Who created the first photograph

The first photograph, or at least the oldest surviving photo made in a camera, was created by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in 1826 or 1827. It is commonly known as “View from the Window at Le Gras” and was taken at Saint-Loup-de-Varennes, Niépce's estate in Burgundy, France. Niépce used a process he called heliography, which involved an eight-hour exposure in sunlight onto a pewter plate coated with bitumen of Judea, a naturally occurring asphalt. This early process produced an image that was later developed using a solvent and then hardened to endure.

Extra: Photography has come a long way since Niépce's groundbreaking heliography. After his initial success, Niépce entered into a partnership with Louis Daguerre, which eventually led to the development of the daguerreotype process that Daguerre perfected after Niépce’s death. The daguerreotype became the first commercially successful photographic process. Early photography required long exposure times and could only produce one-off images. Throughout the 19th century, the process evolved dramatically. Emulsions became more sensitive to light, exposure times were reduced, and new processes, like the invention of the negative by William Henry Fox Talbot, allowed for photographs to be reproduced multiple times. In modern times, photography has moved from analog to digital, where images are captured and stored electronically, allowing for instant viewing, editing, and sharing. Photography as a medium has been pivotal throughout history, affecting areas such as journalism, art, science, and everyday personal use.