A very brief history. Whole books could only do justice to any of the subjects touched on here, but this is not the intention of this site. My only wish is to whet your appetite, that you might try some of the experiments at home. The camera existed considerably before the advent of any means of chemically recording the image, the so called camera obscura in which an image is projected onto ground glass, had been invented in the 16th century in Naples and used as a draughting aid, notable amongst those to employ this device was the Venetian artist Canaletto (1697-1768). Although its invention is credited to one Baptista Porte, it is highly probable that Arab wise men knew of a similar device upwards of 500 years previously. I wonder sometimes if the effect might have been discovered by Bedouin tribesmen who saw the pin hole camera effect through a small hole in a tent.

potted history 1 of 4, continue.