Historical Photography

Photography has a rich and complicated history — full of iconic images, pioneering figures, forgotten archives, and equipment that shaped how we see the world. This section digs into that history, from the earliest daguerreotypes to the defining photojournalism of the 20th century, exploring how the medium evolved and what we can still learn from it today.
Nuclear explosion test shot showing bright hemispherical fireball rising above desert ground with shock wave and dust plume

Fifty Cameras in the Dark: How the First Atomic Bomb Was Photographed

At 5:29:45 in the morning on July 16, 1945, in a stretch of New Mexico desert the Spanish called the Jornada del Muerto, the sky turned brighter than the noon sun. Aimed at that flash, tucked into steel-and-lead bunkers and buried instrument boxes ringing a 100-foot tower, sat roughly fifty cameras. Most of the cameras were unmanned and triggered automatically, although Brixner personally occupied a tracking-camera position at North 10,000. Every one had been focused, loaded, and left in the dark hours earlier, wired to fire on a countdown, because no human eye could be trusted to catch what was about to happen and no photographer could survive standing close enough to try. The world has entered the nuclear age.

Five men in formal 19th-century attire arranged in a studio portrait

The First Photograph of a U.S. President Is a Contested Honor

In October 2017, a silver plate about the size of a paperback sold at Sotheby's in New York for $360,500. It is the earliest surviving photograph of anyone who has ever been President of the United States, and the man staring out of it had been out of the office for fourteen years by the time the lens cap came off. The question of who was photographed first is messier than a single plate suggests, and every leading candidate carries an asterisk.

Illustration of Voyager spacecraft with extended antenna against starfield background

How NASA Blindly Aimed a Camera From Billions of Miles Away

Imagine trying to photograph a moon the size of a fist while flying past it at 45,000 miles per hour, using a camera you cannot see through, cannot focus by hand, and cannot even talk to in real time. Every instruction you send takes hours to arrive. By the time you learn whether a shot worked, the target is long gone, and there is no second pass. That was the daily reality for the people who ran the cameras on Voyager 1 and Voyager 2.

Workers perched on steel beams high above a cityscape during the construction of a skyscraper.

'Lunch Atop a Skyscraper': Unraveling Photography's Most Famous Mystery

Eleven men sit shoulder to shoulder on a steel beam, more than 800 feet above Manhattan, eating sandwiches and lighting cigarettes as if the drop beneath their boots were nothing more than a curb. There is no safety line, no net, no visible fear. It is one of the most reproduced images of the twentieth century, and almost everything the average person assumes about it is wrong.

Illustration of horse and rider in motion across 12 sequential frames showing galloping progression

Murder, Movies, and Horses: The Strange Life of the Man Who Made Photographs Move

On June 19, 1878, a thoroughbred named Sallie Gardner ran down a track in Palo Alto and broke twelve threads stretched across her path with her chest. Each thread fired a camera. When the plates came out of the darkroom, they answered a question that painters, sculptors, and horsemen had argued about for centuries.

Earth rising above the lunar horizon against black space

How an Unplanned Photo Became Legendary: 'Earthrise' Was Almost Never Taken

The most influential environmental photograph ever taken was not on anyone's shot list. It happened because a rolling spacecraft swung a blue planet into view over a gray horizon, and Bill Anders had about a minute to find color film before the moment was gone. When he first raised the camera, his commander told him to stop.

Canon AE-1 35mm film camera with Auto-Dial accessory on wooden surface

How the Canon AE-1 Turned Photography Into a Mass-Market Hobby

Sometime in 1977, a 35mm single-lens reflex interrupted your evening television. A Japanese company had bought national network airtime to sell it, which almost no camera maker had seriously tried, and the pitch was not about sharpness or lens quality. It was that the thing was easy.

Dramatic riverbank landscape with tall coniferous forest and exposed earth bluff beside deep blue water

The Photographer Who Never Secured a Way Home: The Death of Carl McCunn

In March 1981, an amateur wildlife photographer named Carl McCunn arranged to be flown deep into the Alaskan bush to spend the summer alone with his cameras. He brought 500 rolls of film, 1,400 pounds of provisions, two rifles, and a shotgun. He never secured a dependable way to get back out, and that failure turned out to be one of several. He died at that lakeside camp before the winter was over, and the detailed diary he left behind became one of the most haunting accounts in the literature of wilderness survival, precisely because it documents, one entry at a time, how a preventable predicament became fatal for an experienced, resourceful man.

Man working at typewriter at desk overlooking urban skyline through large windows

Before Cartier-Bresson, There Was André Kertész

Long before many of the photographers we now refer to as masters of the art of photography, André Kertész was quietly changing what photography could be. Born in Hungary in 1894, Kertész wasn't chasing the spectacle or the drama. He found meaning in ordinary moments such as a shadow stretching across a wall, a lone figure crossing a courtyard, a fork resting on a plate, sunlight pouring through a window. He understood something that still resonates today: that a photograph doesn't need a grand subject to carry emotional impact.

Photographer in light blue shirt holding camera up to compose shot in urban downtown setting

The Decisive Moment Is 74 Years Old. Does It Still Apply?

In 1952, Henri Cartier-Bresson published "Images à la Sauvette," a collection of 126 photographs with a cover designed by Henri Matisse. The American edition, published the same year by Simon and Schuster, was titled "The Decisive Moment," and that phrase entered photography's vocabulary so completely that it has shaped how photographers think about their medium ever since.

Satellite weather imagery showing a hurricane system near Texas and Cuba coastlines

Everyone Assumes the First Weather Satellites Used Film. The Real Story Is Far Stranger.

When Hurricane Camille filled the Gulf of Mexico in August 1969, satellites watched it the entire way in. The storm came ashore on the Mississippi coast as a Category 5 with sustained winds of 175 mph and a storm surge of more than 24 feet, and it killed more than 250 people. It would have killed many more if forecasters had not seen it coming from space. The Weather Bureau later estimated that the warnings and evacuations enabled by modern tracking and forecasting may have saved as many as 50,000 lives.

Three black and white portrait photographs of women in casual poses outdoors

Why Family Photographs Matter More Than Ever

Photography has always occupied a curious position. It can be art, journalism, testimony, or obsession. But before any of that, it is memory made visible. And nowhere does that become more apparent than in the family photograph.

Two photography magazine covers side by side: Shutterbug and Professional Photographer

How Expensive Has It Become to Be a Photographer These Days?

At a thrift shop the other day, I found a couple of relics. No, these weren't the usual camera finds, but rather 16-year-old photography magazines, specifically the now-shuttered Shutterbug and the still-active Professional Photographer. It got me thinking: How expensive has it become to be a photographer these days?

Woman in white shirt and jeans sitting on bed holding orange smartphone

What Is Truth in a Post-Photography World?

In March 2026, the National Republican Senatorial Committee released an online ad featuring a minute-long video of Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico speaking into the camera, reading statements the real Talarico had not spoken on camera. The Talarico in the video was generated entirely by artificial intelligence, voicing content drawn from the candidate's old social media posts. The words "AI Generated" appeared in small text in the corner of the frame at the start, then faded into even smaller text that remained on screen while the fake Talarico continued to speak. 

Stacked vintage tire shop signs against a clear blue sky with green tree foliage visible at the base.

Why 28mm, 35mm, and 50mm Shaped the Way We Photograph Cities

In photography, style is often discussed in terms of subject matter, color, or composition. Certainly important aspects to consider, but much less frequently do we talk about something equally decisive: focal length. Yet if you look closely at the history of urban landscape photography, focal length reveals itself as a kind of quiet grammar.

Two women with styled hair and makeup at an indoor event, one wearing a beaded dress and the other in a red ribbon detail dress, backlit by blue lighting.

The Value of Leica's Classic Lens Line

New iterations of our favorite tech appear regularly, and though the new version is often indistinguishable from the previous one, the manufacturer tells us we can't live without it. The previous version of the product is quickly forgotten, as it is now considered obsolete, with nothing to offer over the new model. Nikon, Canon, Sony, and Fuji have taught us not to look to the past when we select a camera or lens. Leica is the only company that understands the value of choosing tech that isn't state-of-the-art.

Two photographers wearing cowboy hats holding telephoto lenses against a gray background.

Old School vs. New School: How Generations Actually Differ as Photographers

Shooting film in an era of instant digital feedback isn't a step backward; it's a deliberate choice that exposes real differences in how generations approach the craft. Understanding those differences can sharpen how you think about your own photography, regardless of which tools you use.

Hands holding a white and black instant film camera with a flip-up flash attachment.

The $1,500 Camera Nobody Knew Existed

The Sony C200X is a 4-megapixel digital camera from 2004 that almost nobody outside of a post office or print shop has ever touched. It was built for one job: taking passport photos, and it did that job well enough that some of these are still in active use today.

Armed soldiers escorting a civilian man in a plaid shirt through a street lined with buildings.

The Shot Seen Around the World: How a Photo Can Reveal and Omit

On February 1, 1968, Associated Press photographer Eddie Adams was on the streets of Saigon in South Vietnam with his camera to capture the moments during the Tet Offensive during the Vietnam War. It was here when he captured a moment that would end up becoming one of the most influential photos in modern history. 

Vintage large-format view camera with bellows and lens, displayed in natural window light.

The Darkroom of Death: 10 Forgotten Hazards of Early Photography

The photographs that survive from the nineteenth century carry a strange weight. Daguerreotypes of solemn faces, wet plate portraits of Civil War soldiers, albumen prints of Victorian families posed in their Sunday best. What we rarely consider when looking at these images is what their creation cost the people who made them. The early history of photography reads less like the story of an art form and more like a catalog of occupational disasters. 

Soldier in combat gear crouches among bare branches and vegetation in a war-torn landscape.

Catherine Leroy: A Combat Photographer’s Journey

Catherine Leroy was a highly influential photojournalist in the twentieth century whose work fundamentally helped shape visual understandings of the Vietnam War. During the war, events were reported and viewed as strategic or abstract; however, her work presented the war as an immediate human experience characterized by the subject’s vulnerability, exhaustion, and the moral complexity of the conflict.

Screenshot of six video thumbnails showcasing landscape and timelapse cinematography content.

The Rise and Fall of Vimeo

Vimeo used to be the place where your best work looked better, loaded cleaner, and felt like it belonged in a serious portfolio. If you shoot photos and video, the platform you choose can quietly shape how clients judge your work before they ever reply.

Woman holding smartphone horizontally while standing outdoors near water during golden hour.

10 More Crazy Photography Facts You (Probably) Didn't Know

Think you know everything about photography? From the hidden math behind your files to bizarre legal battles over monkey selfies, these facts reveal the fascinating technical quirks and strange history that most photographers never learn.

Photographer using a large format camera mounted on a tripod to photograph a subject seated at a table below.

Why Your Vintage Lens Might Be Radioactive

"3.6 roentgen. Not great, not terrible." If you've ever browsed vintage lens forums or explored the world of classic camera gear, you've probably encountered a strange warning: "This lens is radioactive." It sounds like the setup to a bad science fiction movie, but it's absolutely true. Some of the most beloved lenses from the 1950s, 60s, and 70s contain glass elements laced with thorium, a mildly radioactive element. These lenses can make a Geiger counter click like a tap dancer on a hardwood floor.

Two women taking a selfie together at a beach on a sunny day.

10 Crazy Photography Facts You Didn't Know

Photography is full of surprising history, weird technical quirks, and fascinating stories that even experienced photographers might not know. From the mathematical precision behind f-stops to cameras abandoned on the moon, these facts reveal just how wild the world of photography really is.

Three Minolta film cameras displayed side by side against a white background.

What Really Killed Minolta? A Post-Mortem

Before the "Big Two" dominated professional photography, there was a "Big Five." Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Olympus, and Minolta all competed for market share in the film era, and among them, Minolta wasn't just a player. They were arguably the most innovative of the entire pack.

Silhouetted figure standing in a tall crop field at golden hour with mountains in the background.

5 More Utterly Bizarre Lenses That Actually Made It to Market (And Why We Love Them)

If you thought the first batch of weird lenses was strange, buckle up. The history of photography is deeper and weirder than anyone gives it credit for, and manufacturers have tried some truly bonkers ideas in pursuit of solving problems both real and imagined. Some of these experiments were brilliant engineering achievements that the market simply wasn't ready for. Others were solutions so specific they could only ever appeal to a handful of users. And one of them literally reinvented what a camera lens even is.

Silhouetted figure standing on a mountain peak facing the Milky Way galaxy at dawn.

5 Utterly Bizarre Lenses That Actually Made It to Market (And Why We Love Them)

In today's lens market, we're spoiled with clinical perfection. Every new release promises sharper corners, less chromatic aberration, and faster autofocus. But rewind a few decades, and the photography industry was a wild west of mechanical experimentation, questionable engineering decisions, and ideas that made perfect sense to exactly nobody. Some of these experiments became beloved cult classics. Others became cautionary tales whispered in engineering departments. All of them are gloriously, magnificently weird.

Young photographer wearing a hat and sunglasses looking through binoculars in a sunlit outdoor setting.

The 13 Best DSLRs Ever Made: A Look Back at the Cameras That Defined an Era

The DSLR era may be winding down, but its legacy is undeniable. These cameras revolutionized photography, democratized professional tools, and created entirely new industries. From wedding photography to YouTube content creation, the DSLR shaped modern visual culture in ways that are still being felt today.

Photographer operating a camera on a shoulder rig while capturing a portrait of a woman in a bright, minimalist studio.

How Sony Ate Canon and Nikon's Lunch: The Five-Year Head Start That Changed Photography Forever

In the autumn of 2013, if you walked into any professional photography studio, sporting event, or wedding venue, you'd see a sea of black cameras with red rings and gold badges. Canon's 5D Mark III and Nikon's D800 weren't just cameras, they were symbols of serious photography. Their size, their weight, their distinctive mirror slap, these were the sounds and feels of professional work. The camera industry had a natural order, and everyone knew their place in it. Then Sony dropped a bomb.

Two women in colorful floral blazers and hats holding a vintage camera between them.

The Rise and Fall of the Point-and-Shoot Camera

There's a 10-year-old Canon PowerShot in your parents' junk drawer. It was once a $300 piece of high technology, a marvel of miniaturized optics and digital sensors that could fit in a shirt pocket. Today, the phone in your hand takes better photos in worse lighting without you thinking about it. This is the story of how the smartphone killed the most popular camera on Earth.

Young woman with shoulder-length wavy blonde hair smiling at camera against blurred green background.

5 Legendary Lenses That Changed Photography Forever

Photography has been revolutionized not just by cameras, but by the glass in front of them. While cameras capture the image, it's the lens that creates it: shaping light, defining character, and determining what's even possible to photograph. These five lenses didn't just improve image quality; they fundamentally transformed what photographers could do, how they could do it, and who could afford to do it.

Person in denim overalls and plaid shirt holding a vintage camera in a rural field.

The Patent War That Changed Photography Forever

In 1976, Kodak made what seemed like a smart business decision. Polaroid had dominated instant photography for decades, and consumers clearly wanted the technology. Kodak had the manufacturing scale, the distribution network, and the engineering talent to compete. They released their EK series instant cameras and started selling film. Within months, Polaroid sued them for patent infringement. What followed was one of the most expensive and consequential legal battles in photographic history.

Woman holding professional video camera and binoculars outdoors in natural setting.

3 Camera Technologies That Died Before They Should Have

Not every brilliant camera technology dies because it's flawed. Sometimes innovations vanish because the market couldn't support their development, manufacturers chose cheaper alternatives, or the industry simply moved on before the technology reached its full potential. Here are three examples of camera technologies that deserved better fates than they received.

Young explorer holding binoculars while wearing a hat and backpack in a sunlit outdoor setting.

The Camera Feature We Never Talk About

The viewfinder isn't just how you see before shooting. It's how you think. Every viewing technology, from ground glass to electronic viewfinders, created a different kind of photographer with a different way of seeing. Some compositions only exist because of how the photographer had to look at the world through their particular viewfinder. Maier's intimate street portraits wouldn't exist without waist-level viewing. Adams's formal landscapes required the contemplation of ground glass. The viewfinder shaped the photograph before the shutter ever opened.

Four young adults smiling at a food truck window while holding takeout containers.

The Most Important Camera of Every Generation

Every generation has its lens. Picture a child in 1905 clutching a Kodak Brownie, the first camera their family could afford, suddenly able to freeze a moment that would have otherwise vanished into the fog of memory. The family gathering instantly captured on Polaroid 1973. The night out captured on iPhone and uploaded to Facebook in 2010. These were the cameras of your time. 

Photographer holding a medium format camera with flip-up viewfinder against their body.

The Death and Rebirth of Medium Format

There's a Hasselblad 500C/M sitting in a pawn shop somewhere, priced at a few hundred dollars, gathering dust between the guitars and the jewelry cases. Thirty years ago, that camera was a professional's most prized tool—the key to a serious career. By today's standards, it would have cost several thousand dollars when new. Ten years ago, it was an expensive paperweight. Today, it's becoming desirable again, but for entirely different reasons. Medium format photography died and came back to life, and the story of how that happened reveals something essential about what we value in an image and why craft sometimes matters more than convenience.

Woman crouching by a riverside holding a camera, wearing a white cap and casual clothing.

5 More Cameras That Were Ahead of Their Time

In the first article, we explored five cameras that had the right vision but arrived at the wrong time, from Sony's Mavica prototype to the Contax N Digital. These machines predicted the future of photography but couldn't convince the market they were right.

Woman holding a vintage camera, leaning against a textured wall with blooming flowers in soft focus behind her.

5 (In)famous Camera Recalls That Changed Industry Standards Forever

No photographer wants to hear that their expensive camera has a fundamental flaw. But some of the most catastrophic product failures in camera history, whether formal recalls or de facto recalls that forced official corrections, led to industry-wide improvements that benefit every photographer today. These weren't just embarrassing product failures. They were watershed moments that forced manufacturers to completely rethink quality control, accelerate innovation, and take customer complaints seriously rather than dismissing them as user error.

Photographer holding a vintage film camera with decorative shoulder strap, wearing an orange floral dress.

6 Brilliant Camera Features That Digital Photography Forgot

Every time I load a memory card into my camera, I think about the satisfying mechanical click of loading a fresh roll of film. Modern digital cameras are technological marvels, packed with computational photography, eye-tracking autofocus, and in-body stabilization that would seem like science fiction to photographers of the 1990s. But in our rush toward the future, we've left behind some genuinely clever innovations that solved real problems in elegant ways. These weren't gimmicks or marketing features. They were thoughtful solutions born from the unique challenges of film photography, and some of them reveal just how much we've gained and lost in the digital revolution.

Hands holding a vintage rangefinder camera with neck strap against blurred turquoise background.

5 Cameras That Were Ahead of Their Time

The history of photography is littered with brilliant ideas that arrived too early. These were cameras that promised to revolutionize the industry but were met with skepticism, confusion, or outright rejection. These weren't failures of engineering. They were failures of timing.

Two women taking a selfie at a beach with ocean and sky in background.

The 5 Best Camera Designs of All Time

Ranking the greatest camera designs in history isn't just about technical specifications or optical performance. It's about identifying the pivotal moments when engineering brilliance, innovative thinking, and perfect timing converged to fundamentally change how we capture and think about photography. Here are five of the most remarkable camera designs in history.