Observed on June 29th every year, National Camera Day is a holiday that commemorates not only the camera but also the pictures it produces. The camera is a tool that’s been around since the 11th century—if the camera obscura is counted as the earliest incarnation of this device. It’s a tool that has evolved over the past few centuries to become the powerful tool that it is today.

A Brief History Of The Camera’s Origin

Although the effects of a single light passing through a pinhole had been discussed by scientists before the 11th century, it wasn’t until an Arab physicist known as Ibn al-Haytham gave the first correct analysis of the camera obscura. He was also the first to demonstrate that an image could be projected from one side of a hole to a surface in a darkened room. It was his writings that would lead to other inventions such as the magic lantern and eventually the handheld camera.

The first successful photograph, as we would recognize it today, was taken by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce—a French inventor. In 1816, he produced the first successful photograph on paper that had been coated with silver chloride. Unfortunately, this photograph is no longer in existence, but letters between him and his sister provide evidence that a successful photograph was captured that day.

The first camera to be commercially produced was built in 1839 by Alphonse Giroux. It was a daguerreotype camera, and Giroux entered into a contract with Isidore Niépce to make the cameras in France. During the rest of the 19th century, several different types of cameras were invented, including models by Charles Chevalier and Marc Antoine Gaudin.

Facts About Cameras

The following bits of information are some of the things that we discovered while doing research on cameras.

• The largest camera collection in the world has over 4,400 cameras in it.
• The first digital camera was invented in 1975.
• It’s believed that over a trillion photographs are taken every year.
• The first camera flashes were made from potassium chloride and aluminum.
• The first autofocus SLR camera was invented by Polaroid in 1979.

Celebrating National Camera Day

There are a million different ways for a person to celebrate National Camera Day, but the most common way is by using a camera to take some great pictures. That isn’t too difficult nowadays, considering that most people have cameras equipped on their smartphones. This is also a good day to take a photography class or to buy a real camera and not just rely on the one on your phone. After taking great photographs for the day, be sure to use the hashtag #NationalCameraDay to let everyone see the pictures you took.