In this era of technological innovation, we often take for granted the instantaneous, almost infinite way we can capture moments in time. With a swipe or a press, we can take, retake, delete, edit, and share photos from anywhere. Newer, better technology brings sharper, more vibrant photos archived in digital space. “Picture perfect” is now less a cliché and more an expectation for photographers.

However, photography has always had a certain charm—the imperfections tell a story of their own. The pressure of having one shot at the perfect photo meant more time creating the vision, staging the scene, and ensuring light and framing were just right. Film development left final photos in the hands of chemical reactions that brought images to life, often creating one-of-a-kind abstract signatures on paper.

Patience mattered as much as process. French inventor Nicéphore Niépce used a camera to create the earliest surviving permanent photograph, generally dated to 1826 or 1827. The famous photo “View from the Window at Le Gras” required several hours of exposure. In 1839, Louis Daguerre released the daguerreotype, which sparked the trend of portrait photography and required subjects to remain perfectly still because chemical plates had slow reaction times. Kodak put cameras into the hands of everyday consumers in 1888 and added convenience to photography, with their slogan, “You press the button, we do the rest,” which encouraged users to mail the entire camera back for development. From the 1900s on, film photography became a staple for events, everyday moments, art, expression, documentation, and hobbies. Photography became less about perfection and more about authenticity—a reference point in time for the miraculous, the mundane, and everywhere in between.

Digital cameras began to fall into consumers’ hands in the early 1990s, and the first phones equipped with cameras appeared in the early 2000s, shifting photography from a specialized art form to part of everyday life. It’s estimated that 5-6 billion photos are taken every day now. That’s 60,000-70,000 moments in time captured each second.

Cameras have taken many forms over time, but a photograph’s power has always lived in the beholder, letting them revisit the past like a time machine. Even seemingly ordinary pictures can still invoke memories anchored in place and time.

The Leeburn Collection (P2006-020) at the Idaho State Archives contains an extensive catalog from photographer Leo “Scoop” Leeburn. He began his career in photojournalism in 1943, capturing almost sixty years of Boise history. His photographs documented Boise’s changing landscape, its residents, and everyday life over the decades. Following Leo “Scoop” Leeburn’s death in 2002, Idaho Statesman journalist Tim Woodward reflected on the photographer’s lasting presence in Boise. Recognized for his formal attire and the camera he routinely carried, Leeburn had become a familiar figure throughout the community. Boise’s history lives on through Leeburn’s work. Like the photographs we take today, these images preserve ordinary moments frozen in time that may one day offer future generations a glimpse into the world we knew.