“Art is not found by traveling to Egypt, China or Peru; if you don't find it at your doorstep, you'll never find it. -Ralph Waldo Emerson. Although many may think it's a waste of time and money, photography is a great hobby that people should try. However, even if someone has different opinions, they should consider that photography is on its way to becoming a global everyday use and is already a part of American culture. Who contributed to the making of the modern camera in ancient times? In ancient times, around the 5th century BC, the beginning of the camera was the use of a camera obscura, Greek for "dark room". A camera obscura is a dark room that has a small hole in a wall or other covered opening, and through this opening passes light that shows the outside world upside down. The first recorded use of a camera obscura was by the Chinese philosopher named Mo-Ti, who recorded using a pinhole camera in the wall of a dark room to create the image. He personally referred to the room as a "collecting place" and a "locked treasure room." The camera obscura was used for many years; the basis of the camera did not change much, until around the 16th century. In the 1500s, Giovanni Battista Della Porta is said to have developed a better form of camera obscura by adding a convex lens to make the image clearer and of higher quality. and later, a mirror to view the image on a flat viewing surface. In his book Magiae Naturalis, written in 1558, Giovanni recommended this variation of the device to artists, as it could be used as an aid in drawing subjects or landscapes. Although used for many years, the device was never truly named until the early 17th century, when ... middle of paper ...... could never describe it. These messages can help make the world a better place, if used in the right place and at the right time. Works cited by Wilgus, Jack and Beverly. “The Magic Mirror of Life: An Appreciation of the Camera Obscura.” » http://brightbytes.com/cosite/what.html. (accessed March 5, 2010). Unknown, author. “PhotoQuotes.com.” http://www.photoquotes.com/showquotes.aspx?id=375&name=Emerson,Ralph (accessed March 13, 2010)Unknown, author. “Photo.net.” 1996. http://photo.net/history/timeline (accessed April 30, 2010). Multiple authors. the oxford companion to photography. Edited by Robin Lenman, Sylvie Aubenas, Quentin Bajac, Jane Carmichael, Elizabeth Edwards, John Falconer, Mark Haworth-Booth et al. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005. Grimm, Tom and Michele Grimm. The basic book of photography. New York, New York: Penguin Group, 1997.