photography life

The world's first photographer was Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, a French inventor who was born in Chalon-sur-Saône in 1765. Niépce is credited with developing the world's first permanently fixed photograph in 1826. The image captured with this invention was comprised of a very basic pointillist-style painting composed of tiny vivid points of color, revealing an image that is a far cry from the vivid and detailed digital images we are used to today.

Prior to Niépce’s invention, researchers had long been exploring attempting to find ways to capture images like the human eye does. Niépce’s genius was in discovering a permanent way to capture the light that hit his camera's lens and record it onto a photosensitive plate, creating a lasting record of the scene he was looking at.

In the early 1800s, Niépce began experimenting with ways to capture images with light, and at first, he used paper and cardboard coated with bitumen of Judea. When exposed to light, the bitumen would darken and form patterns. But the images could not be made permanent. Aware of the philosopher Johann Heinrich Schultz previous experiments heating bitumen until it hardened, he experimented with a camera, but achieved little success. It was in 1814 when he finally found a way to take an image and make it semi-permanent.

Niépce’s work was widely ignored until 1826, when he began working with Louis Daguerre, a theater set designer with a passion for the science of optics. Together, they perfected the procedure, thanks to Niépce’s use of a camera obscura, which allowed images to be projected onto a photosensitive plate, often coated with silver iodide. The plate was then exposed to light and then the image could become recorded into the plate upon exposure. Niépce and Daguerre eventually discovered a way to fix these images permanently using a mix of toxic fumes, mainly mercury chloride and a light sensitive paper. This innovative process was detailed by Daguerre in his famous "Daguerreotype" instructions, which marked the beginning of modern photography as we know it.

Despite Niépce’s death in 1833, the legacy of his discovery lives on today. Every photograph — from the most basic of selfies to the most intricate portraits — owes something to Nicéphore Niépce, the world’s first photographer. Thanks to his pioneering work, we are now able to capture moments and memories that would have otherwise been forgotten. We can look at a photograph and be taken back to the hour and place of its taking, and, thanks to Niépce, that’s something we may never take for granted.

Having been a professional photographer for over 20 years, I am often asked about what led me to this field and how I got started. To answer this question, I must go back to the very beginning of my life as a photographer, which, surprisingly, wasn't even an entire two decades ago.

It all began with my passion for art. Ever since I was a child, I took sketches and drawings wherever I could, and I loved the adrenaline of. Pursuing my interest in visuals, I chose to study photography and film in university. It was there that I met some of the first people who inspired and mentored me. From them I learned the power of the lens and the amount of emotion that can be conveyed through pictures.

My first experience in the studio was, needless to say, intimidating. The equipment was complex and intimidating. Before this point, I had been resorting to what I have come to call my “gorilla style” photography, which involved placing a makeshift white paper as a background and using whatever small items were available to me. Needless to say, I was starting from scratch.

However, as time went on and I became more comfortable in the studio, I started to more appreciate and understand the use of light and shadow. This was a breakthrough moment for me. I learned that light and shadows are essential aspects of photography, and used them to create stunning photos. I also began to experiment with moving images and the manipulation of time and spatial relations.

By the time I had my own photographic studio, I knew the tricks and techniques, and I had learned so much. I understood how to produce the images that would capture the essence of people, places, and things in the most natural way possible. And this is the basis on which I build my professional photography portfolio – one of candid and thoughtful works that highlight the beauty of nature and the human form.

From early on, I recognized that being a photographer is about more than just pressing the shutter button. Today, I still see myself as an artist, but more than that, I'm a storyteller. I feel that my work is an expression of the beauty or spirit hidden within people, places, and things – something I’m passionate about conveying with my expertise in the craft. From the beginning to now, I continue to live and breathe photography, and my commitment to this craft has only become stronger over time.