Ok ok, I’ll be completely honest…I didn’t have a clue what “World Photography Day” was or when it was, or any other details until I looked it up 😅
So, to the point and to make it clearer for you I’ll skip the technical details of the story, but I’ll have to explain the history behind it and it will all come together at the end, I promise!
It all started from “daguerreotype”. Yeup, daguerreotype, which was invented back in 1937 by the one and only Louis Daguerre (don’t worry I don’t know him either), was how they photographed people in the old days.
Daguerreotype was a breakthrough at that time and we have to give credit for that. On the other hand the whole process of it was a bit if a torture; the subject being photographed, depending on the brightness/sunlight, had to sit in from of the camera sometimes a couple of seconds but sometimes, if the environment was poorly lit, several minutes, ouch!
Daguerreotype used a silver plated copper sheet where the silver area had to be cleaned very thoroughly to a mirror look and the whole process in general required great care.
Two years after Daguerreotype was invented, in 1939, the French Academy of Sciences officially recognised it. 9 months later, on 19 of August of 1939, the French Government announced that Daguerreotype photography was a gift to the world!
That is why we celebrate World Photography Day on the 19th of August of every year by taking photos and appreciating the “gift” to the world.
People are taking and sharing photos using the tag #worldphotography day on social media.
Now that you know when and what World Photography Day is, grab your camera and go out to take some cool photos, the 19th of August of this and every year will be waiting for your creations!