Photographic Evolution

Photographic Evolution

The camera has undergone an enormous series of reinventions since its conception. Once a simple wooden box with a lens and cap for controlling light, it is now a part of everyday life – found in our smartphones, tablets and even watches. In Focus: The Camera at J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, chronicles this evolution.

The show begins with 19th century experiments from Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre (1787-1851) and William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-1877), each manipulating light in intriguing and pioneering ways. Models from Kodak, Leica, Nikon, Hasselblad and Canon are on display, demonstrating the fast pace of development from the camera obscura to roll-film to digital. Portraits of renowned practitioners celebrate the intrinsic link between art and the camera; Dorothea Lange, Imogen Cunningham, Edward Steichen, Lisette Model are highlighted in striking images.

The exhibitions runs 30 July – 5 January. Find out more here.

Lead image: Andreas Feininger, The Photojournalist, 1955.