It is generally accepted that 7th January, 1839 marks the birth of photography. That is the day that François Arago — scientist and subsequent Prime MInister of France — announced to the Académie des Sciences, Louis Daguerre's creation of a method of capturing and preserving images seen in the camera obscura.
The news had been leaked and announced the previous day — 6th January — in the Gazette de France by journalist Hippolyte Gaucheraud who stated, "M. Daguerre has discovered a method to fix the images which are represented at the back of a camera obscura; so that these images are not the temporary reflection of the object, but their fixed and durable impress, which may be removed from the presence of those objects like a picture or an engraving.'
Of course, there had been many images produced prior to this date, and not all by Daguerre. William Henry Fox Talbot had been concurrently researching what was to become photography in England.
So, I guess that all we who are addicted to this drug of addiction, that photography is, should raise a glass today and thank the persistence and dedication of those who concocted the narcotic.
Hip hip hooray,
Walter
