Hobby to Profession
When he was young George Eastman became interested in photography. Over time he became more and more interested in photography. It first started out as a hobby, but as he got older it slowly became his profession. As his photography business took off, George vowed to his mother that he would re-pay her for how hard she worked to take care of him when he was younger.
George read in British magazines that photographers were making their own gelatin emulsions. Using a formula he found in a British journal, George started making gelatin emulsions. He started experimenting with the formula during the afternoon in his mother's kitchen, while he worked during the morning at the local bank. His mother said that some nights he would be so tired that he cound not undress himself and he would sleep on a blanket next to the kichen counter. After three years of experiments, George had a formula that worked. In 1880, Eastman had not only invented the dry plate but, he also patented a machine that made large numbers of dry plates. He quickly realized that he could sell the dry plates to other photographers.
As his company grew, Eastman only had one problem. A bad batch of dry plates was sent out, this was quickly recovered, the plates where taken and replaced. "The idea gradually dawned on me," he later said "that we were making photography as convenient as a pencil."
George read in British magazines that photographers were making their own gelatin emulsions. Using a formula he found in a British journal, George started making gelatin emulsions. He started experimenting with the formula during the afternoon in his mother's kitchen, while he worked during the morning at the local bank. His mother said that some nights he would be so tired that he cound not undress himself and he would sleep on a blanket next to the kichen counter. After three years of experiments, George had a formula that worked. In 1880, Eastman had not only invented the dry plate but, he also patented a machine that made large numbers of dry plates. He quickly realized that he could sell the dry plates to other photographers.
As his company grew, Eastman only had one problem. A bad batch of dry plates was sent out, this was quickly recovered, the plates where taken and replaced. "The idea gradually dawned on me," he later said "that we were making photography as convenient as a pencil."