World Photography Day : History, Significance, Quotes, About 1st Photograph, and more

The world celebrates August 19 as World Photography Day. People observe this day to encourage photographers and photography buffs to ‘share their world’ with people. Here’s how photography grew during the years.

As technology advanced over the years, photography has also grown in terms of quality, aesthetics, and angles of pictures. From several methods used in printing pictures from the camera to utilizing camera phones and sharing on social media, picture-taking and the way fans have appreciated it has witnessed numerous changes.

World Photography Day : History

World Photography Day is celebrated as it starts with the invention of the Daguerreotype.

It is a photographic method that was formed in 1837 by Louis Daguerre and Joseph Nicephore Niepce. Nearly two years later, on January 9, 1839, the French Academy of Sciences confirmed the Daguerreotype. The French government purchased the patent of the method and described creativity as “a gift to the world”.

Though, Daguerreotype was not the only method practiced for delivering permanent photography. Niepce is identified to have practiced ‘heliograph’ to catch the freshest form of permanent Photograph named “View from the Window at Le Gras” in 1826.

Use of colour in photographs

Although people earlier took images in monochrome, the usage of colour was started in picture-taking in 1861 when Thomas Stutton took the durable colour image.

 It was a collection of monochrome images captured through green, red, and blue filters. But, the quality of the Image taken was imperfect as the emulsions applied in photography were indifferent to the spectrum. Thus the presentation by Stutton was soon overlooked.

The first selfie

The first selfie or self-portrait was captured in 1839 by Robert Cornelius from the US, who caught it by setting up his camera, lifted its lens cap, and went to the frame. He printed in the back of the Image, “The first light Picture ever taken 1839”.

Photography goes digital

The primary digital image was taken in 1957 by American engineer Russell Kirsch who practiced a digital scan of the image of his son caught on film that possessed a resolution of 176 x 176. 20 years after this pioneering discovery, an engineer of Kodak developed the first-ever digital camera.

On August 19, 2010, World Photography Day was publicly honored for the initial time by World Photo Day hosting its premier global online gallery on its site. It displayed pictures shared by nearly 270 photographers from across 100 countries on the website for this event.

World Photography Day: Significance

The day creates awareness, shares ideas, and supports people in this field. It also promotes photography fans to show their emotions, feelings, and social thinking through their photography abilities.

A photograph has the ability to capture a place, experience thought, or flashed in time. That is why it is stated that a photograph is worth a thousand words.

Images can carry emotions faster sometimes than words can. A cameraman can make the spectator view the world the way the photographer views it.

World Photography Day: Quotes

• “Photography is the easiest thing on the earth, but it is extremely challenging to get it to actually work.”

•  “Photography is a great tool of communication, and expression, allows a countless type of perception, idea and execution.” – Ansel Adams

• “The image that you captured with your camera is the creativity you want to build with reality.” 

• I don’t have faith in words. I understand pictures.” — Gilles Peress

• “There is one factor the image requires, the humanity of the moment.”

Different types of photography

• Wildlife photography
• Portrait photography
• Fine Art photography
• Fashion photography
• Travel photography
• Landscape photography
• Street photography
• Newborn photography
• Wedding photography
• Event photography
• Architectural photography etc.