The invention of photography | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Lifestyle

The invention of photography

The history of photography is the recount of inventions, scientific discoveries and technical improvements that allowed human beings to capture an image on a photosensitive surface for the first time, using light and certain chemical elements that react with it.

78
The invention of photography

In This Article:

.


The history of photography is the recount of inventions, patents, scientific discoveries, and technical improvements that allowed human beings to capture an image on a photosensitive surface for the first time, using light and certain chemical elements that react with it.

The news of 1839 announcing the existence of a procedure to fix the images by chemical means caused a sensation: the daguerreotype was perceived as a prodigy. Other procedures soon appeared. The invention of the visiting card format and the standardization of practices opened the way to important photography studios specializing in portraiture.

The photography was used for documentary purposes: inventory missions, topographic surveys, identification cliches, scientific investigations and reports. Spread by books and the first illustrated magazines with photographic evidence, it accompanied industrial progress in the second half of the nineteenth century.

Quentin Bajac invites us to explore the limits and advances of photography's first fifty years and shows how some of the photographers of the time wanted it to be recognized as an art.

First photographic experiments

Around 1800, in England, Thomas Wedgwood managed to produce a negative black and white photograph in a darkroom on white paper or leather treated with silver nitrate, a white chemical that was known to darken when exposed to light. .

However, the image was not permanent, as it ended up completely darkening after a few minutes.

The first photograph

Photography, as we know it, was born in France in 1826 when Joseph Nicephore Niepce achieved the first photograph, "Point of view from the window at Le Gras". This image was made on a pewter sheet covered with bitumen diluted in lavender oil and recorded after 8 hours of exposure.

Daguerreotypes, emulsion plates, and wet plates occurred almost simultaneously in the mid-19th century after Niepce's discovery. These next three techniques were the ones that gave rise to the origin of modern photography.

The first color photograph

During the nineteenth century, many chemists began to experiment to move from black and white photography to color photography. The first color photograph in history was baptized as "Tartan Ribbon" or "The Tartan Ribbon". This was taken in 1861 by photographer Thomas Sutton following the guidelines of British physicist James Clerk Maxwell.

The first color photograph was made with three negatives, which were obtained with blue, red and green filters. During development, these negatives were superimposed on a projection to create a single image.

This is how the first permanent color photograph was born in Great Britain, taken using a new 3-color additive system known as trichromacy.

However, this method did not fix the colors to the photo and, therefore, the first color photographic plate was patented in 1903 by the Lumiere brothers, which was brought to commercial markets in 1907 under the name Autochrome.

Years later, in 1935, the photographic plate was replaced by the first color photographic film invented by the Eastman Kodak Company and marketed as Kodachrome. But, in 1936 Agfa's version, called Agfa color, was here to stay.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Entertainment

Every Girl Needs To Listen To 'She Used To Be Mine' By Sara Bareilles

These powerful lyrics remind us how much good is inside each of us and that sometimes we are too blinded by our imperfections to see the other side of the coin, to see all of that good.

99801
Every Girl Needs To Listen To 'She Used To Be Mine' By Sara Bareilles

The song was sent to me late in the middle of the night. I was still awake enough to plug in my headphones and listen to it immediately. I always did this when my best friend sent me songs, never wasting a moment. She had sent a message with this one too, telling me it reminded her so much of both of us and what we have each been through in the past couple of months.

Keep Reading...Show less
Zodiac wheel with signs and symbols surrounding a central sun against a starry sky.

What's your sign? It's one of the first questions some of us are asked when approached by someone in a bar, at a party or even when having lunch with some of our friends. Astrology, for centuries, has been one of the largest phenomenons out there. There's a reason why many magazines and newspapers have a horoscope page, and there's also a reason why almost every bookstore or library has a section dedicated completely to astrology. Many of us could just be curious about why some of us act differently than others and whom we will get along with best, and others may just want to see if their sign does, in fact, match their personality.

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

20 Song Lyrics To Put A Spring Into Your Instagram Captions

"On an island in the sun, We'll be playing and having fun"

17308
Person in front of neon musical instruments; glowing red and white lights.
Photo by Spencer Imbrock on Unsplash

Whenever I post a picture to Instagram, it takes me so long to come up with a caption. I want to be funny, clever, cute and direct all at the same time. It can be frustrating! So I just look for some online. I really like to find a song lyric that goes with my picture, I just feel like it gives the picture a certain vibe.

Here's a list of song lyrics that can go with any picture you want to post!

Keep Reading...Show less
Chalk drawing of scales weighing "good" and "bad" on a blackboard.
WP content

Being a good person does not depend on your religion or status in life, your race or skin color, political views or culture. It depends on how good you treat others.

We are all born to do something great. Whether that be to grow up and become a doctor and save the lives of thousands of people, run a marathon, win the Noble Peace Prize, or be the greatest mother or father for your own future children one day. Regardless, we are all born with a purpose. But in between birth and death lies a path that life paves for us; a path that we must fill with something that gives our lives meaning.

Keep Reading...Show less
Health and Wellness

10 Hygiene Tips For All College Athletes

College athletes, it's time we talk about sports hygiene.

16438
Woman doing pull-ups on bars with sun shining behind her.

I got a request to talk about college athletes hygiene so here it is.

College athletes, I get it, you are busy! From class, to morning workouts, to study table, to practice, and more. But that does not excuse the fact that your hygiene comes first! Here are some tips when it comes to taking care of your self.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments