The First Photograph of a Human Being? Could very well be. The First Photograph of a Human Being? Could very well be! Bonne chance! Now we see you. Now we don’t. You’ve likely heard the reason people never smile in very old photographs. Early photography could be an excruciatingly slow process. With exposure times of up to 15 minutes, portrait subjects found it impossible to hold a grin, which could easily slip into a pained grimace and ruin the picture.
A few minutes represented a marked improvement on the time it took to make the very first photograph, Nicéphore Niépce’s 1826 “heliograph.” Capturing the shapes of light and shadow outside his window, Niépce’s image “required an eight-hour exposure,” notes the Christian Science Monitor, “long enough that the sunlight reflects off both sides of the buildings.” This is fascinating and worthy of a long look. Click here courtesy of OpenCulture.com
While you’re in the City of Light, stay at the lovely Hotel du Champ de Mars. Central, quaint. Click here
