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Pioneers of photography
Do you know who took the first photograph ever ? And the first selfie? Learn everything about the beginnings of photography in our special playlist !

The invention of the photograph, in 1839, would forever change the way people looked at the world. But this extraordinary breakthrough cannot be credited to a single individual—while William Henry Fox Talbot labored quietly in England, Louis Daguerre toiled separately in France, with the announcements of their discoveries coming weeks apart. Learn about the unusual pursuit that led Talbot to his crucial innovation.

Content produced by : San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

To learn more about the birth of photography in the 19th century, click here!

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On the agenda
video - 4:00
Sun Pictures: Henry Fox Talbot and the First Photographs
By: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
video - 3:19
Why people never smiled in old photos
By: Vox Media
video - 4:49
Illuminating photography: From camera obscura to camera phone
By: Ted Ed
video - 4:02
Pictures from a glass house: Julia Margaret Cameron’s portraits
By: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
video - 1:00
The Great Wave by Gustave Le Gray
By: Art Explora
video - 6:17
The first faked photograph
By: Vox Media