Do you love taking photos as much as I do? Are you a budding photographer who just got their first camera? Or a seasoned pro who has been capturing moments forever? Well, today is your day! Today, June 29th, is National Camera Day, when everything comes into focus.
The day commemorates photographs, the camera, and their invention. A camera is an irreplaceable tool used to record and replicate memories, events, and people and places. Before the invention of the camera, the only resource to document a vision was a painting. Capturing an image of a person or place in a drawing took time and skill. Very few people can perfectly draw the likeness of someone, let alone capture the essence of an event. I have even dabbled in the arts and tried my hand at creating watercolor portraits. Although I have to say my camera skills are so much better.
The power and ease of a camera have provided many people with a simple, inexpensive, and fast solution to capturing special events, gorgeous landscapes, and candid moments. George Eastman, also known as “The Father of Photography,” brought the camera to the masses. While he did not invent the camera, he did develop many additions improving the use, ease, and production of the camera. His developments made the camera widely available to homes around the world.
While the first cameras were large and bulky, each later design evolved until some cameras were as small as a pen. Today’s digital cameras have many features and variations, making them appealing to people of all ages for personal and professional use. The portable and easy-to-use features not only allow us to take photos quickly, but we can also edit them on the fly. Smartphones with built-in cameras include features that allow us to share photos instantly, too. Does your collection of cameras match the evolution of the technology? I have point-and-shoot cameras, DSLRs, Go-Pros, and my smartphone, and I still use all of these during the year. I even remember my first film camera where I had to open the back and install the film cartridge. Now, I go to antique stores to find vintage cameras to add to my collection. Times have certainly changed.
Taking photos has become so easy. According to Business Insider, in 2017, people took over 1.2 trillion digital photos on cameras. To put that trillion number in perspective, if you took one photo per second, you would take 1 million photos in less than 12 days and 1 billion in 32 years, but getting to 1 trillion would take nearly 32,000 years. That is a lot of camera photo-taking!
In late 2019, a report from Keypoint Intelligence estimated that the global population would take 1.44 trillion photos in 2020. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and put a stop to all special family events, gatherings. In June 2021, Rise Above Research, a consulting firm that provides market research for the digital imaging industry, estimated that the 2020 global photos figure was just 1.12 trillion, a 21% shutter slowdown from 2019. Now that things are opening up, travel is resuming, and families are finally getting back together, those numbers will be rising sharply as we catch up on all we missed last year.
HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalCameraDay
Whether photography is a hobby or your profession, celebrate the day by taking photos. Snap a picture of something or someone you enjoy and cherish the memory. But taking pictures isn’t the only way to celebrate.
- Take a photography class. Check out adult education classes to find a photography class in your hometown.
- Teach someone how to take outstanding photos.
- Read your camera owner’s manual to expand your knowledge and camera-taking abilities.
- Try a different style of photography or camera.
Post photos on social media using #NationalCameraDay. And let’s see what you got, photographers!
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