Joseph Niepce made the first

photographic image with the camera

obscura, which literally translates to
dark chamber. An engraved image
was placed on a metal plate and
coated in bitumen, and then
exposed to light. The shadowy areas
blocked light whereas the whiter
areas permitted light to react with
the chemicals on the plate. Once the
metal plate was placed in solvent an
image started slowly appearing, but
took eight hours to develop.

William Henry Fox Talbot

invented the calotype process
In 1829 Daguerre partnered
which is an early photographic
with Niepce and altered his
process introduced in 1840,
invention and used the vapour using paper coated with silver
of mercury to fix the image.
iodine. This involved the
This was called the
concept of a negative from
daguerreotype and was
which many positive prints can
released in 1838.
be made.