The Daguerreotype - Photographic Processes Series - Chapter 2 of 12
Summary
TLDRThis script explores the revolutionary impact of photography on society, starting with Niepce's discovery of light-sensitive asphalt in the early 1800s. It details the evolution to Daguerre's fully realized daguerreotype process, which involved a copper plate coated with silver, iodine fuming, and mercury vapor to develop images. The script highlights the daguerreotype's unique properties, such as its permanence and intimate viewing experience, and notes the significance of the George Eastman House's extensive collection, reflecting photography's profound effect on how people perceive and remember their past.
Takeaways
- 📸 The invention of photography was a groundbreaking revelation, allowing people to see images that looked just like reality.
- 🔬 In 1814-1815, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce discovered that asphalt was light-sensitive, leading to the creation of the earliest known photograph.
- 🎨 Niépce's process involved using a light-sensitive solution on glass and exposing it to create an image.
- 🏛️ The first permanent photograph was a view from a window, made on a piece of pewter by Niépce in the 1820s.
- 🤝 Niépce partnered with Louis Daguerre, who continued the experiments after Niépce's death, leading to the development of the daguerreotype process.
- 🛠️ The daguerreotype process involved a copper plate coated with silver, polished, and fumed with iodine to create a light-sensitive surface.
- 🌆 The daguerreotype plate was exposed in a camera obscura, and the image was developed using mercury fumes, then fixed to prevent further changes.
- 🏛️ Daguerreotype cameras, like the Giroux model, were the first commercially manufactured cameras designed for this specific photographic process.
- 🌐 The daguerreotype process was given to the French government, which made it freely available worldwide except in England, where a fee was required.
- 🌟 The daguerreotype is both a negative and positive image, offering infinite detail and a permanent record of the subject's energy and time.
- 🏛️ George Eastman House holds one of the world's largest collections of daguerreotypes, including a significant number of French examples.
Q & A
What was the significance of the first photographs to people?
-The first photographs were a revelation, as they were mirrors with a memory that could record images that looked just like what people saw. This changed people's ideas of time, allowing them to see what their grandparents looked like even if they had died before they were born.
Who discovered that asphalt was sensitive to light?
-A man named Joseph Nicéphore Niépce discovered in 1814-1815 that asphalt was sensitive to light.
How did Niépce's early photographic process work?
-Niépce painted a light-sensitive asphalt solution on a piece of glass, placed an engraving on top of it, and exposed it to light. The asphalt hardened where the light shone through, and when the glass was put into a solvent, it removed the unhardened areas.
What is the earliest known photograph and what is it a view of?
-The earliest known photograph is a view from a window, made by Niépce on a piece of pewter in the 1820s.
Who was Louis Daguerre's partner, and what was his contribution to the development of photography?
-Louis Daguerre's partner was Louis de Gorre. He was well-known in Paris and understood how a camera obscura worked. He continued the experiments on his own after Niépce's death.
What was the daguerreotype process, and how did it work?
-The daguerreotype process involved a piece of copper coated with silver, which was polished and fumed with iodine to create a silver iodide coating. The plate was then exposed in a camera obscura, and the image was developed using mercury fumes. The image was fixed using a solution to prevent further changes.
Why did Daguerre give the daguerreotype process to the government?
-Daguerre gave the process to the government so that it could be made available to anyone in the world, except England, without the need for a fee.
What is the significance of the Giroux daguerreotype camera in the history of photography?
-The Giroux daguerreotype camera was the world's first commercially manufactured camera system, including the camera and the necessary processing equipment for sensitizing and processing the images.
Why did the daguerreotype become particularly popular in America?
-The daguerreotype became popular in America because it allowed people who were moving further west to have something to remember their loved ones by, as it provided a permanent and detailed record of their appearance.
What is unique about the daguerreotype as a photographic medium?
-The daguerreotype is unique because it is both a negative and a positive image at the same time, offering infinite detail and a permanent record of the subject. It is also reflective, making the viewing experience intimate and sometimes including the viewer's reflection.
Where is the largest collection of daguerreotypes located, and what is significant about it?
-The largest collection of daguerreotypes, including the largest collection of French daguerreotypes outside of France, is located at the George Eastman House. It contains over 3,500 daguerreotypes, showcasing the early history and diversity of photography.
Outlines
📸 The Dawn of Photography
This paragraph delves into the revolutionary impact of photography on society, highlighting how it altered perceptions of time and memory. It recounts the discovery by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in 1814-1815 that asphalt was light-sensitive, leading to the creation of the first photograph on pewter. The narrative continues with the collaboration between Niépce and Louis Daguerre, culminating in the invention of the daguerreotype process. This process involved using a silver-coated copper plate, which was polished and iodized, then exposed in a camera obscura. The image was developed using mercury fumes and fixed to prevent further changes. The paragraph concludes with the historical significance of the daguerreotype and its introduction to the public, emphasizing its permanence and the unique connection it provides to the past.
🖼️ The Intimacy and Permanence of the Daguerreotype
Paragraph 2 focuses on the unique qualities of the daguerreotype, emphasizing its intimate and reflective nature. It discusses the daguerreotype's ability to capture infinite detail and the presence of the subject's 'energy' within the image. The summary highlights the daguerreotype's permanence, with examples of 1850s daguerreotypes still in pristine condition. The paragraph also touches on the daguerreotype's dual nature as both a negative and positive image, and the importance of holding the daguerreotype to fully appreciate its reflective quality and detail.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Photography
💡Asphalt
💡Camera Obscura
💡Daguerreotype
💡Silver Iodide
💡Mercury Fuming
💡Fixing
💡George Eastman House
💡Intimate Imagery
💡Permanence
Highlights
The first photographs were a revelation, changing people's ideas of time and making the past visible.
In 1814-1815, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce discovered that asphalt was light-sensitive, leading to early photographic experiments.
Niépce's process involved using a light-sensitive asphalt solution on glass with an engraving to create an image.
The earliest known photograph is a pewter plate made by Niépce, capturing a view from a window in the 1820s.
Louis Daguerre partnered with Niépce, and after Niépce's death, continued experiments, leading to the daguerreotype.
Daguerre's fully realized system involved a copper plate coated with silver, polished, and fumed with iodine to create a silver iodide surface.
The daguerreotype process required the plate to be exposed in a camera obscura, then developed in a mercury fume box.
The resulting image had to be fixed to prevent further changes from light exposure, using a hypo solution.
Daguerreotype images were unique, as they were both a negative and a positive image at the same time.
The daguerreotype process was given to the French government, which allowed its use worldwide except in England without a fee.
The Giroux daguerreotype camera was the world's first commercially manufactured camera and processing system.
Daguerreotype cameras and processing were particularly embraced by Americans, aiding in their westward expansion.
George Eastman House holds one of the world's largest collections of daguerreotypes, including over 3,500 examples.
Daguerreotypes are intimate, reflective, and can show infinite detail, making them compelling and permanent.
The daguerreotype process captured a direct reflection of the subject, including a sense of their energy.
Daguerreotype images from the 1850s can still be found in perfect condition, demonstrating the process's permanence.
Transcripts
[Music]
I think it's impossible for us today to
imagine what a revelation the first
photographs would have been to people
these mirrors with a memory to record
things that looked just like what we saw
people's ideas of time changed
completely
for the first time you would know what
your grandparents looked like even if
they died before you were born to see
this process make its place in the lives
of ordinary people is to me the most
exciting thing about it it changed
everything
[Music]
in 1814 1815 you have a man named and
they say four knee ups and what he
discovered was that asphalt was
sensitive to light he paint the solution
on a piece of glass and put an engraving
on a piece of paper on top of that and
where the light shine through and
exposed that asphalt it hardened if you
put that piece of glass with the asphalt
into a solvent it will remove the areas
that weren't hardened the earliest
photograph we know is on a piece of
pewter made by NASA for naps it's a view
from a window it's from the 1820s and
this image made by asphalt still exists
so that's that's the invention of
photography the Epps knows that he's
onto something and he takes Louie de
Guerre on as a partner the air was well
known in Paris in the 1820s you know
well before the 1839 announcement of the
daguerreotype he was a showman he ran
this 75 foot diorama de Guerre himself
wants to make images he understands how
a camera obscura works and the apps
didn't have the money he didn't have the
youth he didn't have the health he
really kick-started to gear when nee
Epps died de Guerre continued his
experiments on his own
by 1839 Daguerre has a system that is
fully realized it's perfect it's a piece
of copper coated with silver and you
have to polish it very well to the point
where you have a polish that when you
turn the plate towards a darkened room
it looks black and it's fumed with
iodine and when you take it out of the
box it's yellow that's silver iodide
[Music]
plate is then put into a camera obscura
or we would say camera now but a camera
obscura given enough time its exposed
when you take it out of the camera in a
darkened room there's nothing to see on
the plate completely invisible same
yellow coating but when you put it in
another box with a little container of
mercury and heat the mercury the fumes
of the mercury dance upon the plate and
when you withdraw that from the box you
have an image
you still have to fix the image and
fixing is a strange term it basically
means that you're preventing the plate
from changing anymore as light strikes
the plate and you place it into a
solution that fixes it is something that
we now all call hypo daguerreotype is
placed into a special case it's designed
to keep air away from the plate because
air is what makes silver tarnish
Daguerre would give the process to the
government the government then would
allow anyone in the world to do the
daguerreotype except England and so if
you wanted to make daguerreotype sin
England you had to pay a fee this is the
Giroux daguerreotype camera would be the
world's first commercially manufactured
insoluble cameron's it's the camera but
it's also the system that goes with it
that that you need to process sensitize
and process the images it is essentially
an American phenomenon it was the
Americans that embraced it that used it
it was Americans that were leaving home
and striking out further and further
west so that people could have something
to think about and to reflect on and to
remember people by
we're in the photography vault at George
Eastman House this is where all of our
photo collections are stored and here we
have our wall of daguerreotype
we have one of the largest collections
of daguerreotype sin the world over
3,500 Magaro types including 1,500
French daguerreotype switch is the
largest collection of French gareth
types outside of france the
daguerreotype is both a negative and a
positive image at the same time I think
really to see a daguerreotype and get
the full effect you have to be holding
it it's an intimate thing it's
reflective and sometimes you do see
yourself that's kind of a makes you part
of the object with daguerreotype there's
infinite detail there's something just
so compelling about daguerreotype
they're not made with the negative so
that the Garrett eye plate was actually
in the room with the person being
photographed so there's something of I
read as that person's energy on the
plate it's a very very permanent process
much more so than than all the processes
we draw I can take you to an antique
shop that's 15 minutes from here and we
can find a daguerreotype made in the
1850s and guess what they're still in
perfect condition
[Music]
you
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