Earliest Photo of a Human?
Have you been hearing about this photo that just turned up? Last month, a surprisingly sharp daguerreotype from 1842 surfaced showing 2 human forms along the Ohio River in Cincinnati. Some people have started asking "Is this the first photo EVER of a human being?"
Here's the full photo, along with the close-up of the 2 figures:
![](http://stevestenzel.com/photos4/first_human_photographed_1.jpg)
![](http://stevestenzel.com/photos4/first_human_photographed_2.jpg)
Sure, a photo showing a human from 1842 is PRETTY amazing.
But it's not the oldest.
The oldest image of a human being (or what is currently considered the oldest) is a photo thought to be made by Louis Daguerre's, the creator of the daguerreotype. His image shows a street scene where there was probably a LOT going on, but because of the long exposure needed to make the image, everything simply blurred into obscurity. That is, except for a man near the lower left who stood in one spot long enough because he was getting his shoes shined.
![](http://stevestenzel.com/photos4/first_human_photographed_3.jpg)
![](http://stevestenzel.com/photos4/first_human_photographed_4.jpg)
So, take THAT you Ohio daguerreotype from 1842. Not feeling so special anymore, are you?
[I kid. In all seriousness, they are both amazing images from the early years of my profession. This more recent image was a great find. It's amazing the things that are stored away that we haven't "discovered" yet, even though our ancestors put them there for us.]
1 comments:
I remember seeing this on NPR or somewhere and while thinking it was cool at the time, I completely missed the boat (and the pier)! I didn't realize the fuss was about the earliest photograph of a human, I thought it was the sharp quality of the images that was the focus of the discussion. OH boy, do I feel dumb now.
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