Joe’s Book Club, which would normally appear today, will run tomorrow on Sunday August 20, 2023.
Today’s Post by Joe Farace
You don’t make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.—Ansel Adams
World Photography Day is celebrated on August 19, The day is an unofficial holiday to honor the art of photography and the photographers around the world who work to create lasting images. Without these dedicated photographers, the images and art we adore would mean nothing. Today we pay tribute to all of the photographers—portrait, fashion, architecture, and landscape— by giving them credit they deserve.
Celebrating World Photography Day dates back to France in 1837. A Frenchmen named Joseph Nicephore Niepcce developed heliography, a technique he used to create the world’s oldest surviving photographic process.
Around the same time, Louis Daguerre created the first photography process to make permanent photographs. On January 19, 1837, the French Academy of Sciences formally proclaimed the development of the daguerreotype. It is generally believed that ten days after that announcement, the French government acquired the patent for the innovation and gave it to the world for free with no copyright considerations.
While the French discovery is regarded as the beginning of photography, in 1839 William Henry Fox Talbot developed a more adaptable method for creating salt prints on paper. This technology competed with the metal-based daguerreotype. In 1884, George Eastman of Rochester, New York perfected the daguerreotype method replacing the copper plate with a dry gel he dubbed film. This technology eliminated the need for photographers to transport copper plates and dangerous chemicals. In 1888, Eastman created the Kodak camera that made it possible for almost everyone to take a photograph. All of which is a big part of the reason that photography can immediately capture expressions, sentiments, ideas, and moments and immortalize them for future generations to witness.
How I made this shot: This portrait of Courtney was made in my 11×15-foot home studio. I placed a 320 Ws Smith Victor FLC300 monolight that was fitted with a 24×24-inch soft box at camera left. Fill light was provided by another FLC300 with a 45-inch umbrella mounted that was located at camera right and placed near the back corner of my camera room. A Smith Victor 110i monolight with 24×24-inch softbox was used as a hair light, although to be honest the effect appears minimal.
If you’re interested in shooting portraits and how I use the cameras, lenses and lighting in my in-home studio, please pick up a copy of Studio Lighting Anywhere that’s available from Amazon.com with new copies selling for $34.95 and used copies starting around twelve bucks, as I write this. The Kindle version is $14.99 for those preferring a digital format.