They say that a picture says a thousand words. In essence, images are very powerful and can have great impact. In the words of Sociology Professor Martin Hand at Queens University in Kingston, “we live in an age of unprecedented visuality.”
Last weekend I attended the World Press Freedom Show at the Marché de Bonsecours in Old Montreal. It’s a collection of powerful images from some of the world’s most newsworthy or hidden places—images of the revolution last year in Libya, the extraordinary devastation in Japan from the nuclear disaster and tsunami, stunning nature shots, photos of forgotten prisoners in some of the world’s most overcrowded jails. There are also images that capture scenes that are funny or silly and those that express moments of amazement and surprise. In short, it’s a powerful and moving photography display, and definitely worth seeing (open until September 30).
As I left, I realized that virtually all of those photos were digital—images built on pixels rather than film. This reflects an extraordinary evolution that has occurred in recent years, even among the world’s best professional photographers.
In the sweep of history, photographs are a relatively recent invention. The first photo of a person was only taken on film in 1839 (black & white of course). Kodak released its first film camera about 50 years later in 1888: it took almost another 80 years, until 1963, for Polaroid to invent the first instant colour film camera.
The next revolution in photography was the advent of the digital age in which we all now live. The world’s first digital camera was invented in 1975 and was about the size of a toaster. The first commercial digital camera was only released in 1991. At the time, they made less than 1,000 cameras at the cost of about $20,000 each.
Since 2000, with the advent of the digital phone and small digital cameras, we have all jumped into the digital age with both feet. The digital cameras are now commonplace. They are built into almost all cell phones, and cameras now sell for less than $50. We have seen tremendous innovation and progress. Also interesting is that about 3500 photos are now posted to Facebook every second.
With this little lesson and reminders about the evolution of photography, note that the one individual most credited with inventing the digital camera was an LCC graduate by the name of Willard Boyle ’41. Dr. Boyle was a scientist and researcher who won the coveted Nobel Prize in Physics in 2009. Unfortunately, he passed away just last year.
Willard became globally famous for his achievements working with NASA, preparing for the moon landing in the early 60’s, and his invention of the CCD Sensor that allowed for clear photo images to be sent back to earth from space —and eventually the creation of the digital camera.
But Willard Boyle was once just like our students. The foundation for learning and innovation was laid on Royal Avenue in Montreal, and he always appreciated his affiliation with our school.
As a research scientist, he didn’t wait for others to direct him. He innovated, invented and significantly changed our world, pulling us into the digital age.
Maybe another student at LCC today will have a similar impact one day. Why not?
As our students become proficient—even expert in some fields, I hope they do what Willard Boyle did: stay both humble and hungry to innovate and have impact on their community.
Remember that Kodak released the first camera in 1888. Unfortunately, after more than a century as a leader in the field of photography, Kodak filed for bankruptcy this year because it didn’t adapt and innovate enough. That’s another important lesson: take nothing for granted. Indeed, today nothing stays the same and to be successful, no individual and no organization can rest on its laurels, reputation, or press clippings! –Chris Shannon, Headmaster