Photographing Humans
At the time the process was introduced, daguerreotyping a brightly sunlit subject typically required about ten minutes of exposure in the camera, so the earliest daguerreotypes were of still lifes and landscapes. The oldest well-documented daguerreotype featuring human subjects is Daguerre's own 1838 view of the Boulevard du Temple, a busy street in Paris. The street appears deserted because the traffic (which would have been horse-drawn carriages) was moving and left no impression; but a man having his shoes shined and the bootblack servicing him are visible because they stayed in position long enough for their images to be recorded.
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Famous quotes containing the word humans:
“It is quite a common and vulgar thing among humans to understand, foresee, know and predict the troubles of others. But oh what a rare thing it is to predict, know, foresee and understand one’s own troubles.”
—François Rabelais (1494–1553)