History of World Photography Day
World Photography Day is rooted in history and celebrates the day in 1837 Joseph Nicephore Niepce and Louis Daguerre's breakthrough invention of the daguerreotype was registered with the patent office. Although it's known that the first use of the pre-patented daguerreotype was used by Niepce in 1826.
Daguerreotypes
Daguerreotypes were made by placing highly polished sheets of silver-plated copper (usually treated with fumes making its surface sensitive to light) into a camera obscurer for as long as was deemed necessary.
Like adjusting shutter speeds in today’s cameras, these plates would be exposed for just several seconds for brightly sunlit subjects, or for much longer in darker environments to ensure an ideal exposure.
These plates would then be fumed with mercury vapour, making the latent image visible. The sheets light sensitivity would then be removed by a liquid chemical treatment, then sealed behind glass to avoid further marring.
Through History
The Daguerreotype type photography soon had competition with William Henry Fox Talbot's invention of the paper-based negative and salt print processes which made photography easier and more versatile.
As the decades have passed, photography has become even more accessible; new materials and technologies have meant exposure times have gone from minutes to seconds; from black and white developments to natural colour.
The invention of the digital camera in 1990 revolutionised modern day photography. With improved accessibility and higher image quality, cameras became ubiquitous in family homes. Now with smartphone camera photography, the art of taking pictures is firmly in everyone's hands.
World Photography Day
The first official photography day was celebrated on 19th August, 2010, with 270 photographers from across the globe participated in an online exhibition, showing their work to over 500 million people worldwide from more the 100 countries.
In honour of the day, many photo contests dedicated to a single topic are held - this year the theme being 'Significance'.
Go out and capture a moment and share it with the hashtag #WorldPhotographyDay and #kenro on social media.
