07/12/2025
The History of Photography: From Light to Memory
The history of photography began with the discovery of two essential principles. The first was the projection of images through the dark camera, and the second, the observation that certain substances change when exposed to light. However, there is no evidence that before the 18th century anyone would attempt to capture images with photosensitive materials.
One of the earliest landmarks was "View from the Window at Le Gras", taken by Nicéphore Niépce in 1826 or 1827, considered the oldest photograph preserved.
Before that, around 1717, Johann Heinrich Schulze experimented with a light-sensitive mixture to project cut letters into a bottle, though he didn't seek them to be permanent. Later, around 1800, Thomas Wedgwood tried, unsuccessfully, to fix images permanently with a camera. Although he managed to create detailed photographs, neither he nor his collaborator, Humphry Davy, could stabilize the images.
It was Niepce who managed to fix an image captured with a camera, although the process required several hours — even days — of exposure and the results were very primitive.
The big leap came thanks to his collaborator, Louis Daguerre, who developed the daguerotype, the first viable and commercial photographic process. This method reduced the exposure time to a few minutes and offered clear, detailed images. On August 2, 1839, Daguerre officially presented the process at the Chamber of Lords in Paris, and on August 19, it was revealed to the public at a meeting of the Academy of Sciences and the Fine Arts.
In exchange for giving rights to the public, Daguerre and Niépce were rewarded with life pensions. On the other hand, William Henry Fox Talbot had already developed calotypo, an alternative process with negatives on paper and salt printing, though it received less attention at the time.
Over time, photography evolved: materials improved, exposure times reduced from minutes to seconds and then to fractions of a second. In the mid-19th century, the wet collodion process, which used glass plates, combined the quality of the daguerotype with the reproduction of the calotype, becoming a standard for several decades.
The advent of the film roll popularized photography among amateurs, and in the mid-20th century, it was possible to take photos in natural color or white and black with ease.
Finally, in the 1990s, the digital revolution transformed everything: electronic cameras began to replace traditional chemical process. At the beginning of the 21st century, digital cameras became more accessible, practical and high-quality, moving almost completely photographic films.
Today, with smartphones integrating advanced cameras, photography has become part of everyday life around the world. Taking a photo is no longer an act reserved for a few, but a daily expression that we all carry in our pocket.
