How it all began: The origins of photography

The history of photography is the result of centuries of development and technical advances. From the camera obscura to the first light-sensitive materials to the first photographic images - the path to modern photography was marked by numerous discoveries. This blog post looks at the beginnings of photography and shows how it created the basis for a medium that has become an integral part of our everyday lives today.

©stefanocarocci, Man taking photo with old camera, adobestock

Die Camera Obscura

The origins of phtography

The origins of photography can be traced back to ancient times. Already in the 4th century BC. In the 1st century BC, Aristotle described a fascinating phenomenon: a beam of light shining through a small opening into a dark room creates an upside-down, sideways image of the outside world on the opposite wall.

Aristotle was the first to describe the principle of the Camera Obscura (Latin camera “vault”; obscura “dark”).

©mari2d, camera obscura in a realistic style. isolated objects, adobestock

Further development of the principle of the Camera Obscura

In the 15th century, Leonardo da Vinci studied this phenomenon in more detail and recognized the similarity between how the camera obscura works and the human eye.

At the beginning of its development, the camera obscura was a walk-in chamber. Eventually, during the 17th century, box-shaped devices equipped with lenses were constructed to produce sharper images. Mirrors were later added to reverse the image.

These improvements made the camera obscura a popular tool for artists, who used it for detailed drawings and the correct representation of perspective.

Importance of photography

The Camera Obscura was a technological marvel of its time and played a crucial role in the emergence of photography. It made a significant contribution to understanding the fundamentals of light and optics and, in the centuries that followed, paved the way from the mere projection of images to the possibility of permanently recording them.

Discovery of light-sensitive chemicals

Light creates chemical reactions

While the Camera Obscura revealed the functionality of light and image projection, it was the discovery of light-sensitive chemical substances that enabled the decisive step from mere projection to the permanent fixation of images.

One of the earliest and most significant discoveries dates back to 1717. Johann Heinrich Schulze, a German polymath, made an interesting observation: silver nitrate, a chemical compound, changes color when exposed to sunlight. This simple but profound finding proved that light can cause chemical reactions.

Importance of photography

Schulze's experiments showed that light is capable of having a visible effect on chemical substances. His research led to scientists intensively experimenting with light-sensitive substances in the 19th century. This laid the foundation for the first photographic processes, such as the world's first photograph.

First photo in the world

First photo in the world: „Point de vue du Gras“

With the photograph “Point de vue du Gras” Joseph Nicéphore Niépce took the world’s first permanently preserved photograph. It shows the view from his study of the courtyard of his house in Saint-Loup-de-Varennes, France.

How was the photo taken?

Niépce used a camera obscura and a coated tin plate coated with light-sensitive bitumen that hardened when exposed to sunlight. The exposure lasted several hours because the bitumen reacted very slowly to light. After exposure, Niépce washed the plate with a lavender oil and petroleum mixture to remove the uncured areas. The result was the first permanently preserved image - a milestone in the history of photography.

Importance of photography

With “Point de vue du Gras” Niépce proved that it is possible to capture photographs permanently. Later photography techniques built on his experiments and enabled shorter exposure times and more detailed images.

The first photo in Germany

Background to the discovery

The world's first photograph was taken in France, but when was the first photograph taken in Germany? Until now, researchers assumed that the first photographs were taken in 1839.

New research from the Deutsches Museum in Munich shows that the oldest known photo in Germany was taken in March 1837.

The photo shows the Frauenkirche in Munich and was captured on a salt paper negative by Franz von Kobell, a mineralogist and early photography pioneer. The image lay undiscovered in the archives of the German Museum for decades until the scientist Cornelia Kemp rediscovered it while researching for her book. A date handwritten by Kobell on the back confirmed the year of creation. Until then, the photographs by Kobell and Carl August von Steinheil from 1839 - the year in which the daguerreotype was publicly presented in Paris - were considered the earliest German photographs. There was no previous evidence that Kobell had already undertaken photographic experiments two years earlier. His role in the history of photography has long been underestimated.

Repro: Deutsches Museum

Importance of photography

The discovery of photography in 1837 permanently changed the history of photography in Germany. It shows that German scientists experimented with photographic processes early on, independently of international developments.

However, the salt paper used had technical limitations: it was too thick to make prints or positives, so the image only existed as a negative. It was only thanks to modern digitalization that it was possible to create positives of the photograph that reveal a remarkable level of detail - even the dials of the tower clocks of the Frauenkirche are visible.

Daguerreotypie: The beginning of modern photography

The origin of photography

The Daguerreotype, introduced by Louis Daguerre in 1839, marked a significant milestone in the history of photography and paved the way for its commercial use for the first time.

Es handelt sich um eine Zeichnung von Louis Daguerre, den Erfinder der Daguerreotypie.

©acromegame, Louis Daguerre, French artist and photographer,XIX century, adobestock

How did the Daguerreotypie work?

The Daguerreotype technique was based on the use of a silver-plated copper plate that was made light-sensitive by treatment with iodine vapor. After exposure in a custom-made camera, the image was developed with mercury vapor and then fixed. The result was detailed and sharp images. Each image was unique as the process did not allow reproduction.

Importance of photography

The Daguerreotype was a breakthrough because it broadened access to photography beyond scientific for the first time. Even though the process was replaced by newer techniques after a few years due to its limitations - such as the lack of reproducibility - it remains firmly anchored in history as a pioneer of modern photography.

The Kalotypie

The Kalotypie, also known as Talbotypie, is one of the most important inventions in the early history of photography. It built on the principles of salt paper photography and introduced a key advance over daguerreotype: the reproducibility of images. The process was developed by William Henry Fox Talbot, who patented it in 1841.

Fotografie von William Henry Fox, den Erfinder der Kalotypie. Er sitzt an einem Tisch. Neben ihm ist eine Kamera zu sehen.

©Juulijs, William Henry Fox Talbot, by John Moffat, 1864 adobestock

The emergence of Kalotypie

Salt paper photography was the basis for Talbot's process. He experimented with light-sensitive paper coatings as early as the 1830s. For the calotype, he used paper coated with silver chloride, which produced a negative image after exposure. This was chemically developed and fixed, making it permanently light-resistant. The negative could then be transferred to additional light-sensitive paper via contact copy to produce positive images.

Difficulties and further developments

Trotz ihrer Innovationen war die Kalotypie nicht frei von Problemen. Die Papierstruktur des Negativs führte häufig zu Unschärfen und Detailverlusten. Auch die chemischen Prozesse waren zeitintensiv und erforderten präzise Arbeit.

Importance of photography

The Kalotypie was the first method by which images became reproducible - a breakthrough that had a lasting impact on photography. Although it was later replaced by more technically advanced processes, its influence on photographic practice and history remains undisputed.

William Henry Fox Talbot and the first flash photography

William Henry Fox Talbot, who invented the calotype described above, presented an experiment at the Royal Institute in London in the summer of 1851 that opened up new possibilities in photography: the first flash photograph.

The experiment

Talbot attached a sheet of newspaper to a turntable that moved during the recording. For the exposure, he used an electrical spark discharge that produced an extremely short but intense flash of light that briefly illuminated the scene. During this moment, a photograph was taken with a surprising result: despite the movement of the turntable, the newspaper page was shown in great detail.

Importance of photography

This experiment demonstrated the potential of a precisely controlled light source. It showed that even fast movements can be “frozen” photographically and that clear shots are possible even in difficult lighting conditions. Talbot's technique was not only an impressive technical advance, but it laid the foundation for the later development of flash photography.

The Wet Collodion Process

The Wet Collodion Process was developed by Frederick Scott Archer in 1851 and represented a milestone in the history of photography. Compared to techniques such as the daguerreotype or the calotype, the process offered significantly better image quality. For the first time, it was possible to produce glass negatives that were more stable and precise as image carriers than paper.

The procedure

The process was technically demanding: a glass plate was first coated with a light-sensitive collodion emulsion. This plate had to be exposed while wet and developed immediately afterwards. The resulting negative allowed any number of prints to be made on paper. Because the glass plates had to remain moist throughout the entire process, photographers had to rely on mobile darkrooms.

Importance of photography

The Wet Collodion Process largely replaced daguerreotype and calotype in the 1860s and established itself as the standard in photography. Thanks to its outstanding image quality, it remained the preferred technique until the 1880s. In the next part you will find out which process subsequently shaped photography.