by Stu Eddins
Cameras and flash units have gone together hand in hand forever. Since the beginning of photography, cameras have been hungry for more light. When natural light couldn't do the job flash powders were employed to add an intense, bright light to fill the scene. Later, flash bulbs in shiny parabolic dishes took the place of the explosive flash powder. Photographers carried as many flash bulbs as they could cram into their pockets because once they ran out of bulbs their shooting day was done.
Then electronic flash was introduced, strobe lights powered by batteries or plugged into wall sockets. Soon the Xenon electronic flash became the standard means of adding light to a scene. From the 1950's through today electronic flash units have become smaller, more compact, and a lot more powerful. Along the way there have been a lot of refinements and improvements all of which have allowed flash photography to become more accurate, repeatable and automatic.
