A Brief History Of Photography
The word 'photography' first surfaced in 1839 alongside the term 'radiography'. One of its earliest uses was in "The Edinburgh Review" to describe certain arts, such as "painting with light and . . . drawing with luminous materials." The history of photography is quite a long one, spanning up to the early 20th century. It's difficult to know exactly when photography emerged without experts and researchers being able to perform chemical analyses on old photographs, but it's documented that images were painted onto metal sheets sometime before 1800. Some even believe that Muybridge and Marey's joint work could be seen as early forms of photography since they performed experiments based on the study of animals. In 1727, a German scientist called Johann Heinrich Schulze was the first documented person to actually develop photosensitive materials, and it was the first time that it became possible to create photos without a camera obscura.
On July 19th 1825, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce obtained the world's first permanent photograph from his camera obscura in Burgundy. It wasn't for another 16 years that Niépce published his findings though, but he had been working in secret for quite some time before that. It took him many years of experimentation and trial and error to find the perfect combination of light-sensitive chemicals that could be used with the camera obscura. He initially preferred to work with selenium and iron compounds, but he was forced to give up on this project when his experiments failed. Niépce tried various other chemicals such as silver salts and various metals, but their strength was too weak for efficient use in photography. He finally came up with a mixture of a solution of silver chloride with water and ammonia that produced more satisfactory results. However, the quality of his photographs were far from perfect since they were heavily blurred inside and out due to the effects of atmospheric extinction. Niépce's first photograph took 8 hours to expose and had an exposure time of several minutes.
The first permanent photograph, viewed from the back.
It was only after his death that Niépce's work would be developed further by his son, Claude-Louis Niépce, who found a way to overcome the problems of atmospheric extinction by placing a small camera inside a sealed box. He called this camera the 'Chromatic Attenuator' and it was a major breakthrough as it allowed photographs to be made under conditions where there was minimal light, thus removing the main obstacle that hindered earlier photographic experiments. It was because of these experiments that the term 'photography' was coined in 1839.
Technological advancements came thick and fast over the next few years, especially after Louis Daguerre's invention of the daguerreotype in 1839. This led to competition between the two inventors, who fiercely wanted to take credit for what they considered their scientific discoveries, and this battle lasted on until Niépce's death in 1833. A year later, Niépce's estate granted Daguerre a pension for his work on discovering photography on January 8th 1839. The first known daguerreotype image was taken by Niépce himself, but it wasn't until 1839 that a daguerreotype taken by Niépce was viewed by the public.
The process of photography is fairly simple; light is directed onto a negative or positive image on a piece of paper or some other light-sensitive material, and when that image is exposed to the correct amount of light it forms an indelible image. This moment in time can then be preserved as a permanent record by placing the photographic film in an album or frame; thus making an archival photograph. Today, photography is mainly used for producing snapshots and family album photographs where subjects are still alive. However, the earliest forms of photography were mainly used by scientists and other professions to provide documentation of events that had taken place, be it a lunar eclipse or other extremely rare occurrences.
The first photographs produced by Samuel Bourne in 1847.
The first known use of photography as a means of artistic expression was on April 9th 1839 in Madison Square Gardens by French painter Samuel F. Bourne who was commissioned to paint some pictures that could be photographed for the public's pleasure. The paintings were done under very dark conditions and as a result obtained images with very poor quality. These early attempts at artistic expression are also most arguably the first photographic art pieces outside of daguerreotypes. Thus, making them the first photographic art pieces in history. (In fact, it was under the conditions of poor lighting during his era that allowed Daguerre to take such clear images).
The first person to use photography as a means of artistic expression was not a scientist but an artist named Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre. It was Daguerre's collaboration with painter Niépce that led to the invention of the daguerreotype, which resulted in the first known permanent photographic image ever made on a polished silver plate. Daguerre's experiments led him to invent the daguerreotype, which was a revolutionary form of photography that used a mirror-like surface to reflect an image onto a highly polished metal sheet. This method is still used today as well, but these days it is more commonly referred to as a 'silvered' glass plate.
Daguerre's earliest attempts at photographing scenes from everyday life in Paris were far from perfect. When his images were viewed under normal daylight conditions they appeared perfectly sharp and focused; however when they were viewed in the dark much of them became blurred and unclear. It was only after more than a year's worth of experimentation that Daguerre first managed to obtain clear, sharp and focused images. Daguerre initially tried using his camera to take a picture using a solar eclipse that was being observed by astronomer Joseph Louis Lagrange in France. However, the process of making solar images didn't work very well and because he was an amateur astronomer Daguerre decided to give up on it.
Conclusion
The invention of the daguerreotype is considered to be one of the first major technological developments in photography. It was the first photographic process to be used with a polished silver surface which meant it could be viewed with good quality in ordinary daylight conditions. This photographic process would also become an important tool for artists worldwide because of its extreme abilities to produce high-quality artistic images, thus making it an extremely useful tool for artists and scientists alike.
The first known permanent photograph was made on April 20th 1839 by Daguerre's assistant, Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre (1824–1904).