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Matinee: 'A History of Photography'
18 October 2025
Saturday matinees long ago let us escape from the ordinary world to the island of the Swiss Family Robinson or the mutinous decks of the Bounty. Why not, we thought, escape the usual fare here with Saturday matinees of our favorite photography films?
So we're pleased to present the 626th in our series of Saturday matinees today: A History of Photography.
You'd have to be around 223 years old to have lived through the history of photography. But even if you are, this 4:49 review will make you feel young again.
That's mainly because of Eva Timothy, who wrote the piece and narrated it, in short bringing this academic topic to life.
She takes us from the camera obscura, which couldn't record an image, to the camera phone, which records more photos in a day than were taken in the first 100 years of photography.
We'd be remiss not to applaud the animation as well, which we found both engaging and amusing, no small accomplishment.
You may not need to be reminded of the slog of history when it comes to photography, but hang onto this. You may find someone tagging along with you expressing an interest in the medium. This will give them a running start on what it's all been about.
Which is?
Well, even in a five minute overview, it's hard not to conclude that the field is driven by technology. Technology that is constantly evolving. Few of the arts (name another) depend so much on technology as photography.
That's the conceit of this piece. It's a history of the technology of photography. Which often obscures, even among photographers, the art that takes longer than five minutes to appreciate.