Founded in 2009 and first launched globally in 2010, the World Photography Day project has grown to become a global celebration of photography.
Today, we take our photographs for granted. But next time you're flicking though photos from your last holiday, remember that there was once a time when photography didn't exist. A time when those precious moments couldn't be captured, uploaded and shared.
World Photography Day originates from the invention of the Daguerreotype, a photographic processes developed by Joseph Nicèphore Nièpce and Louis Daguerre. On January 9, 1839, The French Academy of Sciences announced the daguerreotype process. A few months later, on August 19, 1839, the French government announced the invention as a gift "Free to the World".
Another photographic processes, the Calotype, was also invented in 1839 by William Fox Talbot (it was announced in 1841). Together, the invention of both the Daguerreotype and Calotype mark 1839 as the year that photography was invented.
If you're interested in learning more about the history of photography, take a look at the following article on Wikipedia: History of Photography
Above: View from the Window at Le Gras, the first successful permanent photograph created by Nicèphore Nièpce in 1826 or 1827, in Saint-Loup-de-Varennes. Captured on 20 x 25 cm oil-treated bitumen. Due to the 8-hour exposure, the buildings are illuminated by the sun from both right and left.
Above: Captured by Louis Daguerre in late 1838 or early 1839, was the first-ever photograph of people. It is an image of a busy street, but because exposure time was over ten minutes, the city traffic was moving too much to appear. The exceptions are the two people in the bottom left corner, one who stood still getting his boots polished by the other long enough to show up in the picture.
Today, we take our photographs for granted. But next time you're flicking though photos from your last holiday, remember that there was once a time when photography didn't exist. A time when those precious moments couldn't be captured, uploaded and shared.
World Photography Day originates from the invention of the Daguerreotype, a photographic processes developed by Joseph Nicèphore Nièpce and Louis Daguerre. On January 9, 1839, The French Academy of Sciences announced the daguerreotype process. A few months later, on August 19, 1839, the French government announced the invention as a gift "Free to the World". Another photographic processes, the Calotype, was also invented in 1839 by William Fox Talbot (it was announced in 1841). Together, the invention of both the Daguerreotype and Calotype mark 1839 as the year that photography was invented.
If you're interested in learning more about the history of photography, take a look at the following article on Wikipedia: History of Photography
Above: View from the Window at Le Gras, the first successful permanent photograph created by Nicèphore Nièpce in 1826 or 1827, in Saint-Loup-de-Varennes. Captured on 20 x 25 cm oil-treated bitumen. Due to the 8-hour exposure, the buildings are illuminated by the sun from both right and left.
Above: Captured by Louis Daguerre in late 1838 or early 1839, was the first-ever photograph of people. It is an image of a busy street, but because exposure time was over ten minutes, the city traffic was moving too much to appear. The exceptions are the two people in the bottom left corner, one who stood still getting his boots polished by the other long enough to show up in the picture. 
