The creation of photography

The first ''working camera'' was created by Alhazen (Ibn Al-Haytham) who had lived around the time of 1000 AD invented the first pinhole camera also called the Camera Obscura. It is the effect of a lighted area seperated from a dark area with only a pin hole between them. An inverted (upside down) image of the lighted area will be produced on a flat surface in the dark area. As early as the 1400's it was documented that inserting a lens in the hole would produce a crisper, clearer image. Camera Obscura was often used by used by artists to sketch objects more quickly and ease the difficulties of depth perception. The image was allowed to be projected on a piece of paper inside a dark box and the artist would trace outlines of the projected image. 

                                       

The first photograph was made by Joseph Nicephore Niepce in 1827 using the Camera Obscura. Niepce had created the first photograph by placing an engraving onto a metal plate coated in bitumen  then exposing it to light. The shadowy areas of the engraving blocked light, but the whiter areas permitted light to react with the chemicals on the plate. When Niepce placed the metal plate in a solvent, gradually an image, until then invisible, appeared. However, Niepce's photograph required eight hours of light exposure to create and after appearing would soon fade away.

Louis Daguerre was the first inventor of a more practical process of Photography. In 1829 he had teamed up with Joseph Nicephore Niepce to improve Niepce's process that he had developed. In 1839 after several years of experimenting and testing Daguerre developed a more convenient and much more effective method of photography and named it after himself ''The Daguerreotype''. Daguerre's process 'fixed' the images onto a sheet of silver-plated copper. He polished the silver and coated it in iodine, creating a surface that was sensitive to light. Then, he put the plate in a camera and exposed it for a few minutes. After the image was painted by light, Daguerre bathed the plate in a solution of silver chloride. This process created a lasting image, one that would not change if exposed to light.

About.com, 2013, Information on Inventors. [online] Available at: <http://inventors.about.com/od/pstartinventions/a/stilphotography.htm>

[Accessed on 28th April 2013] 

PS, 2013, Pieces of Science. [online] Available at: <http://fi.edu/pieces/watson/hist.htm>

[Accessed on 28th April 2013]