Documentary · History

The Wizard of Photography

In the summer of 1888, ads began to appear for a camera with a mysterious name: the Kodak. No one had ever seen anything like it. "All of a sudden this little device means you could go into the back yard, you can take a picture of the baby splashing around in a mud puddle," says John Staudenmaier, S.J., a historian at University of Detroit Mercy. "You can go to a picnic or a ballgame. You can do it. And you know how hard this is, because you in your memory have seen professional photographers all over the place. The hiding of the professional chemistry involved in photography is a stroke of genius." "The Wizard of Photography" is the story of how George Eastman struggled to overcome fierce competition and embarrassing failures to make photography easy and affordable for everyone. Produced, directed, and written by James A. DeVinney, the program is narrated by Judith Light.