Talbot's Processes - Photographic Processes Series - Chapter 3 of 12

Summary

In the 1830s, photography emerged with Louis Daguerre's silver iodide process in France and William Henry Fox Talbot's silver chloride method in England. Both developed their techniques independently, leading to a rivalry when their work became public. Talbot, a gentleman scholar, refined his photogenic drawing process to create salted paper prints, which were softer and more artistic compared to the crisp daguerreotype. He introduced the negative-positive process, a fundamental concept in photography, and showcased its potential in 'The Pencil of Nature,' a series highlighting photography's reproducibility and various applications.

Takeaways

• 📸 The 1830s marked the birth of photography with significant developments by Louis Daguerre in France and William Henry Fox Talbot in England.
• 🔬 Daguerre's process involved using silver iodide on metal plates, while Talbot utilized silver chloride on paper.
• 🏰 Talbot, a gentleman scholar and member of the House of Lords, conducted his early photographic experiments at Lacock Abbey.
• 🌿 His initial attempts at capturing images involved photogenic drawings, where he used sunlight to create images on paper coated with silver nitrate and exposed to light through objects like ferns.
• 🔬 Talbot's key discovery was the fixing process using a salt solution, which made the unexposed areas less sensitive and allowed the images to be viewed by candlelight.
• 📜 Talbot invented the salted paper print, a permanent photographic process that involved fixing the image with hypo (sodium thiosulfate).
• 🖼️ The salted paper prints had a softer, more granulated appearance compared to the crisp, three-dimensional quality of the daguerreotype, reflecting a dichotomy between information and artistry.
• 🔄 Talbot improved his process by switching to silver iodide, the same halide used by Daguerre, and introduced the calotype process, which allowed for the development of a latent image into a visible one using gallic acid.
• 📷 He invented the negative/positive process, which became the standard for photography until the advent of digital photography, allowing for the reproduction of images.
• 📚 Talbot showcased the potential of photography through 'The Pencil of Nature', a series of publications featuring salted paper prints that demonstrated various uses of the medium, emphasizing its reproducibility.

Q & A

Who were the two pioneers of photography in the 1830s mentioned in the script?

The two pioneers of photography in the 1830s were Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre in France and William Henry Fox Talbot in England.

What was the process by which Daguerre made images?

Daguerre made images using silver iodide on metal plates.

What was Talbot's initial challenge with photography?

Talbot's initial challenge was his lack of skill in drawing, which led him to experiment with camera lucida and camera obscura to create images.

What was the significance of Talbot's photogenic drawings?

Talbot's photogenic drawings were significant because they were an early method of photography using silver chloride on paper, which he later improved by fixing the images with a solution of salt water.

How did Talbot improve upon his initial photogenic drawing process?

Talbot improved his process by switching from silver chloride to silver iodide and developing a method to fix the images, which led to the creation of salted paper prints.

What was the difference between daguerreotypes and salted paper prints in terms of image quality?

Daguerreotypes had a crisp, clean, almost three-dimensional quality, while salted paper prints had a softer, more granulated appearance.

What process did Talbot develop that allowed for the creation of photographic negatives and positives?

Talbot developed the calotype process, which allowed him to create a latent image that could be developed into a visible image using gallic acid, thus enabling the creation of photographic negatives and positives.

What was the significance of Talbot's negative-positive process in the history of photography?

Talbot's negative-positive process was significant as it introduced the concept of reusable negatives and positive prints, which became the standard for photography until the advent of digital photography.

What was 'The Pencil of Nature' and why was it important?

The Pencil of Nature was a series of publications by Talbot that showcased his photographic process and various uses of photography. It was important because it demonstrated the reproducibility and potential of photography as a medium.

How did the rivalry between Daguerre and Talbot influence the development of photography?

The rivalry between Daguerre and Talbot spurred innovation and competition, leading to the development of different photographic processes and techniques that shaped the early years of photography.

Outlines

00:00

📸 Birth of Photography in the 1830s

The 1830s marked the inception of photography with the French using silver iodide on metal plates and the English, led by William Henry Fox Talbot, using silver chloride on paper. Talbot, a gentleman scholar and member of the House of Lords, was on his honeymoon in Italy when he first attempted to create images with a camera lucida. Back at Lacock Abbey, he conducted experiments that led to the creation of photographic images through a process he called photogenic drawings. This involved coating paper with silver nitrate, placing objects on it, and exposing it to sunlight. Talbot's breakthrough was the discovery of a fixing process using a salt solution to stabilize the image. He also invented the salted paper print, a permanent image-making process, and later improved it by using silver iodide instead of silver chloride, leading to the calotype process. This allowed for the creation of photographic negatives and positive prints, introducing the negative-positive concept fundamental to photography until the advent of digital technology.

05:02

🖼️ The Pencil of Nature: Talbot's Legacy

After perfecting the negative-positive process, Talbot sought to demonstrate photography's potential. He published 'The Pencil of Nature,' a series showcasing his salted paper prints, mainly depicting his home at Lacock Abbey. Each photograph in the series aimed to highlight a different application of photography. Talbot emphasized the reproducibility of photographs, a feature that became pivotal to the medium's success. The rivalry between Talbot's and de Guerre's photographic processes continues, with advocates for each claiming their method as the true invention of photography. However, both processes significantly contributed to the diverse techniques that define the art and science of photography.

Keywords

💡Photography

Photography is 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 video, photography is the central theme, detailing its early development in the 1830s with figures like de Garis and Talbot making significant contributions.

💡Daguerreotype

A daguerreotype, named after its inventor Louis Daguerre, is an early type of photograph that was produced on a silver-coated copper plate. This process was one of the first publicly announced photographic processes and was the dominant form of photography for nearly 20 years. The video contrasts the daguerreotype's crisp, clean image quality with the softer, more granulated look of the salted paper prints.

💡William Henry Fox Talbot

William Henry Fox Talbot was an English scientist, inventor, and photography pioneer who contributed significantly to the development of photography. In the video, Talbot's experiments with silver chloride and his invention of the photogenic drawing process are highlighted, showcasing his role in the invention of photography.

💡Photogenic Drawing

Photogenic drawings were one of the earliest forms of photography invented by William Henry Fox Talbot. They were created by placing objects on sensitized paper and exposing it to light. The video explains how Talbot used a salt solution to fix these images, allowing them to be viewed in low light conditions.

💡Salt Print

A salt print is a photographic print made from a negative on paper that has been coated with a salt solution. The video describes how Talbot improved upon his photogenic drawings by creating salt prints, which were more permanent and could be viewed by candlelight.

💡Calotype

The calotype is a photographic process invented by Talbot that produces a negative image that can be used to create multiple positive prints. The video explains how Talbot's calotype process allowed for the development of an invisible image into a visible one, a significant step in the evolution of photography.

💡Negative and Positive

In photography, a negative is the photographic film or image bearing the reverse image of the subject produced after processing. A positive is the final image that is viewed as the same as the original scene. The video details how Talbot introduced the concept of negatives and positives, which became a standard in photography.

💡Hypo

Hypo, short for hyposulfite, refers to a fixing agent used in photography to make the image permanent by removing unexposed light-sensitive silver halide. The video mentions how Talbot used hypo to fix his photographic negatives, a critical step in the development process.

💡Pencil of Nature

The Pencil of Nature is a book published by Talbot that showcased his photographic prints and described his processes. The video notes how this publication was a way for Talbot to demonstrate the capabilities of photography and its reproducibility.

💡Sir John Herschel

Sir John Herschel was a mathematician, astronomer, and chemist who made significant contributions to the field of photography. He discovered the process of fixing images with hypo, as mentioned in the video, which was a key development in the permanence of photographic images.

💡Latent Image

A latent image is an invisible image that has been formed but not yet developed into a visible image. In the video, the concept of the latent image is discussed in the context of Talbot's calotype process, where an invisible image is developed into a visible one using gallic acid.

Highlights

The 1830s marked the birth of photography with the simultaneous development of the daguerreotype and the calotype.

Daguerreotype utilized silver iodide on metal plates, while the calotype used silver chloride on paper.

The rivalry between Louis Daguerre and William Henry Fox Talbot began as their work became public.

Talbot, an English gentleman scholar, experimented with photogenic drawings using silver chloride.

His honeymoon in Lake Como inspired Talbot to find a material to record images from a camera obscura.

Talbot's early experiments involved placing objects like ferns on light-sensitive paper and exposing them to sunlight.

The discovery of fixing images with a salt solution allowed Talbot to share his photographs indoors.

Salted paper prints, Talbot's invention, offered a permanent and reproducible form of photography.

The calotype process introduced by Talbot in 1840 allowed for the development of latent images into visible ones.

Talbot's negative and positive process laid the foundation for modern photography.

The calotype process improved with the switch from silver chloride to silver iodide.

The pencil of nature, a series by Talbot, showcased the various uses of photography.

Photography's reproducibility was one of its most significant aspects, as demonstrated by Talbot.

The dichotomy between the crisp daguerreotype and the softer calotype represented information versus artistry.

The rivalry between Daguerre and Talbot continues, with each camp claiming their man invented photography.

Talbot's work demonstrated photography's potential for both documentation and artistic expression.

Transcripts

[Music]

this time around the 1830s is really

when photography comes together de garis

in France making images with silver

iodide on metal plates and Talbot is

working in England making images with

silver chloride on paper working

simultaneously in two different

countries not quite knowing about the

other but that changes when you start to

have articles in the the press now it's

public and so a rivalry begins

[Music]

William Henry Fox Talbot is a gentleman

scholar in England living in an old

Abbey in the village of Leacock he was a

member of the House of Lords he was a

wealthy individual who had many many

interests Talbot is on his honeymoon in

Lake Como in Italy and he's trying to

make drawings with a camera lucida he's

trying to do pencil sketches and realize

that he has no skill whatsoever in

drawing he wants to make pictures with

in a camera obscura all he has to do is

find the material that he can put into

the back of the camera to to record the

image finally when he returns home to

Lacock Abbey he starts doing experiments

and he is able to produce a photographic

image Talbot is making images by using

silver chloride in the production of

making what he called photogenic

drawings which are essentially just

coding paper with salt coating paper

with silver nitrate and place a fern

there are objects on top of the paper

put a piece of glass on top of that and

lay it in the sunlight

it will darken up to that point it's not

so much different than what Wedgwood do

but the Epson Wedgwood could not figure

out a way to keep the drawings what

Talbot discovers is that if he takes

that image and puts it into a stronger

solution of salt water all the areas

that were not exposed to light all the

areas that didn't turn to metallic

silver become less sensitive they are

not removed completely but he can show

them to people in the house you can see

them by candlelight this is the type of

camera that Talbot used in his earliest

experiments with photogenic drawing many

of them are still around and you can see

them as long as you don't bring them out

into too much light

usually when you see them they're sort

of under a piece of velvet so it feels

like this

intimate experience of looking at a

photograph in its first days now

photography so ubiquitous that we

probably don't think about how special

and magical that experience was tall but

is the first person to make a salted

paper print

he actually invents something that's

permanent it's basically his photogenic

drawing process that has been fixed with

hypo sodium thiosulfate is the modern

term is potential of removing silver

halide is discovered by Sir John

Herschel salted paper prints because of

the way they are made where the image

material sinks into the paper tend to

have a less crisp look to them there was

sort of this dichotomy between the crisp

clean almost three-dimensional quality

of the daguerreotype and then the softer

almost more granulated sensibility of

the salted paper print so that sort of

got reduced to information versus

artistry in the early years of

photography's history

Taal that improves the photogenic

drawing process by switching from silver

chloride to silver iodide the same

silver halide that de Guerre uses in his

process the latent image calotype

process that he invents in 1840 allows

him to make a little bit of an exposure

and then he develops out the invisible

image to a visible image using Gallic

acid and so now he could put this into a

camera and actually do pictures of

living human beings he can then make

photographic negatives and after those

negatives are fixed with hypo he can

then place those on top of a second

sheet of sensitive paper exposed that to

light and now he makes a positive proof

[Music]

so he has negative and positive he

essentially introduces the negative

positive potential for photography that

becomes the standard of photography

until the the invention of digital

photography the rivalry between de

guerre and Talbot continues today there

are champions of Talbot and the

champions of de Guerre both camps feel

that their man invented photography in

fact it's all photography just a

different type after Talbot figured out

this negative positive process he wanted

to show what photography could do so his

way to do that was to produce a series

of publications called the pencil of

nature pencil nature contains text

explaining Talbots process

salted paper prints mostly showing

Talbots home at Lacock Abbey and each of

the photographs is meant to display one

of the various uses of photography

Talbots showing the reproducibility of

the photograph which really became one

of the most important aspects of the

medium

[Music]