Capturing the light

I think most of us take for granted the ease of capturing an image and sharing it with the world. Cell phone image quality just keeps improving. How did we get to the point where nearly everyone has a camera in their pocket? In Capturing the Light by Roger Watson and Helen Rappaport, you are introduced to two rivals who each developed a process to capture images. These two men are Henry Fox Talbot from England and Louis Daguerre from France. You may have heard about the Dageurrotype, but there was also a Talbotype.

There is some question on who exactly managed to capture an image first. Perhaps it doesn't really matter, though at the time it was a matter of controversy. The various methods all dealt with chemicals, usually toxic. Some images faded over time until the process was perfected. As the technology improved, the industrial revolution kicked in and various people used the technology to great advantage. There were winners and losers. In time these two men have been forgotten.

I found the book to be well written and interesting. There were many things I did not know about the development of photography. I have seen tintypes, which are a bit rare. Now that I understand the process by which they were made, it is a bit of a miracle that they still exist. I would have liked to have known more about how the technology evolved over time. There is almost no mention on digital photography. Rather the authors focus on the two men mentioned above.

Book Rating: 5 stars

The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.