Photo: A History from Behind the Lens

The Inventors

1839 marked the "official" birth of photography. Some seek to reduce the invention of photography to an obstacle course from which the shrewd Daguerre emerged triumphant, once the good-natured Niepce had abandoned his pursuit, and thanks to the slowness of the perfectionist Talbot and the discreet Bayard. Photography, which featured myriad technical and artistic possibilities, was multi-faceted and progressive. It revolutionised our perspective and transformed our relationship to reality.