#ThrowBackThursday: The evolution of photographs over two centuries

The evolution of photographs has transformed over time. Nowadays, anyone with a smartphone can be a photographer.

A photograph is worth a thousand words and stories can be told just with pictures.

Photographs have also played an imperative role in the media, and have allowed us to capture moments in time.

Whether it is a photo of your loved ones or your cat, photos help us make memories.

We take a look at 10 photographic ‘firsts’ from over the past two centuries.

1. The first ever photograph

Made in a camera, this photograph was taken by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in 1826/1827. The image depicts the view from an upstairs window at Niépce’s estate, Le Gras, in the Burgundy region of France.

2. The first colour photograph

Taken by the mathematical physicist, James Clerk Maxwell, this piece is considered the first durable colour photograph. The inventor of the SLR, Thomas Sutton, was the man who pressed the shutter button, but Maxwell is credited with the scientific process that made it possible.

3. The first digital photograph

This photo was taken way back in 1957; that is almost 20 years before Kodak’s engineer invented the first digital camera. The photo is a digital scan of a shot initially taken on film. The picture has a resolution of 176×176 – a square photograph worthy of any Instagram profile.

4. The first self portrait (selfie) photograph

Before ‘selfies’ took over, Robert Cornelius set up a camera and took the world’s first self-portrait. Cornelius sat in front of the lens for a little over a minute, before leaving the seat and covering the lens. The now iconic photograph was captured approximately 170 years ago in 1839.

5. The first aerial photograph

The first aerial photograph was not taken by drone, but instead by hot air balloon in 1860. This aerial photograph depicts the town of Boston from 2 000 feet. The photographer was James Wallace Black.

6. The first news photograph

This photograph taken in 1847 and is thought to be the first ever photograph taken for the news; it depicts a man being arrested in France.

7. The first fatal airplane crash photograph

Disaster photograph may not be the most pleasant of subjects, but as news journalists, we do cover them.  This plane was an experimental design part of the US Army.

8. The first moon photograph

The first photograph of the moon was taken on March 26, 1840. The photograph was taken on the rooftop of an observatory at New York University. The image has acquired a significant amount of physical damage.

9. The first photograph of the Earth from the moon

The Earth was photographed from the moon in all its glory on August 23, 1966. A Lunar Orbiter travelling in the vicinity of the moon snapped the shot, and it was then received in Spain.

10. The first 3D American President portrait photograph

The shot of former US President, Barrack Obama, utilised a custom-built 50 LED light array, eight ‘sports’ cameras, and six wide angle cameras. The photograph was printed in 3D.