Below is the 1885 patent for the first camera that uses a roll of film, invented by George Eastman and William Walker. This was the beginning of what we now know to be a camera, before this photographs were captured onto rigid metal plates. This technology revolutionized photography allowing for cameras to become smaller and portable totally changing the possibilities of the art form.  This ushered in the era of street photography as well as candid photographs that we now take for granted.

The patent for the first camera that uses a roll of film