Nicéphore Niépce Captures the First Photograph

November 1827

In a courtyard in Burgundy, Nicéphore Niépce exposed a pewter plate coated with bitumen to eight hours of sunlight and fixed, permanently, the rooftops and chimney visible from his window. The image was crude, ghostly, barely legible. It was also the oldest surviving photograph - the first time light had written its own portrait.