Kodak: How George Eastman revolutionized photography

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  • Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
  • Bill tells the story of how George Eastman invented film. Its use in the Brownie camera revolutionized photography; that it changed the way American families think of themselves and recall their own histories.

КОМЕНТАРІ • 168

  • @Polite_Cat
    @Polite_Cat 10 років тому +205

    Gee, when he started talking about him asking where his heart was, I assumed that it was going to have something to do with him developing some sort of rudimentary x-ray device related to his camera business. That was a bit grim and unexpected.

    • @Clarkthek
      @Clarkthek 7 років тому +5

      Same here, wow!

    • @mrpancake8888
      @mrpancake8888 7 років тому +1

      ForthyPremonition damn

    • @formdusktilldeath
      @formdusktilldeath 6 років тому +2

      yeah but then I thought about bon jovi and felt better =D

  • @williamreymond2669
    @williamreymond2669 8 років тому +6

    My grandmother, born 1900, had a several Brownie cameras in her attic - no idea where the finally went.
    I have to mention that we are all still trying to figure out how to manage what we do in out new digital-creative-commons-lives, but that I think you are really setting some kind of a standard of excellence with the way you take the time to annotate the provenience over every image you display in your videos - Bravo!

  • @Rwdphotos
    @Rwdphotos 5 місяців тому

    Funny thing about the first dry plate and film cameras, was that they were advertised as being specifically good at walkabout devices in order to emphasize their readiness and portability, but people hated that where there was once an ultimate expectation of privacy in public, people with cameras could take your photo at any moment and remove any notion of it. Those people were often labeled as perverted or scoundrels for invading people’s expectation of privacy for permanent keepsakes of random people’s likenesses.
    It’s an incredibly stark difference to today, where it’s relatively expected for people to be walking around and taking pictures, particularly in tourist areas, but at the same time incredibly similar to how people are treating drones and the increased accessibility of aerial photography today.

  • @mikerafone4736
    @mikerafone4736 4 роки тому

    Bill thank you very much for these very itersting and perfect lengh vids love to watch them

  • @KustomFu
    @KustomFu 10 років тому +13

    woah, when I picked my youtube name, I tried to pick a short simple name that anyone could pronounce, and it starts with a K too :D

  • @Jarl_69
    @Jarl_69 10 років тому +5

    Old metal cameras looked so much better than today's ugly plastic ones...

    • @jettrooper3rd930
      @jettrooper3rd930 10 років тому

      Le camera defener amirite?

    • @pepperstmm
      @pepperstmm 9 років тому +5

      The majority of today's cameras aren't plastic either, granted the ultra-low end consumer compacts are, but almost all DSLR, Rangefinders and many compacts are made of magnesium alloys or some other metal.

    • @Jarl_69
      @Jarl_69 9 років тому +1

      Pepperstm You gotta admit, The feel of an old metal camera is far superior to today's cameras

    • @TheUltimateBlooper
      @TheUltimateBlooper 9 років тому +3

      ***** I've got a 60D and a 5D Mark III with a wide range of professional metal lenses... And you know what..? My father's old soviet FED-2 rangefinder is just something else! I love the look and feel of it :)

    • @iotaje1
      @iotaje1 8 років тому +2

      Brownie Cameras were actually made out of wood.
      Later on, cheap cameras were sheet metal, which isn't a very strong material. Some old cameras feel sturdy (The Rolleiflex or the Hasselblad for instance), but those were worth thousands of dollars in today's money.
      Today's 2000 bucks camera feel very sturdy too.

  • @sciencetoymaker
    @sciencetoymaker 10 років тому +1

    Bravo!

  • @jackhong1981
    @jackhong1981 9 років тому

    We must not forget the people behind the great invention or discovery.

  • @icraftcrafts8685
    @icraftcrafts8685 3 роки тому

    Man that star wars image had me giggling

  • @UnprotectedDesignFlaw
    @UnprotectedDesignFlaw 8 років тому

    :3 great bedtime story :3

  • @luckyfellow968
    @luckyfellow968 3 роки тому

    me taking selfies

  • @SaturnCanuck
    @SaturnCanuck 8 років тому +1

    .. and don't forget the genus of Kodachrome....

  • @peterbrownwastaken
    @peterbrownwastaken 10 років тому +194

    The house I own has a dark room off the garage. Trying to explain how people used to develop film to my 7 year old was like trying to explain the Magna Carta to my cat...

    • @joeevans84
      @joeevans84 7 років тому +28

      Peter Brown, did the cat understand?

    • @jdawn1982
      @jdawn1982 7 років тому +5

      Peter Brown I'm jealous. Every time I design my dream house, it always has a darkroom in the basement.

    • @Robert-xp4ii
      @Robert-xp4ii 5 років тому +4

      Peter Brown My cat would just correct me. 😕

  • @wompstopm123
    @wompstopm123 8 років тому +97

    0:19 that guy is only 17?! damn, the 1800s must have been hard

    • @BaxterRoss
      @BaxterRoss 7 років тому +7

      This is an undervalued comment

    • @txarguy8750
      @txarguy8750 6 років тому +3

      Eli Suryana What year was Captain Obvious born?

    • @nextapplepearl8144
      @nextapplepearl8144 6 років тому

      TX ARGUY; who is captain obvious ?

    • @Dziku888
      @Dziku888 5 років тому

      Yes, they were harder than you can think of.

  • @johng5540
    @johng5540 8 років тому +66

    I am from Rochester. No longer live there but Kodak is a small fraction of what it used to be. At its peak the plant there had a third of the city working for it, about 60,000 people. It also had its own railroad to feed coal cars to a separate on-site power plant from the city's grid. Very cool video.

    • @Aviator27J
      @Aviator27J 5 років тому +4

      I'm from there too (sixth generation) but I moved at age 22. I wish management had taken the right courses in decades past but if new Kodak executives could make the right decisions they may keep it in business. The way it's going now though, I'm afraid it won't be around in another couple decades. The job loss would be hard but it's been gradual. What's worse thing is that it's a lot of history to lose.

    • @DavidDavid-jb1cy
      @DavidDavid-jb1cy 3 роки тому +5

      @@Aviator27J The reality is, 99.99999% of businesses won't be around for 100 years. Theres a better chance that in 50 years companies like Facebook are gone than still going strong. Just like how Eastman knew his time was up, so too will be the same for Kodak the company.

  • @thrillhouse_vanhouten
    @thrillhouse_vanhouten 8 років тому +17

    I've heard that the reason why Eastman settled on the name "Kodak" was not just because it could be pronounced in any language, but because of its instantly recognizable onomatopoeia of the sound of a camera shutter.

  • @baremetalHW
    @baremetalHW 7 років тому +19

    I guess you could say George Eastman whent out with a FLASH and a BANG.

  • @AlexKrieger71
    @AlexKrieger71 10 років тому +31

    Wow, nobody said shaking the marketplace for cameras in the 1880s was easy, but it's amazing how the cost was able to be brought down so far and be able to share the Kodak camera across the world.

  • @lalagirl211
    @lalagirl211 9 років тому +35

    George Eastman was the founder of the Eastman Kodak Company and the inventor of roll film. He played a leading role in transforming photography from a complex, expensive hobby of the elite to an inexpensive and beloved pastime that almost anyone could enjoy.
    In his final years, Eastman was suffering from a heart condition, diabetes, and a degenerative spinal disease, which made walking increasingly difficult and painful. His mother spent her last years in a wheelchair and Eastman did not want to suffer the same fate. As time passed, Eastman grew increasingly despondent. He shot himself in the the heart on March 14, 1932. His suicide note read, "To my friends, my work is done. Why wait? GE."

    • @BenjaminEsposti
      @BenjaminEsposti 7 років тому +4

      I nearly cried at the last part ... >~

    • @lalagirl211
      @lalagirl211 7 років тому +1

      Benjamin Esposti its sad :( .. all of us will die

  • @movax20h
    @movax20h 9 років тому +14

    Please do a film about analog SLR mechanics. When I look at my Praktica MTL 5B with Carl Zeiss Pentacon auto 50/1.8 on M42 mount, I always wonder how these things of beauty were designed. Aperture blades control, closing, focus control, shutter, springs, mirror, all timed perfectly and fitted together, then you process to next frame, advancing film, tensioning the springs, moving the shutter back (but in closed position) were it was, ready to take next picture, and advance the counter too.

  • @matthewjackman8410
    @matthewjackman8410 3 роки тому +10

    "To my friends, my work is done. Why wait?"
    What a powerful sentence.

  • @fenixcreciente8576
    @fenixcreciente8576 6 років тому +2

    My maternal grandfather was George Eastman's personal asst./bookkeeper... bit of family history.

  • @gregcollins3404
    @gregcollins3404 8 років тому +4

    And Edwin Land (of Polaroid) discovered that you could take a B&W photo through a blue filter and another of the same scene through a red filter - then project the two photos through the same filters, merge them together and ta-da... the scene reappears in full color! The beginning of color photography.
    Neither company could deal with the advent of digital photography though.

  • @s0nnyburnett
    @s0nnyburnett 10 років тому +7

    Even today you can still up Brownie's for cheap at flea markets and second hand stores. It's a good thing they were so many that you can still pick up a little piece of history for fast food prices.

  • @hero28
    @hero28 9 років тому +10

    Hi I am a new sub, watched your drinking can video, thought it was great, looking forward to watching your other vids :D

  • @FyberOptic
    @FyberOptic 10 років тому +5

    I live less than two miles from the HQ of Eastman Chemical Company here in northeast Tennessee, a chemical plant as large as a small town by itself. People here still tell the stories of when it exploded in 1960, and they felt it clear across town. Ever since, we hear the emergency siren test, every Saturday at noon.

  • @Rickyc12s
    @Rickyc12s 7 років тому +5

    Founded on innovation, destroyed by ignorance.

  • @ryansmith1810
    @ryansmith1810 10 років тому +3

    Not only did film photography become popular because of him, digital photography was also invented by an employee of Kodak.

  • @DELLISTX
    @DELLISTX 10 років тому +1

    Excellent...You are good at telling a story.. Short and to the point I think it is short enough to put on the radio... with maybe something like "That Last 2 minutes o history was brought to you by Joes Camera Shop...or Jack's Garage.. Think about it... Send this tape to a station for their files...You need it on file for their customers to listen to and decide if they would like to use your voice for their ad...

  • @ajuk1
    @ajuk1 9 років тому +13

    Can you do a video on the 35mm SLR?

    • @mundotaku_org
      @mundotaku_org 8 років тому +1

      specifically the Canon AE1

    • @vibujicilemi
      @vibujicilemi 8 років тому +3

      No. AE-1, when equipped with motorized winder can shoot up to 2 frames per second. That wouldn't pass as "video". On one roll of film, you could capture up to 18 seconds of this "video".

    • @mundotaku_org
      @mundotaku_org 8 років тому +1

      Mr. Lemon I was joking...
      Sarcasm -.-

  • @Robert-xp4ii
    @Robert-xp4ii 5 років тому +1

    Today, I'm a 48 y/o man with better than average mechanical skills. The very first thing I repaired (around 8 y/o) was a camera that looked very similar to the one in the thumbnail. It wouldn't advance the film so, since my mom considered it useless as it was, she let me have it. All I did was take everything apart and reassemble it but it then worked and built my confidence. Looking back, it was most likely the grease on the gears as it will harden over time. (Hey, maybe a great subject to cover- advances in lubricants that allowed for smaller and more robust machines.) Nonetheless, that day I became our household mechanic, fixing vacuums, our washer and drier, etc. So I too would like to thank that good man.

  • @lebrigand4115
    @lebrigand4115 3 роки тому +1

    I own and still use a wooden 1899 Folding Pocket Kodak camera, as well as several Brownie cameras (both box cameras and folding cameras). What's amazing is that most of these use a roll film format that is still produced to this day (called the "120" format, which is 6cm wide and allows for 8 to 12 frames per roll).

  • @Wifi_Cable
    @Wifi_Cable 10 років тому +6

    $1 ($30) for a camera. He had to be losing a lot on them and making bank on film.

    • @seigeengine
      @seigeengine 10 років тому +6

      How do you figure?
      The film was the complicated part. The camera's only job is to focus light onto the film.

    • @darkfire8008
      @darkfire8008 10 років тому +2

      In order for him to be able to sell the camaras at such alow cost, he had to produce them at a low cost, even if the film is what made him rich.

    • @Wifi_Cable
      @Wifi_Cable 10 років тому +1

      seigeengine Yes cameras back then were very simple but there was a lot of metal in that. Having to process and ship all that weight had to be expensive.
      The film at a modern $5 is inexpensive but definitely over the cost to produce and ship. Just because something is complicated that doesn't mean it can't be manufactured for cheap.

    • @seigeengine
      @seigeengine 10 років тому +1

      ciccarello And just because you have opinions doesn't mean they're sensible, so why are we having this discussion?

    • @Wifi_Cable
      @Wifi_Cable 10 років тому +2

      seigeengine You asked how I figured it. I was explaining my logic in case maybe you could bring an insightful point of view I was overlooking since you seemed to disagree with my original statement.

  • @djolley61
    @djolley61 5 років тому +1

    I have a sophisticated DSLR now, but my first camera was a Kodak Instamatic 110. Opening that yellow box at Christmas was like magic. Even though Eastman made photography affordable, film (and flashcubes) plus processing were pretty expensive, and so every photo was precious. When I moved on to an Olympus SLR I would often rewind film in the middle of a roll to switch to slide film or vice versa, writing the frame number on the roll so when I reloaded I could forward to where I left off. We take thousands of photos now with our smart phones. Photos taken decades and even over a century ago are now so, so precious.

  • @equalizer1553
    @equalizer1553 6 років тому +3

    Incredibly moving in under 3 minutes

  • @Aviator27J
    @Aviator27J 5 років тому +1

    The George Eastman House in Rochester is a great place to visit, especially for history or photography buffs. If you're doing research you can request permission to enter the archives. I held a late 1800s photograph in there and inspected it quite closely. Since the resolution of film isn't in pixels but to the atomic structure, you can magnify photos or negatives and still see clear images no matter how much you scale up. It's pretty crazy!

  • @hoosherdaddy
    @hoosherdaddy 10 років тому +8

    Bill, take your videos to Nickelodeon and reboot Mr Wizard's World!!!

  • @shahbazsheikh3545
    @shahbazsheikh3545 7 років тому +5

    The fact that Eastman had a favorite letter with sound reasoning (not just because) make him awesome in my book.
    Revolutionizing photography makes him even more awesome.

  • @Liana8310
    @Liana8310 8 років тому +3

    We have that same exact Instamatic one.

  • @BenjaminEarlMusic
    @BenjaminEarlMusic 6 років тому +1

    I really wish whoever wrote this piece hadn't romanticized Eastman's suicide.

  • @rabidbigdog
    @rabidbigdog 8 років тому +1

    Are you a Monty Python fan (well, the writers in this case)? Search Lord Privy Seal in youtube. :)

  • @LilNewo
    @LilNewo 10 років тому +1

    Keep up the awesome work Bill, thank you so much for these videos.

  • @BariumCobaltNitrog3n
    @BariumCobaltNitrog3n 3 місяці тому

    The letter K is also funny. Nik-Nak Paddywhack is no CEO. The letter for laughing...KKKKK. Almost any word with a K is funnier than a similar word. Fat vs Porky. Poke vs prod. Instead of saying hello to a co-worker say buk buk bukaaak!

  • @matooo95
    @matooo95 10 років тому +12

    The picture shows that he died in 1923, but at 2:16 you said that he died in 1932. 1932 is the correct year, so please fix it.

  • @sharrynuk
    @sharrynuk 10 років тому

    Ugh. This video suffers from Lord Privy Seal disease. We know what a teapot looks like; don't show us irrelevant visuals.

  • @truthlifefishing1730
    @truthlifefishing1730 2 роки тому

    How proud he must have been when KODAK with all that vision,
    refused to make the change to digital, unable to see past its own reflection. say "cheese."

  • @cip744
    @cip744 3 місяці тому

    ibn alheithem is the one who invented القمرة aka camera George contuniued on his work

  • @Landrew0
    @Landrew0 10 років тому +1

    Some of the slides are vaguely appropriate at best.

  • @nikanth
    @nikanth 6 років тому

    Don't mix "around the globe/world" and "americans/ american families"

  • @unusualvideos8269
    @unusualvideos8269 4 роки тому

    Thanks To George Eastman Who made Taking Selfies possible

  • @brucehendricks
    @brucehendricks 10 років тому

    Too bad the idiots who took control of his dynasty screwed up so royally by underestimating how quickly digital would take over the photography world. Kodak was a pioneer in the digital photography world which only makes this story more embarrassing for the company. From creating an entire industry to throwing it all away, that is the Kodak story. Sad.....

  • @KingThrillgore
    @KingThrillgore Рік тому

    You should do one about how Kodak invented and sat on the digital camera.

  • @schitlipz
    @schitlipz 7 років тому +1

    How to make a photgraphic plate with eggs?

  • @RezaAP
    @RezaAP 10 років тому

    Thx for teaching me history engineerGuy.

  • @ryalexstudios
    @ryalexstudios Рік тому

    I wouldn't drink from that teapot.

  • @dwoodman26
    @dwoodman26 3 роки тому

    'Hey Doc, where is my heart?
    'Why?'
    'No reason'

  • @SteakBarker
    @SteakBarker 10 років тому

    0:08 I have that camera. Expect mines orange. I also have a grey one.

  • @ICBPenguin
    @ICBPenguin 10 років тому

    70 billion pictures in 2000, i wonder what that is now

  • @Sketchy_Dood
    @Sketchy_Dood 4 роки тому

    Well that’s one way to take the shot

  • @1Jomarcel
    @1Jomarcel 3 роки тому

    Shot himself by accident?

  • @olliloco
    @olliloco 10 років тому

    @ Engineerguy.. While at the objective, maybe you could explain privacy filters for displays.. Just a thought.. :-)

  • @ohasis8331
    @ohasis8331 Рік тому

    Sort of amusing that he took his last shot.

  • @ahall1459
    @ahall1459 2 роки тому

    Considering plate glass film was still a "thing" in the 1900s, and better, it truly was a revolution in convenience...between movie film and colour film, all available at a cost, it was a opportunity not to miss...pity that a good part of it was recorded on flammable celluloid and lost...now it's all digital

    • @SteveMillerhuntingforfood
      @SteveMillerhuntingforfood 2 роки тому

      It is not all digital, though most of it.
      Analog photography has made a significant resurgence.
      Just look at the prices of vintage film cameras. There's a large demand for them right now.

  • @geosutube
    @geosutube 6 років тому

    Love This Show. Ran across it for the first time today by accidentally clicking a link while watching videos of British Rail Journeys. Now, engineerguy is a favorite. Bingeing on it right now. Not interested in the Super Bowl anyway.

  • @davidm.johnston8994
    @davidm.johnston8994 7 років тому

    I'm always wondering what we'll do with all the photos we take today? My personal moto is to take as many photos and videos as I can, whenever I see something interesting, and never worry about sorting them, because algorithms will do it awfully well in the future, like Google photos already does nowadays but better.
    Of course from time to time I look at them too. It's very convenient to have them everywhere.
    I'm realizing my comment is turning into an advertisement, but I really do love Google Photos and look forward to what it will be able to do in the future.

  • @nikhiljoon1166
    @nikhiljoon1166 4 роки тому

    You've written this book?

  • @AureaPersona
    @AureaPersona 10 років тому +9

    An hero.

    • @ffnovice7
      @ffnovice7 8 років тому +12

      +AureaPersona And a real human bean.

  • @StRoRo
    @StRoRo 10 років тому

    So was a great inventor but bad at biology. Didn't know where his heart was?

    • @TheMohawkNinja
      @TheMohawkNinja 10 років тому +16

      Something tells me common knowledge of human anatomy was a bit different 100 years ago.

  • @granskare
    @granskare 7 років тому

    wow! I used to have a Brownie. Aim, look down into something and voila :)

  • @jayweb702
    @jayweb702 5 років тому

    The 80's which I grew up in wouldn't have existed without Kodak. Rip

  • @xPROxSNIPExMW2xPOWER
    @xPROxSNIPExMW2xPOWER 10 років тому

    I hope I get into to urbana champaign. I live in Chicago and would love to meet you there!!

  • @auro1986
    @auro1986 7 років тому

    do they make and sell these film cameras anymore?

  • @KingLich451
    @KingLich451 3 роки тому

    I love your videos. I am happy that you decided to make them.

  • @inkey2
    @inkey2 8 років тому

    wrong camera @ 1:50.........that is a 1950s "movie" camera

  • @AzTK96
    @AzTK96 7 років тому

    Wow, love your videos. I hope my dad could tell me those stories when I came to bed.

  • @audunseverin
    @audunseverin 4 роки тому

    Great video. On the point and no fuzz. Thanks!

  • @ironcito1101
    @ironcito1101 7 років тому

    Eastman... he came out of the East to do battle with the amazing Rando.

  • @michaelmcgee8543
    @michaelmcgee8543 6 років тому

    enjoyed!

  • @zzzdogutube
    @zzzdogutube 10 років тому

    thanks

  • @Marmonery
    @Marmonery 10 років тому

    Lovely bit of history. Thank you for sharing.

  • @arfansthename
    @arfansthename 4 роки тому

    Ha. Cat-box.

  • @K_World248
    @K_World248 6 років тому

    Superb 😍😍😍

  • @RandomKidwhodoesstuf
    @RandomKidwhodoesstuf 10 років тому

    first

  • @MrPolymath0
    @MrPolymath0 10 років тому

    grim

  • @harpiesd96
    @harpiesd96 10 років тому

    Cool.

  • @nunyab2571
    @nunyab2571 7 років тому

    yer awesome dude. thanks for this video

  • @newLIFEthruCHRIST
    @newLIFEthruCHRIST 9 років тому +2

    "And just as it is appointed for people to die once--and after this, judgment" (Hebrews 9:27) "If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9)

  • @swsephy
    @swsephy 10 років тому

    Wonderful video!

  • @SumeetKD
    @SumeetKD 10 років тому

    ahh!! you trickster you made me buy your book

  • @alexandrecote7674
    @alexandrecote7674 10 років тому

    truly amazing video

  • @_-JR01
    @_-JR01 10 років тому

    How come this was first taken down?

    • @asdgashash
      @asdgashash 10 років тому +6

      The first upload was broken, sound would cut off halfway through.

  • @superbionicbatman
    @superbionicbatman 10 років тому

    Thank You George!

  • @The_Truls
    @The_Truls 10 років тому

    Theese videoes are amazing!

  • @JamesR624
    @JamesR624 9 років тому +3

    And just think, despite what companies would have you believe, it was Kodak that enabled everything from the iPhone camera to Google Photos to Instagram.

    • @RCAvhstape
      @RCAvhstape 8 років тому

      +James Rowe Exactly. Kodak invented the digital camera, way before its time.

  • @KrusteysSeason
    @KrusteysSeason 10 років тому

    what about leica cameras?

    • @stephenarling1667
      @stephenarling1667 6 років тому

      Oskar Barnack invented the Leica, the first 35mm still camera with interchangeable lenses. It was also famously reliable. Compare that with Kodak's weird, infamously unreliable and grotesquely overpriced Ektra camera.

  • @Nexus2Eden
    @Nexus2Eden 10 років тому

    What an amazing story.

  • @vcdoom9247
    @vcdoom9247 10 років тому

    Very informative!

  • @HaouasLeDocteur
    @HaouasLeDocteur 10 років тому

    I LOVE THESE LAST VIDEOS.

  • @andimilhomme4549
    @andimilhomme4549 10 років тому

    That was beautiful

  • @chocomalk
    @chocomalk 10 років тому +1

    @0:10 I have this camera ahehehe

    • @LilNewo
      @LilNewo 10 років тому

      They have them in the dark zone? or did you bring it with you on the Lexx?

    • @chocomalk
      @chocomalk 10 років тому

      newonaginnalf
      Hehehe it just appeared one day ;)

    • @supcomFAN
      @supcomFAN 10 років тому +1

      Probably Prince gave it to him for some evil scheme