How Kodak invented the “snapshot”

The original Kodak camera changed photography forever.

In 1888, Eastman Kodak patented roll film, and the company's business model of selling film, and then processing and printing the photos taken on that film for their consumers, made photography available to the masses for the first time. Before the Kodak No. 1 box camera debuted, photography was a complicated process involving chemistry and expertise on big, bulky equipment.

When Kodak introduced the Brownie and sold it for a dollar in 1900, photography went fully mainstream. The company dominated the film sales and development market during the 20th century and successfully marketed its automatic cameras as crucial to capturing fleeting moments — at home and on vacation.

But digital camera sales began to outpace film camera sales in the early 2000s, and Kodak failed to keep up. They filed for bankruptcy in 2012 but do still exist and sell film, albeit to a much smaller market.

Further reading:
Kodak and the Rise of Amateur Photography, by Mia Fineman

George Eastman's Modern Stone-Age Family: Snapshot Photography and the Brownie, by Marc Olivier

“The Brownie Camera” in History of Photography, by Eaton S. Lothrop Jr.

[MakeSomething]

Can we talk about how "You press the button, we do the rest" is freaking brilliant marketing?!? In 1888?!?!

[MorningThief_]

Growing up in the Philippines, the word Kodak is actually a verb meaning 'to take a photograph':

"Mag pa-Kodak ta!"
Meaning, "Let's take a photograph!"

[uss_]

Kodak moment is a term that worked its way into my personal lexicon

[Burnt_Gerbil]

I have a Kodak No 1A camera on my bookshelf I found at a thrift store. It’s so cool to see that technology. Now we all have cameras on our phones.

[benmcreynolds]

I have no idea how anyone could stumble on how to go about making color film and how they figured out all the different chemical processes in order to develop photos is absolutely mind boggling

[SMGJohn]

This is why I love photography for the people, it does not have to be artistically perfect, it just has to tell a story. And ordinary people are frankly, naturally talented in doing just that, taking picture, of a moment.

[magicknight]

The writing and research of this is already great but the illustrations, photos and editing really push it over the edge to truly amazing!!

[TechJoltd]

Kodak is from Rochester, and even though its incorporated in NJ, its still headquartered there. They never left, which I love, even if they've faded more into obscurity.

[RussellBeattie]

1992: Kodak is 18th on the Fortune 500. 2002: Kodak isn't even on the list. 2012: Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

[brokenglassshimmerlikestar]

In the 80s and 90s my Mom would only buy Kodak film for our cameras. There was a photo processing shop next to my school, and so we would go get our travel album after she picked me up from school. And then digital came and advanced so quickly, when I travelled to the UK as a teen in 2004 I already had my first digital camera with me. It took pretty great pictures (had macro, night mode etc too). These days I have a DSLR and several old film cameras. I develop films in my bathroom with no window, it's a hassle. So I mostly use my phone like everyone else.

[RobsNeighbor]

I come across so many stills 8mm vhs thrown away at the recycling center I work at on the weekend. Thank you for a great history lesson

[Moreinius]

Kodak had a genius in 1975 who literally gave them the biggest ticket to everlasting wealth and another genius who wrote a report in 1979 (Larry Matteson) who expected that there would be a complete shift to digital cameras by 2010 (which happened, the only thing that they couldn't possibly predict was the rise of iPhone and other smartphones). And the executives were still stubborn like a rock. Like are we serious? Sometimes I feel like executives shouldn't hold any power for this reason, they most of the time don't know anything they are talking about except seeing money numbers go up and lick investors buttholes.

[PerobenseAlbuquerque]

Really cool video as always, but it felt really short this time...
I would watch hours and hours about this subject!

[SeanLamb-I-Am]

You left out the whole history of instant photographs popularized by Polaroid. Kodak tried making an instant film camera line, but got sued by Polaroid. This suit was a major factor in Kodak's fall in the 1970s and 80s, before digital cameras came on the market.

[NicolasDimov]

Wild to see this video coming out now as I've been inching my way, along a few of my friends, into film photography for the past few months after finding one of my dad's old camera.

[loistverberg]

I still have my Mom's Brownie camera that she used in the ‘30’s as a teenager.

[antaris]

At the beginning of 21st century where everything is going digital, everyone thought that having your photos in digital format is easier to share and preserve, as it turned out how easily data can be permanently lost on a harddrive failure, a carefully preserved analog photograph in an album is probably going to have longer lifespan, and the sentimentality created by holding a piece of decades old piece of history simply hits different.

[thedesigner]

Thank you! Even though it pains me to say it, this informative, but highly informative and compact explanation, helps me replace a lesson I once taught in my high school photography classes in an interesting, visually stimulating and entertaining way.

[BigBoriWorld]

He’s such a versatile artist, I enjoy skrt skrt

[DymOctane]

Wonderful show. It’s incredible how much information can be transmitted in six minutes. Excellent writing and editing.