Back in the 1800s, photography was slow, expensive, and rare. By 1900, only a few million photos had ever been taken.

Through the 1900s, film photography transformed the world, but even at its peak around the year 2000, people took fewer than 100 billion photos in an entire year.

Fast forward to today: with smartphones, humanity takes well over a trillion photos a year. That’s more photos every two minutes than were taken during the entire 19th century combined.

What once took generations now happens in the time it takes to pour a cup of coffee.