This is probably the first photograph ever taken of a human being. There actually may be quite a few people in this picture, but the one obvious guy is the fellow on the corner (getting his shoes shined?). Very cool. It was taken by the great Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, inventor of the best early photographic process, which produced what were called, oddly, Daguerreotypes.
This Daguerreotype was taken in 1838 and depicts the streets of Paris in impressive detail. Photographic processes were very slow in those days, the earliest versions required 8+ hour exposures! This one was more advanced and faster, and hence the ability to include people.
Technology is awesome, isn't it? That gentleman getting his shoes shined, he's going to live on a long long time.
1 comment:
and didn't even know it!
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