The Daguerreotype - Photographic Processes Series - Chapter 2 of 12

Summary

This 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

00:00

📸 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.

05:02

🖼️ 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.

Keywords

💡Photography

Photography is defined as the art, science, and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. In the context of the video, photography is portrayed as a revolutionary invention that changed the way people perceived time and memory, allowing them to see what their ancestors looked like, which was previously unimaginable.

💡Asphalt

Asphalt, in the context of early photography, refers to a bituminous substance that was found to be sensitive to light. Joseph Nicéphore Niépce used asphalt in his experiments, applying it to a glass plate and exposing it to light through an engraving. The areas exposed to light hardened, and by using a solvent, he could remove the unhardened areas, creating one of the earliest known photographic images.

💡Camera Obscura

A camera obscura is an optical device that was used as one of the predecessors to the modern photographic camera. It typically consists of a dark room or chamber with a small hole that allows light to pass through and project an inverted image onto the surface opposite the hole. In the video, the camera obscura is mentioned as a device that Daguerre and de Guerre used to capture images, which was a significant step in the development of photography.

💡Daguerreotype

The daguerreotype is a historic photographic process that was the first publicly available photographic process and for nearly twenty years starting in 1839, it was the one most commonly used. It involved a direct-positive process that produced a single image on a silver-coated copper plate. In the video, the daguerreotype is highlighted as a fully realized system developed by Louis Daguerre, which was a significant advancement in the field of photography.

💡Silver Iodide

Silver iodide is a chemical compound with the formula AgI, which is used in early photography for its light-sensitive properties. In the daguerreotype process, a plate coated with silver was fumed with iodine to create a layer of silver iodide, which reacted to light to form a latent image. The video explains that this yellow coating was crucial for capturing the image when exposed in a camera obscura.

💡Mercury Fuming

Mercury fuming is a process described in the video where a daguerreotype plate, once exposed, is placed in a box with mercury. The mercury vapor interacts with the silver iodide on the plate to bring out the image. This process is a critical step in the daguerreotype process, as it transforms the latent image into a visible one.

💡Fixing

Fixing, in photography, refers to the process of making the developed image permanent by removing the unexposed light-sensitive material, so the image doesn't fade when exposed to light again. In the video, fixing is mentioned as a step after mercury fuming, where the image is stabilized by placing the plate in a solution to prevent further changes.

💡George Eastman House

George Eastman House, now known as the George Eastman Museum, is an institution mentioned in the video that houses one of the world's oldest film archives and one of the largest collections of photography in existence. The video script refers to it as a place where a significant collection of daguerreotypes is stored, emphasizing its importance in preserving photographic history.

💡Intimate Imagery

The term 'intimate imagery' is used in the video to describe the personal and close-up nature of daguerreotype photographs. These images were often small and required direct viewing, which made the experience of looking at them more personal and intimate. The reflective nature of the daguerreotype also made the viewer feel part of the image, adding to the intimacy.

💡Permanence

Permanence in the context of the video refers to the long-lasting and durable nature of daguerreotype images. The video emphasizes that daguerreotypes, once fixed, do not degrade over time, allowing them to be preserved in perfect condition for over a century. This permanence is contrasted with the more transient nature of other photographic processes.

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