Modern photography has come on leaps and bounds since its beginnings in 1820. The grainy, blurred first photos of those days we considered a bit of an eerie phenomenon at the time. To capture someone's image and save it for all time, or at least as long as that person was alive, was quite something. But it set a trend and photography has taken a huge place in people's lives.

The ability to capture memories and revisit them time and again is a fascination for many. Photography is used in all legal fields as evidence in the event of criminal acts or car accidents. It is used in medical fields to help train other staff on events that have already happened and it is used to send images around the world to share with others.

Picture lovers have long enjoyed displaying their photographs in their homes. From photographs of friends and family to photographs of favourite scenery, you would be hard pushed to find a home now that didn't at least display a photograph or two.

Methods of the display of photography have varied slightly over the years. Who would have thought it possible that there could be a trend in photo frames - but there is. We have gone from the basic wooden frames to metal, plastic, mirrored and glass and we have seen variations that range from edgeless to chunky. Today, we now have digital photo frames that take photography display to a whole new level.

The everyday cameras that used to contain 35mm film are virtually non-existent now. Most people will be using digital cameras because the quality has come on to such a point that it is simply incomparable. Digital cameras are also a whole lot easier and more convenient that roll film.

The photo is seen instantly and can be kept, discarded or digitally enhanced or adjusted to make it just what you want. This is a much more cost effective method of photography than role film. To enhance this, the digital photo frame is an interactive display method that enhances the photos taken.

What's more, there isn't even any need to print the photos before you display them. Digital photo frames can be connected to a pc through wires or even wireless methods and a programme can be set up to transmit pictures to the display. A memory card can even be inserted directly into the digital photo frame and the pictures are then displayed directly.

It is also possible to set up a sequence of photos to be displayed so that the scene changes regularly. This is a nice idea if you want the frame to scroll through holiday snaps because one moment you might be looking at a picture of a beautiful beach and a few minutes later you are watching the smiling faces of your children enjoying that exact same beach. Digital photo frames also come in an illuminated variety and are lit up by small LED's. This draws the eye to the photo and can enhance it further, making quite a room feature of it.

Long gone are the days where we would have to keep cumbersome photo albums to flick through, where photos would eventually become dog eared and faded. With the use of memory disks and cards and sticks as well as pc programmes, it is easy to keep all your photos as crisp and fresh as the day you took them and to continue enjoying them forever.