The Fathers of Photography: Louis Daguerre and William H. Fox Talbot
Happy World Photography Day to all my fellow photographers, photo enthusiasts, and shutterbugs!
Today marks the one hundredth and seventy second year since the invention of Photography. 172 years ago, Louis Daguerre and William H. Fox Talbot gave the world the ability to capture images. We have come a long way technically (from chemical processes, we now capture light digitally), but the basic premise of Photography has remained the same -- "fragments of life (light) captured for our contemplation."
Even though we now work with digital sensors and are far removed from the primitive Calotype and Daguerrotype, we must never forget the genius of our predecessors who formulated the original "key" to unlock the mysteries of "light" and the magic of the photographic process. Daguerre and Talbot's legacy to mankind is truly immeasurable (specially to Art and Science) and is "Wizardry" of the highest order.
Can you imagine a world without photographs (it will have devastating consequences for Science, not to mention Art)? So it is just fitting for us to remember the origins of our Art today, August 19 and whenever we click our cameras (and our cellphones) to capture an image... for it is a precious gift that was presented to us 172 years ago, but continues to be relevant in our lives today, and into the future.
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