Buzz
Photography is a passion of mine, and although I may not be the most skilled photographer, I derive countless hours of enjoyment from it. When you add my love for history, it was inevitable that I'd compile a list of some of the most remarkable historical 'firsts' in photography. This list is presented in reverse chronological order and highlights the earliest innovations and significant milestones in the world of photography.
10. First Digitally Scanned Photograph 1957
This marks the very first digital photograph—a feat that, even today, digital cameras are just beginning to match in terms of the capabilities that film cameras have long provided. Russell Kirsch, a computer pioneer at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the USA, developed the method that allowed a camera to be integrated with a computer. The photo features his three-month-old son, Walden, and it measured only 176×176 pixels. Today, Walden works in communications at Intel.
9. Invention of Modern 35mm Film 1934
Years after the earliest photography experiments, Kodak invented 35mm film in 1934, a revolutionary film format that rapidly became the most widely used and still remains popular today. This film came pre-loaded in rolls with perforated edges, allowing it to be easily loaded into cameras in daylight. Although the film size had already been used in movies, it wasn't until Kodak developed the still photography version in 1934, followed by Leica's introduction of the first cameras to use it, that it found its place in still photography. The first 35mm still camera was priced at $175, which is roughly equivalent to $3,000 today.
8. The First Motion Picture 1888
Historic films often strive to recreate the time period in which they are set, and this film stands as the first ever celluloid film, offering a glimpse into how people of that era looked and, more significantly, how they carried themselves (with women in full corseted gowns). Lasting only two seconds, it gives enough time to observe the characters walking. Captured at 12 frames per second by French inventor Louis Le Prince, it was filmed at the home of Joseph and Sarah Whitley in Roundhay, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, on October 14. The people featured are Adolphe Le Prince (Louis’s son), Sarah Whitley, Joseph Whitley, and Harriet Hartley. Tragically, ten days after the filming, Sarah Whitley (Le Prince’s mother-in-law) passed away. Two years later, Le Prince mysteriously disappeared from a train traveling between Dijon and Paris. Another two years later, Alphonse was found shot dead in New York after testifying against Edison in a patent trial involving the American Mutoscope Company.
7. The First High-Speed Photography Series 1878
Eadweard Muybridge used a series of trip wires to create the first high-speed photo sequence, which could be combined to simulate motion pictures. Muybridge is widely recognized for his technique of using multiple cameras to capture motion, and he also invented the zoopraxiscope, a precursor to the modern motion picture projector. Another remarkable photo-series by Muybridge can be seen here.
6. The First Color Landscape 1877
This photograph was captured by Louis Arthur Ducos du Hauron, who invented the subtractive (cyan, magenta, and yellow) color method for photography. A French pioneer in color photography, Louis worked with both subtractive and additive (red, green, and blue) color techniques. This particular image is titled “Landscape of Southern France.”
5. The First Color Photograph 1861
This is an image of a tartan ribbon, taken by James Clerk Maxwell. He photographed the ribbon three times, each time with a different color filter on the lens. The three resulting images were developed and projected onto a screen using three projectors with the same color filters as the original cameras. When the images aligned perfectly, a full-color photograph emerged. The three original plates are now preserved in Edinburgh, Maxwell’s birthplace.
4. The First Human Subject Photograph 1840
This is the very first photograph to deliberately feature a human as the primary subject. What stands out most to me about this image is that it captures an aspect of history that has since disappeared (except in a few royal households): a regular footman and a carriage – the prevalent mode of transportation at the time, long before automated vehicles became the norm, which would take another 40 years. The year this photograph was taken was the same year that New Zealand became a British colony, Queen Victoria wed Prince Albert, and the world's first postage stamp was created. The photo was taken by William Henry Fox Talbot, the inventor of the negative/positive photographic process.
3. The First Photograph 1825
This photograph, discovered in 2002, is now recognized as the very first permanent photograph ever created by Nicéphore Niépce, the father of photography. It depicts an engraving of a man walking a horse and was made using a technique called heliogravure. This process involved a copper plate coated with light-sensitive bitumen, which was then exposed to light to form an image, which was transferred onto paper. This image was later declared a national treasure by the French government and sold for $392,000 at auction to the French National Library.
2. Second Photograph 1826
Remarkably, in the same year, Beethoven was still composing, the Inquisition held its final public procession of penitent heretics (auto-da-fé) in Spain, and John Adams, the second president of the United States, passed away. Just like the first photograph ever taken, this was captured by Nicéphore Niépce and stands as the first image of a real-world scene (the first photograph depicted a painting). It was shot using a camera obscura (an old optical device used for drawing and entertainment) and required an eight-hour exposure, which explains the sunlight illuminating both sides of the building. The image is titled 'View from the Window at Le Gras'. This photograph is significant not only as the first of a real scene but also because it was once believed to be the very first photograph until 2002, when an even earlier photo was discovered – leading us to the next entry…
1. First Human In A Photograph 1838
This is the first photograph ever taken that features the image of a man. The figure is somewhat unclear and slightly blurred, likely due to the extended exposure time. The man appears in the foreground, having remained still long enough while getting his shoes polished for the 10-minute exposure to capture him. The photograph was taken by Louis Daguerre, the inventor of the Daguerreotype – one of the earliest forms of photography. The French government acquired the rights to the daguerreotype and made it freely available to the world.
