A Reddit thread is giving people a look at everyday life across decades, from a Japanese woman in the 1970s to a fisherman in late 19th-century Korea. The collection, posted on r/TheWayWeWere, gathers candid snapshots of ordinary moments that cameras rarely caught in the past.
The photos show grandparents as teenagers, surfers in the 60s, and a couple swapping clothes on their honeymoon in 1949. One user shared a photo of their dad visiting his grandad, who wanted to see the dog. Another posted a picture of their stylish grandma holding a baby.
The thread is a reminder that the world has changed more than people have. Clothes, hairstyles, living rooms and city streets all look different from one decade to the next.
From Dark Boxes to Smartphones
Taking a photo today takes almost no effort. Pull out a phone, open the camera app, snap away. According to research from UK photo printing chain Max Spielmann, more than 90% of photos are now taken with smartphones.
Around 1.8 trillion are captured on phones worldwide every year. That works out to roughly 4.7 billion a day.
Getting to that point took a very long time. The camera obscura, a darkened room or box that let light through an opening, was an early ancestor of the modern camera. Artists used versions of it centuries ago to help with drawing. The problem was that the image couldn’t be saved.
Niépce and the Earliest Surviving Photo
French inventor Nicéphore Niépce solved that problem. His 1827 heliograph, made with the help of a camera obscura, is considered the earliest surviving photograph produced in one.
Photography moved forward again in 1839, when Louis Daguerre’s daguerreotype process was announced publicly. It created highly detailed images on silver-coated copper plates and soon became popular for portraits. By 1850, New York City alone had more than 70 daguerreotype studios.
Photography became more practical for ordinary people in 1888, when George Eastman introduced the original Kodak camera. It came loaded with enough roll film for 100 exposures.
Once people finished the roll, they sent the entire camera back to Kodak. The film was developed and the camera reloaded. Taking pictures suddenly required far less technical knowledge.
The Leica, Autochrome and Color
The Leica I made its public debut in 1925 as the company’s first 35mm camera in serial production. Its compact size made it much easier for photographers to carry around and capture spontaneous moments.
That helped make Leica a favorite for street photography and photojournalism. Photographers could catch people and places as they really looked instead of carefully setting up every shot.
Color came in 1907, when the Lumière brothers introduced Autochrome, the first commercially viable color photography process. The results were color transparencies on glass, still a long way from the simple point-and-shoot experience we know today.
Color photography continued improving over the following decades. It eventually became a normal part of family albums rather than something unusual.
Autofocus and Steve Sasson’s Prototype
Getting a shot in focus required plenty of work until 1977, when the Konica C35AF became the world’s first commercially released autofocus camera. Photographers could finally let the camera do that part for them.
Around the same time, photography was starting its move from film to digital. In 1975, Kodak engineer Steve Sasson built an early digital camera prototype. It was about the size of a toaster and captured black-and-white images at just 0.01 megapixels.
From there, it was only a matter of time before digital cameras got smaller and eventually found their way into our phones.
The old photos in the thread preserved ordinary moments using technology that took centuries to develop. Knowing how much effort once went into creating a single photograph makes those snapshots feel a little more special.
Milestones in Photography
- More than 90% of photos are now taken with smartphones (Max Spielmann research)
- Around 1.8 trillion photos captured on phones worldwide every year
- Roughly 4.7 billion photos taken on phones per day
- Niépce’s heliograph: 1827, earliest surviving photograph
- Daguerreotype process announced: 1839
- New York City had more than 70 daguerreotype studios by 1850
- Original Kodak camera: 1888, 100 exposures per roll
- Leica I debut: 1925
- Autochrome introduced: 1907
- Konica C35AF autofocus camera: 1977
- Steve Sasson’s digital prototype: 1975, 0.01 megapixels
Camera Milestones at a Glance
| Technology | Year | Key Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Niépce heliograph | 1827 | Earliest surviving photograph |
| Daguerreotype process | 1839 | Images on silver-coated copper plates |
| Kodak camera | 1888 | 100 exposures per roll |
| Leica I | 1925 | First 35mm camera in serial production |
| Autochrome | 1907 | First commercially viable color process |
| Konica C35AF | 1977 | First commercial autofocus camera |
| Sasson digital prototype | 1975 | 0.01 megapixels, toaster-sized |
Source: boredpanda.com
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