From Kodak to Selfies

It was during the 19th century that the photography became popular. The Kodak No.1 was the spearhead of photography. It contains a lot of negatives that can capture around 100 photos.  There may be some people who still remember the Kodak ad in 1997. 

There was a time during which the camera flash peppered every birthday parties. I feel nostalgic for the days in which we bought many film reels for the camera, taking snapshots during a family trip, a birthday party or a family get-together, taking the negatives to a studio near by and finally making an album. There was a great keenness while longing for the photos developed by the studio. We opened the album cover as if we were opening a gift packet.

Many digital innovations have made their contributions to the world but the way we capture images have made a fantastic revolutionary shift rather than an evolutionary shift. The first digital camera is Fuji DS-1P. But it was not released for sale. Then came Kodak DCS. Next was the DSLR age lead by the Minolta and overruled by the Nikon with its reasonable price. After crossing several evolutionary phases each giving a different experience, we landed at the era of mobile cameras.  

The first camera phone invented in 1997 put a spark for the rise of camera phones by Nokia, Sony, Apple and so on. Even though many photography sharing communities were introduced during the early 2ks, all of them were dominated by the smartphones. They have changed even the way we experience photography.  

Years ago, we were taking pictures to record memories and life events but now we are taking pictures to share what we are and where we are now. Mobile camera phone provides a bridge, for the professional photographers, from the gallery walls to Instagram like platforms for sharing images. It's ramification have spread to the media field in such a way that it's the common people, not the press photographers, who captures the major footage of almost all world events using their camera phones.  

 Now selfies became the global phenomenon. The first known selfie was reported in Australia and in 2013, it held a place in Oxford dictionary. Even though the word became popular a few years ago, the reports say that the idea is not new. Starting with a tilted mobile phone or mobile phone held on a selfie stick, it ends up in a single click to upload in Facebook, Instagram or wherever you like. It's not the technical quality aspects that matters but the naturalism of the images posted by a person. The technology have changed a generation who used to write their names on walls and tree trunks to those who take selfie. A selfie posted in social media making a moue with lips, presenting a pretty skinny cheeks and eyes like a doe is a common scene now. 

After taking a selfie we are framing ourselves using different filtering apps for a better exposure. Some people use filters to improve the aesthetics while some others used to make the image more unique and funny. Instagram like platforms are providing a variety of filter options to reinvent one in an attractive way. Many filters can even change the age of a person by making him/her younger or older than the real age. Most of the teens are posting their photos and are filtering the photos to judge the likability of the image. People lost their confidence and get frustrated when they get less likes than expected. The selfies change the way we see ourselves. Earlier we were looking at a mirror to see how we are but now all are looking at mirror to see what we want to be and then take selfies manipulating each attribute and share with the public. Many people share selfie along with a video of the last night dinner they had just to show how fabulous their life is. Many people spend the whole time manipulating their images using different filtering apps. There are people who take selfies even while attending a funeral ceremony or while admitted in a hospital. This shows the urge to overshare each and every moment of personal life. Selfies have changed even our economy, culture and relationship. Many psychologists say that selfies are strongly playing a key role in the teenage development. Moreover they reported that the selfies may be a reason for making the future generation more narcissistic and self conscious. 

Thus it's not surprising that the rising technology is influencing the society with varying ideas. But we should still worry whether the future waves of digital technology are shaping the next generation on the right or wrong track.