Louis Daguerre

Latest about Louis Daguerre

FRANCE - SEPTEMBER 21: The house of Nicephore Niepce, the inventor of photography, opens its doors to the general public for the first time in Saint Loup De Varennes, France on September 21, 2002 - The first daguerrotype. The first view taken by Daguerre from 17 boulevard Saint Martin in Paris in 1837. Collection Musee Rigaud / Ville de Perpignan. (Photo by Francis DEMANGE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

A painter locked himself in a lab for two years trying to create a lasting image using light. Then he accidentally broke a thermometer – and changed photography forever

By Hillary K. Grigonis Published

HISTORY The first type of photography that took minutes rather than hours was a result of a painter who shut himself in a lab for nearly two years, only to discover the answer by accident

HISTORY
The world's first photograph by Joseph Niepce. Taken from a window of his Le Gras estate at Saint-Loup-de-Varennes, France, it was produced by exposing a bitumen-coated pewter plate in a camera obscura. It took an exposure time of eight hours.

When was photography invented? Take a look at the world's first ever photo!

By David Clark Published

CAMERA HISTORY Have you ever wondered when photography was invented? This man is widely credited for doing it nearly 200 years ago

CAMERA HISTORY
Daguerreotype photography was invented by the French photographic pioneer Louis Daguerre (1789-1851) and was made public in 1839. In the Daguerreotype process a picture made on a silver surface sensitized with iodine was developed by exposure to mercury vapour. Daguerre granted the right to make and sell daguerreotype cameras to a relative of his, Alphonse Giroux of Paris. Photography thus became available to the general public in 1839 and this was the first commercially available camera, which produced the first distinctive photographic positives. It took pictures 8.5 x 6.5 inches (21.6cm x 16.5cm), a size which became known as whole-plate when later cameras were built to take photographs a fraction of the size. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)

Who invented the camera, and when?

By David Clark Published

Features Wondering who invented the camera? This is how Louis Daguerre gave photography to the world

Features
Anna Atkins Botanical Blueprints

First female photographer Anna Atkins gets her beautiful cyanotypes republished 180 years later

By Beth Nicholls Published

News Anna Atkins was the first person to illustrate a book with photographic images in the form of 19th-century cyanotypes

News