Following the footsteps of Joseph Nicéphore Niépce
Sep
Joseph Nicéphore Niépce is one of the most important figures in the history of photography. His early experiments with the camera obscura, silver salts and heliography laid the foundation for what we now understand as photography.
For The 7th Day, his work is especially important. Niépce was not only trying to capture an image. He was trying to make light, time and chemistry leave a visible trace. In many ways, this idea still connects directly to the long exposure images we create today with simple camera obscura techniques and photo paper.
The First Photograph in the World
Who Was Joseph Nicéphore Niépce?
Joseph Nicéphore Niépce was born on March 7, 1765 in Chalon-sur-Saône, France, and died on July 5, 1833 in Saint-Loup-de-Varennes.
Before becoming known as a photography pioneer, Niépce worked as an officer in the French army and later devoted himself to mechanical and chemical experiments with his brother Claude. From around 1815, he became interested in lithography. Soon after, he began searching for a way to create images directly with light.
This search led him to the camera obscura.
Niépce’s First Photography Experiments in 1816
In May 1816, Niépce placed sheets of paper coated with silver salts inside a camera obscura. The paper reacted to daylight and created a small negative image of the view from his window.
This was one of the earliest known attempts to create a photographic image with a camera. However, the result was not permanent. Once the paper was exposed to light again, the silver salts continued to darken until the image disappeared.
Niépce called these early images “retinas.”
Even though these first results did not survive, they were an important step. Niépce had shown that the camera obscura could do more than project an image. It could also help create one.
From Guaiacum Resin to Bitumen of Judea
After the unstable silver salt experiments, Niépce continued searching for a more durable process. Around 1817, he experimented with guaiacum resin. This material changed when exposed to light, but it reacted mainly to ultraviolet light. Since the glass lenses of the camera obscura filtered out much of that UV light, it was not suitable for making lasting camera images.
Later, Niépce turned to bitumen of Judea, a natural asphalt-like material. He dissolved it in lavender oil and applied it to plates made of metal or glass. When exposed to light, the bitumen hardened. The parts that received less light could then be washed away.
This process became known as heliography.
The Oldest Surviving Camera Photograph
Niépce’s most famous image is View from the Window at Le Gras. It was made with a camera obscura and is considered the oldest surviving photograph produced with the help of a camera.
The image shows the view from an upper window of Niépce’s estate in Saint-Loup-de-Varennes. Because the exposure lasted for many hours, light appears to fall on different sides of the buildings. This gives the photograph its strange and fascinating sense of time.
Unlike the experiments from 1816, this image did not vanish. It survived and became one of the most important milestones in the history of photography.
Niépce, Daguerre and the Invention of Photography
In the following years, Niépce collaborated with the Parisian artist and inventor Louis Daguerre. Both were interested in optical images and the possibility of making them permanent. After Niépce’s death in 1833, Daguerre continued their work and developed the daguerreotype. This process required shorter exposure times and became much easier to present to the public. As a result, Daguerre’s name became widely known, while Niépce’s role was often less visible.
Still, Niépce’s heliography was the foundation. Without his experiments, the later success of photography would not have been possible in the same way.
Why Niépce Matters for The 7th Day
The work of Joseph Nicéphore Niépce reminds us that photography began with patience, uncertainty and long exposure times. That is also what makes The 7th Day so close to the origins of photography. Our participants use a simple camera obscura and photo paper to create images over days, weeks, months or even years. The result is not an instant snapshot, but a trace of time and light. Like Niépce, we are interested in what happens when light slowly creates an image. The process is simple, but the result is never fully predictable. Weather, location, material and time all become part of the photograph.
Following Niépce’s Footsteps Today
Following the footsteps of Joseph Nicéphore Niépce means looking back at the beginning of photography, but also asking what photography can still be today.
It does not always have to be fast, sharp or digital. Sometimes a photograph can be slow. It can be fragile. It can be shaped by time, sunlight and chance.
This is the connection between Niépce’s first photography experiments and The 7th Day. Both begin with a camera obscura. Both depend on light. And both show that photography is not only about capturing a moment, but also about making time visible.
