History Of Photography: From Ancient Times Into the Present Day

Photography can be traced back to ancient times. Camera obscuras were "used to form images on walls in darkened rooms...via a pinhole" and the use of shadows (Greenspun 1999). This primitive technology remained unchanged until the 18th century. Then, one day, Professor J. Schulze mixed "chalk, nitric acid, and silver in a flask," which caused him to notice the "darkening on [the] side of [a] flask exposed to sunlight," leading to the "accidental creation of the first photo-sensitive compound" (Greenspun 1999). Nicephore Niepce followed by combining the camera obscura with photosensitive paper, creating the first permanent reproduction on paper and the first 'photographic' image in history (Greenspun 1999).

Technology advanced rapidly afterward, particularly after the innovations of Louis Daguerre who created images "on silver-plated copper, coated with silver iodide and 'developed' with warmed mercury (Greenspun 1999). Less involved methods of...
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