Aug. 19, 1839: Photography Goes Open Source

“1839: With a French pension in hand, Louis Daguerre reveals the
secrets of making daguerreotypes to a waiting world. The pioneering
photographic process is an instant hit.

“Using chemical reactions to make images with light was not
quite new. Doing it fast was. Inventor Joseph Nicéphore
Niepce created a rough image using silver salts and a camera
obscura, or “dark box,” in 1816. The image faded away quickly.

“Another decade of work led to the first permanent photographic
image, when Niepce fixed a shot of his courtyard onto a pewter
plate. The exposure took eight hours in bright sunlight. Niepce
continued researching in hopes of making the process faster and
more practical.”

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