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This unusual photo boasts slightly higher resolution than what you'd typically expect from early 19th-century photography. ilbusca / Getty ImagesThe first photograph ever taken required at least eight hours of exposure. Dubbed 'View From the Window at Le Gras,' this iconic image resulted from experiments by French inventor and photographer Joseph Nicéphore Niépce.
By employing a method known as heliography, which involved exposing a polished pewter plate covered in bitumen of Judea to light using a camera obscura, this square photo captures a simple scene: the side of a house, a dovecote, and a barn roof.
The Story Behind the First Photograph Ever Taken
Regarded as the oldest known surviving photograph, 'View From the Window at Le Gras' shows rooftops, a tree, and the surrounding countryside. Niépce captured this pioneering photo in 1826 or 1827 from an upstairs window of his estate in Saint-Lop-de-Varenees, Burgundy, France, using a camera obscura and a pewter plate coated with bitumen. The exposure lasted several hours. In 1827, Niépce acknowledged that while the process needed further refinement, it represented 'the first uncertain step in a completely new direction.'
The earliest photograph nearly faded into obscurity, and Niépce's groundbreaking contributions to photography were almost overshadowed by the later achievements of French photographer Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre.
During the 1950s, historians and researchers like Helmut and Alison Gernsheim helped uncover 'View From the Window at Le Gras.' Helmut Gernsheim’s 'The History of Photography' was instrumental in highlighting the photograph’s historical importance.
After being part of private collections for much of the 19th and 20th centuries, the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin acquired the heliograph.
What Is Heliography?
Heliography, one of the earliest forms of photography, is a process developed by Nicéphore Niépce. The term comes from the Greek words meaning 'sun' and 'writing' or 'drawing.'
Early photographic technology required subjects to remain still for extended periods to achieve a clear image. This particular photograph was digitally restored from a glass plate taken around 1890.
bauhaus1000 / Getty ImagesNiépce used a photosensitive material, such as bitumen, and applied it to a surface, usually a metal plate or glass. He then exposed the coated surface to light, allowing sunlight to interact with the photosensitive substance. The areas that were exposed to light would harden or become insoluble, while the unexposed sections remained soluble.
After exposure, Niépce used a solvent like lavender oil to wash away the soluble portions of the photosensitive material, uncovering the latent image on the plate. He then treated the image with various chemicals to enhance its visibility and permanence.
Though heliography was a revolutionary photographic technique, it had its drawbacks. One significant limitation was the need for extremely long exposure times, sometimes lasting several hours.
What Is Camera Obscura?
The phrase 'camera obscura,' meaning 'dark chamber' in Latin, refers to a device or optical phenomenon that has been employed by artists, photographers, and others for centuries to project an external image onto a surface inside a darkened room or box.
The camera obscura operates on the principle that light rays travel in straight lines. When light enters through a small hole or aperture in a darkened space, an inverted and reversed image of the outside scene forms on the opposite surface.
Initially designed as a room with small openings in one of its walls, the camera obscura evolved over time into portable devices. This invention played a key role in the evolution of photography, acting as a precursor to the camera while offering significant insights into the behavior of light.
6 Famous First Photographs
Photography has experienced extraordinary advancements since Niépce captured the first photo, 'View From the Window at Le Gras.' The field has evolved from being a labor-intensive process to the development of color photography and high-resolution images, including self-portraits that even amateur photographers can easily take with digital cameras.
- First photographic portrait image: In 1839, Robert Cornelius created the first self-portrait using the daguerreotype technique. He took this image outside his family’s gas lighting business in Philadelphia. The photograph is part of the Library of Congress’ Marian S. Carson collection.
- First-known photograph of a U.S. president: In 1843, President John Quincy Adams became the first sitting U.S. president to be photographed. The daguerreotype was taken by Philip Haas at a photo studio.
- First aerial photograph: In 1858, Gaspard-Félix Tournachon, known as Nadar, captured the first-ever aerial photograph of Petit-Bicétre, France. Aerial photography has since expanded to include drones and satellite imagery.
- First aerial photograph in the United States: Two years after Nadar, James Wallace Black took the first aerial photo in the U.S. from a hot air balloon, showing an overhead view of Boston Common.
- First news photograph in the U.S.: In 1880, The Daily Graphic published the first photomechanical reproduction of a photograph. Before this, newspapers relied on artists for illustrated sketches.
- First digital photograph: In 1957, Russell A. Kirsch, a computer scientist at the National Bureau of Standards, created the first digital photo using a rotating drum scanner to capture an image of his three-month-old son.
Other significant figures in photography include Daguerre, who took the famous 'Boulevard du Temple' and various portraits, and Roger Fenton, the first recognized war photographer, both of whom made substantial contributions to the art form.
