History: The First Photograph
After developing heliography and the First Photograph, Niépce traveled to England where he showed his invention to botanical illustrator Francis Bauer at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Bauer recognized the importance of Niépce's work and encouraged him to write about his invention for a presentation to the Royal Society. Although his proposal was rejected, Niépce left his handwritten memoir and his heliograph specimens (including the First Photograph) with Bauer, who dutifully inscribed the gifts, labeled them 1827 (the year of their presentation to him), and set them aside. During the nineteenth century, the First Photograph passed from Bauer's estate through a variety of hands. The text on the following five pages was written by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce as an introduction to his heliographic process. HELIOGRAPHY *: Designs and Engravings Description of a few results obtained spontaneously by the action of Light. Kew, 8 December 1827 N. From Châlon-sur–Saône, rue de l'Oratoire.
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Process: The First Photograph
Early Experiments with Lithography The term "heliography" was coined by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce to identify the process by which he obtained his earliest photographic images. Niépce began experimenting with lithographic printmaking—which led to his invention of heliography—because of his inability to draft images by hand. During his trials with lithography, he experimented with light-sensitive varnishes and then with images produced in camera, but he was unable to prevent the images from fading. Niépce discovered that he produced his best results while using a solution of bitumen of Judea, which dated back to the ancient Egyptians but continued to be used for making lithographic engravings in the 1800s. Photomechanical Reproduction In 1822, Niépce successfully made a heliograph from an engraving of Pope Pius VII, which was destroyed during an attempt to copy it some years later.
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The First Photograph
The First Photograph, or more specifically, the earliest known surviving photograph made in a camera, was taken by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in 1826 or 1827. The image depicts the view from an upstairs window at Niépce's estate, Le Gras, in the Burgundy region of France. Learn more about the First Photograph through the links below. Who was Joseph Nicéphore Niépce? How was the First Photograph created? What is the story behind the First Photograph? What does the image capture? Can I make my own virtual heliograph? How does the Center take care of the First Photograph? Where has the First Photograph been displayed?
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National Geographic Image Collection Book: Preview the New Photo Book
An unparalleled treasury of iconic images and groundbreaking photography, the National Geographic Image Collection gathers together more than 11 million images chronicling the world from the end of the 19th century to the first decade of the 21st. The 450 selections in the new National Geographic Image Collection book, many never before published, represent the finest of the archive. See many of these selections—and get a glimpse into the archive itself—in this new Image Collection photo gallery and video. Director of Photography and Video: Melissa Wiley Creative Director: Greg Harris Web Producer: Katel Ledu Research and Production: William Barr Writers: Scot Hoffman and Korena Di Roma Copy Editor: Nancy Gupton Web and Flash Development: Stefan Estrada Video Production: Eric Hoffman and Summer Simpson
History of Photography and the Camera
Updated October 05, 2015. continue reading below our video Niepce placed an engraving onto a metal plate coated in bitumen, and then exposed it to light. The shadowy areas of the engraving blocked light, but the whiter areas permitted light to react with the chemicals on the plate. When Niepce placed the metal plate in a solvent, gradually an image, until then invisible, appeared. However, Niepce's photograph required eight hours of light exposure to create and after appearing would soon fade away. In 1839 after several years of experimentation and Niepce's death, Daguerre developed a more convenient and effective method of photography, naming it after himself - the daguerreotype. Daguerre's process 'fixed' the images onto a sheet of silver-plated copper. In 1839, Daguerre and Niepce's son sold the rights for the daguerreotype to the French government and published a booklet describing the process. Talbot sensitized paper to light with a silver salt solution.
Contact sheets: where the magic and chaos of photographs comes alive | Art and design
Henri Cartier-Bresson, co-founder of the famed Magnum agency, once likened the contact sheet to the analyst’s couch. “It’s all there: what surprises us is what we catch, what we miss, what disappears.” Today, the contact sheet has all but disappeared as digital technology has rendered the analogue camera a thing of the past, beloved only of purists and a coterie of young obsessives who fetishise film and the alchemy of the darkroom. In 2011, the publication of the photobook Magnum Contact Sheets seemed like an epitaph on the whole elaborate, hands-on process of pre-digital photography. For all that, the show lets us reconsider not just what has been lost, but the discipline and rigour of analogue photography. How revelatory they could be in illuminating a photographer’s creative choices was hit home to me at the great Robert Frank retrospective, Storylines, at Tate Modern in 2005. At Foam, 60 contact sheets – and the famous images picked from them – will be on show.
