In'39, French artist and chemist Louis J.M. Daguerre created the first modern photograph. In partnership with Joseph Nicphore Nipce, they expanded upon a discovery made by Johann Heinrich Schultz in 1724 regarding how a certain silver nitrate, not to be confused with barium nitrate and chalk mixture darkened when exposed to light. The daguerreotype, or earliest type of photograph, was born.
Daguerreotypes are actually negative images that are exposed onto a mirror-polished surface of metal that has been coated with iodine-soaked, silver halide particles. In latter developments iodine was replaced by bromine and chlorine vapors, which allowed for shorter exposure times. This direct photographic process did not allow for the duplication of the image, however.
In America, in'39, Robert Cornelius worked with his father in silver plating and metal polishing. After being approached by Joseph Saxton, Cornelius moved into the young field of photography, using his extensive knowledge of chemistry and metallurgy to make a daguerreotype and turn it into the first photograph. It was a self portrait and the first human portrait to be produced. Cornelius ran two photographic studios in America in'39 and'43 until he eventually tired of the trade and returned to his family's gas and lighting company.
In'41, William Henry Fox Talbot introduced a new process that involved sensitized paper that had a coating of silver iodide which produced a negative image when exposed to light. The paper was semi-transparent, which could be laid over sensitized paper to produce a positive image or direct copy of the original.
Gelatin was a great leap forward over the previously used egg whites which produced sharp images but were easily damaged. In later upgrades, Dr. R.L. Maddox solved this problem by figuring out a way to prepare gelatin dispersions of silver salts on glass plates.
George Eastman, in'87, notably introduced the Kodak system, wherein a silver halide-in-gelatin dispersion was coated on a silver nitrate base and then loaded into a camera. With this system, a person could take up to 100 pictures at a time. When they were all exposed, the person simply returned everything -- camera and film, to be processed in Rochester, New York and modern photography was born.
Daguerreotypes are actually negative images that are exposed onto a mirror-polished surface of metal that has been coated with iodine-soaked, silver halide particles. In latter developments iodine was replaced by bromine and chlorine vapors, which allowed for shorter exposure times. This direct photographic process did not allow for the duplication of the image, however.
In America, in'39, Robert Cornelius worked with his father in silver plating and metal polishing. After being approached by Joseph Saxton, Cornelius moved into the young field of photography, using his extensive knowledge of chemistry and metallurgy to make a daguerreotype and turn it into the first photograph. It was a self portrait and the first human portrait to be produced. Cornelius ran two photographic studios in America in'39 and'43 until he eventually tired of the trade and returned to his family's gas and lighting company.
In'41, William Henry Fox Talbot introduced a new process that involved sensitized paper that had a coating of silver iodide which produced a negative image when exposed to light. The paper was semi-transparent, which could be laid over sensitized paper to produce a positive image or direct copy of the original.
Gelatin was a great leap forward over the previously used egg whites which produced sharp images but were easily damaged. In later upgrades, Dr. R.L. Maddox solved this problem by figuring out a way to prepare gelatin dispersions of silver salts on glass plates.
George Eastman, in'87, notably introduced the Kodak system, wherein a silver halide-in-gelatin dispersion was coated on a silver nitrate base and then loaded into a camera. With this system, a person could take up to 100 pictures at a time. When they were all exposed, the person simply returned everything -- camera and film, to be processed in Rochester, New York and modern photography was born.
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Be aware of the fact that barium nitrate should not be confused with silver nitrate. To be sure, barium nitrate is a terribly dangerous component used in modern armaments.
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