Burrowing owlet posing in Cape Coral, Florida, USA

© mlorenzphotography/Getty Image

Oh snap! It's National Camera Day. It's National Camera Day. Get the picture?

This burrowing owlet—one of the few types of owls that are active during the day—looks ready for his closeup, and ready for National Camera Day. June 29 commemorates photographs, the camera, and their invention. This history of the camera goes all the way back to the ancient Greeks and Chinese who used pinhole cameras (camera obscuras), similar to what you might use to view a solar eclipse. The camera obscura could project an image but didn’t leave a lasting one. In the 1800s, several inventors made advances toward producing an image on a piece of paper or sensitized plate. They also experimented with various lenses. In 1884, George Eastman patented the first film in rolls, and a few years later introduced the Kodak Black camera. These days, of course, just about everyone carries around a digital camera in their phones, documenting everything from major life events to their latest sandwich. So, get in the spirit of the day and snap a selfie, a picture of your pet, or anything.