George Eastman was born in Waterville , New York , on July 12, 1854. Eastman is largely responsible for stimulating popular interest in photography through his inventions and through their mass production via the Eastman Kodak Company. Most notable among his inventions were a dry-plate process, roll film and a camera to use it, and color photography process. He built one of the country's first plants to mass-produce products and was a pioneer in offering profit-sharing to employees. The George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film in Rochester , New York , where this ginkgo tree grows.