There is always a first time
Taking things for granted is human nature. If we see it there, we forget that it hasn't always been there. No matter what 'it' is, we get used to it, and it becomes part of our world view.
On yahoo today, one of the little news items was about the oldest photograph with the image of a person. We see photos all the time, and honestly, it's hard to remember a time when there weren't images of people plastered everywhere.
I found it fascinating to know that the first picture with a person was taken in 1838. And it wasn't actually done as a portrait---it was more an accident. The guy just happened to be there and sat still long enough for his image to be processed.
The credit for photographing a human for the first time is generally given to Louis Daguerre, the inventor of the daguerreotype process. In an 1838 photo he took of Paris, Daguerre caught an image of a man who appears to be getting his shoes or boots shined at a street corner.
Daguerre's process involved exposing a chemically treated metal plate for several minutes. If someone or something was moving within the frame, it wouldn't show up in a daguerreotype photo. But since this person remained relatively stationary as the image was captured, he showed up in the picture. The anonymous Parisian thus gets credit for being the first person ever to have his picture taken.
I wonder what they'd make of the pictures we take today.
On yahoo today, one of the little news items was about the oldest photograph with the image of a person. We see photos all the time, and honestly, it's hard to remember a time when there weren't images of people plastered everywhere.
I found it fascinating to know that the first picture with a person was taken in 1838. And it wasn't actually done as a portrait---it was more an accident. The guy just happened to be there and sat still long enough for his image to be processed.
The credit for photographing a human for the first time is generally given to Louis Daguerre, the inventor of the daguerreotype process. In an 1838 photo he took of Paris, Daguerre caught an image of a man who appears to be getting his shoes or boots shined at a street corner.
Daguerre's process involved exposing a chemically treated metal plate for several minutes. If someone or something was moving within the frame, it wouldn't show up in a daguerreotype photo. But since this person remained relatively stationary as the image was captured, he showed up in the picture. The anonymous Parisian thus gets credit for being the first person ever to have his picture taken.
I wonder what they'd make of the pictures we take today.