When was photography invented?

The invention of photography is credited to Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in 1826. He was a French inventor and a pioneer in photography. Niépce used a camera obscura to capture the first photograph. He used bitumen of Judea, a naturally occurring asphalt that was sensitive to light, to create the image. The exposure time was eight hours, and the result was a blurry and faint image of a window sill. 

In 1837, Louis Daguerre and Nicéphore Niépce developed the daguerreotype, which was the first practical form of photography. This process involved coating a silver-plated sheet of copper with an iodized silver solution and exposing it to light. This allowed for an image to be permanently captured on the sheet of copper. It was the first practical form of photography and quickly became popular around the world.

In 1839, William Henry Fox Talbot invented a different type of photography called the calotype. This process involved coating a sheet of paper with silver chloride and then exposing it to light. The exposed paper was then developed in a chemical solution to create a negative image. Talbot’s invention allowed for multiple prints to be made from one negative image.

In 1851, English scientist Frederick Scott Archer invented the collodion wet plate process, which was a major improvement over the daguerreotype. The collodion process produced higher-quality images, but it required longer exposure times and needed to be carried out in a darkroom. In 1871, Richard Leach Maddox invented the first dry plate process which allowed for shorter exposure times and eased production. 

The development of roll film in 1889 by Eastman Kodak marked a major shift in photography and the beginning of modern photography. Roll film allowed photographers to take multiple exposures without reloading their cameras. Since then, photography has become an integral part of our lives and continues to evolve with new technologies and processes.

By the mid-19th century, photography had become popular throughout Europe and the United States. It was used to document events, capture portraits, and even capture scientific images. By the late 19th century, cameras had become much more portable and easier to use, making photography much more accessible to everyone.

Today, photography is used for a variety of purposes, including professional and amateur photography. With the advent of digital cameras, photography has become even more popular and accessible to people all over the world.