calotype method, having studied it in detail. Then he sent a detailed description. Thus, the first photographs made by the calotype method were obtained, which are still stored in the Academy of Sciences in the amount of 12 pieces. The photographs bear the signature of the inventor of the method, Talbot.

After that, in France, Hamel meets Daguerre, under whose guidance he takes several pictures with his own hands. In September 1841, the Academy of Sciences received a letter from Hamel, in which, according to him, was the first photograph taken from nature. Taken in Paris, the photograph shows a female figure.

After that, photography in Russia began to gain momentum, rapidly developing. Between the 19th and 20th centuries, photographers from Russia began to take part in international photo exhibitions and salons on a general basis, where they received prestigious awards and prizes, had membership in the relevant communities.

Talbot Method

The history of photography in Russia was developed thanks to people who were keenly interested in a new kind of art. So wasJulius Fedorovich Fritzsche, famous Russian botanist and chemist. He was the first to master the Talbot method, which consisted of obtaining a negative on photosensitive paper and then printing it on a sheet treated with silver s alts and developing in sunlight.

Fritzsche made the first calotype photographs of plant leaves, after which he entered the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg in May 1839 with a report. In it, he reported that he found the calotype method suitable for capturing flat objects. For example, the method is suitable for taking pictures of original plants with the accuracy necessary for a botanist.

Contribution by J. Fritzsche

Thanks to Fritzsche, the history of photography in Russia stepped a little further: he proposed replacing sodium hyposulfate, which Talbot used to develop the picture, with ammonia, which noticeably modernized the calotype, improving image quality. Yuliy Fedorovich was also the first in the country and one of the first in the world to conduct research work on photography and photographic art.

Alexey Grekov and the "art booth"

The history of photography in Russia continued, and the next contribution to its development was made by Alexei Grekov. A Moscow inventor and engraver, he was the first Russian master of photography to master both calotype and daguerreotype. And if you ask a question about what the first cameras were in Russia, then Grekov's invention, the "art room", can be considered as such.

The first camera, created by him in 1840, made it possible to makehigh-quality, with good sharpness portrait photographs, which many photographers who tried to achieve this could not. Grekov came up with a chair with special comfortable pads that supported the head of the person being photographed, allowing him not to get tired during a long sitting and maintain a fixed position. And a person in a chair had to be motionless for a long time: 23 minutes in the bright sun, and on a cloudy day - all 45.

Masters of photography Grekov are considered to be the first portrait photographer in Russia. To achieve excellent portrait photographs, he was also helped by the photographic device he invented, consisting of a wooden camera into which light did not penetrate. But at the same time, the boxes could slide out one from the other and return to their place. At the front of the outer box, he attached a lens, which was a lens. The inner box contained a light sensitive plate. By changing the distance between the boxes, that is, by moving them one from the other or vice versa, it was possible to achieve the necessary sharpness of the picture.

Contribution of Sergey Levitsky

The next person, thanks to whom the history of photography in Russia continued to develop rapidly, was Sergey Levitsky. Daguerreotypes of Pyatigorsk and Kislovodsk, made by him in the Caucasus, appeared in the history of Russian photography. As well as the gold medal of an art exhibition held in Paris, where he sent pictures to participate in the competition.

Sergey Levitsky was in the forefront of photographers who suggested changing the decorative background for filming. They also decided to perform retouching of portrait photographs and theirnegatives to reduce or eliminate technical flaws, if any.

Levitsky leaves for Italy in 1845, deciding to improve the level of knowledge and skills in the field of daguerreotype. He takes pictures of Rome, as well as portrait photos of Russian artists who lived there. And in 1847 he comes up with a photographic apparatus with folding fur, using the fur from the accordion for this. The innovation allowed the camera to become more mobile, which was largely reflected in the expansion of photography opportunities.

Sergei Levitsky returned to Russia as a professional photographer, having opened his own daguerreotype workshop "Light Painting" in St. Petersburg. With her, he also opens a photo studio with a rich collection of photographic portraits of Russian artists, writers and public figures. He does not give up studying the art of photography, continuing to empirically study the use of electric light and its combination with solar and their influence on pictures.

Russian footprint in photography

Artists, masters of photography, inventors and scientists from Russia have made a great contribution to the history and development of photography. So, among the creators of new types of cameras, such Russian surnames as Sreznevsky, Ezuchevsky, Karpov, Kurdyumov are known.

Even Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev took an active part, dealing with theoretical and practical problems of making photographs. And together with Sreznevsky, they were at the origins of the creation of the photographic department in the Russian Technical Society.

The successes of the bright master of Russian photography, who can be put on the same level with Levitsky, Andrey Denyer, are widely known. He was the creator of the first photo album with portraits of famous scientists, doctors, travelers, writers, artists. And the photographer A. Karelin became known throughout Europe and entered the history of photography as the founder of the genre of everyday photography.

Development of photography in Russia

Interest in photography at the end of the 19th century increased not only among specialists, but also among the common people. And in 1887, the "Photographic Bulletin" was published, a magazine that collected information on recipes, chemical compositions, photo processing methods, and theoretical data.

But before the revolution in Russia, the opportunity to engage in artistic photography was available only to a small number of people, since almost none of the inventors of the camera had the opportunity to produce them on an industrial scale.

In 1919, V. I. Lenin issued a decree on the transfer of the photographic industry under the control of the People's Commissariat of Education, and in 1929 the creation of light-sensitive photographic materials began, which later became available to everyone. And already in 1931, the first domestic camera "Photokor" appeared.

The role of Russian masters, photo artists, inventors in the development of photography is great and occupies a worthy place in the world history of photography.