With today’s smart phones and digital cameras, photography is everywhere. But until the invention of the camera in 1839, there was no way to instantly capture the environment around you.

In less than 200 years, cameras have progressed from complicated contraptions only used by professionals, to simple boxes with a roll of film anyone could operate, to handheld computers that create digital images shared with the world.

Cape Fear Museum’s collection of 86 cameras and 145 photographic accessories showcases these changes in technology – and in camera styles – from the late 1800s through the early 2000s.