Essay One - Photographic Beginnings

Essay One - Photographic Beginnings
Felecia LaFountain

Photography began in the mid-19th century in Europe. Credited with making the first photographic images are photographers Nicéphore Niepce, Hippolyte Bayard, Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre, and William Henry Fox Talbot. Daguerre and Niepce announced the invention of the daguerreotype in January of 1839. Talbot is the inventor of photogenic drawing; in 1826 he created his first of these. Since all of these men had the same desired results to each of their own inventions, I feel that it is quite difficult to choose who I believe has contributed the most to photography. Since a choice must be made anyways, I have chosen Hippolyte Ballard; one of four brilliant photographers.

French photographer and civil servant Hippolyte Bayard, was born on January 20th of 1807 and he was an important part of photographic history until his last day of May 14th of 1887, and continuously after. Bayard invented his own process of capturing an image. His process was called “direct positive printing” and on June 24th of 1839, Bayard presented the world's first public photographic exhibition.

According to artandpopularculture.com, Hippolyte Bayard has claimed to have invented photography, but was lead to wait on his announcement of the invention. Hippolyte Bayard made the most important contribution to photography because it was his invention so his right to the credit. The problem with Bayard’s method of photography is that it required twelve minutes and still objects such as buildings produced better results that moving subjects. When photographing people, it was best that they had to close their eyes to eliminate the "dead quality" produced from the subjects blinking and moving their eyes during exposure. Another problem yet quality increasing in some eyes, his method produces photographs that could never be reproduced or repeated.

Hippolyte Bayard was famous for at least four amazing photographs; in 1840 his Self Portrait as a Drowned Man, in 1842 Specimens, 1845-1847’s Construction Worker, Paris and 1847’s Self Portrait in the Garden. Hippolyte Bayard’s photographs were made using silver chloride paper and exposing it to light, which turns the paper completely black. The paper is then soaked in potassium iodide before it is exposed in a camera. After they are exposed, they are then washed in hyposulfite of soda and finally, they are dried. It takes determination and a lot of experimentation to come up with what this man alone has created.

It is not the technique, the subject matter, or the point of view of the photographer; it is the idea that makes me give credit to this artist. It was his inventive and creative mind that has brought us one of the technologies that has helped hold on to not only photography but history of all kinds. Camera’s capture moments to share, moments to preserve, and moments that can never be replaced.

 

Works Cited
"Hippolyte Bayard  ." Hippolyte Bayard. Web. 15 Sept. 2013. http://www.artandpopularculture.com/Hippolyte_Bayard.

Beniger, James R., Prof. "Self-Portrait as a Drowned Man." Self-Portrait as a Drowned Man. Web. 15 Sept. 2013. http://www.usc.edu/schools/annenberg/asc/projects/comm544/library/images/543.html.

Bayard, Hippolyte. Self Portrait in the Garden. 1847. Photograph. The J. Paul Getty Museum. The J. Paul Getty Museum. Web. 15 Sept. 2013. http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=71402.

"History of Art: History of Photography." History of Art: History of Photography. Web. 15 Sept. 2013. http://www.all-art.org/history658_photography1.html.

"History of Art: History of Photography." History of Art: History of Photography. Web. 15 Sept. 2013. http://www.all-art.org/20ct_photo/Niepce1.htm.