Photography and film are two of the most influential visual media in human history. They have revolutionised the way we capture and perceive the world and played a central role in shaping culture, art, communication, and technology. Photography, derived from the Greek words photos (light) and graphein (to draw), emerged in the early 19th century as a groundbreaking method of capturing images using light-sensitive materials. The first permanent photographic image is typically credited to  Joseph Nicéphore Niépce (1765-1833) in 1826 or 1827, achieved through a process known as heliography. This innovation laid the foundation for a cascade of advancements, from Louis Daguerre's (1789-1851) daguerreotype in 1839 to Henry Fox Talbot's (1800-1877) negative-positive process, which made photography more accessible and reproducible.

Film, or motion pictures, evolved from photography's capacity to freeze moments in time to the ability to animate those moments and tell stories through movement. The earliest motion picture experiments in the late 19th century, such as Eadweard Muybridge's (1830-1904) sequential photographs of galloping horses and the motion studies of Étienne-Jules Marey (1830-1904), paved the way for the birth of cinema. By the 1890s, inventors like Thomas Edison (1847-1931) and the Lumière brothers, Auguste (1862-1954) and Louis Lumière (1864-1948), had developed practical systems for projecting moving images, turning the novelty of film into a new form of entertainment and storytelling.

Both photography and film quickly transcended their initial scientific and technological curiosity to become powerful means of artistic expression and social commentary. Photography offered new ways to document reality, capture fleeting moments, and explore artistic visions through composition, lighting, and perspective. As it evolved, it shaped fields as varied as journalism, advertising, fashion, and personal memory-keeping. Film, meanwhile, grew from simple recordings of everyday life to complex narratives that captivated audiences. The early silent films, often accompanied by live music, evolved into sophisticated productions with intricate editing, special effects, and, eventually, synchronised sound. This development culminated in the birth of talkies in the late 1920s, transforming cinema into a truly immersive art form.

Throughout the 20th century and into the present day, photography and film have continued to develop alongside technological advances. The digital age has expanded the reach and potential of these media even further, democratising image-making and bringing high-quality tools to the masses. Today, both photography and film serve as cornerstones of modern visual culture, shaping everything from personal expression to global communication and collective memory. In essence, photography and film are tools that harness light, time, and vision to explore the human experience. They remain vibrant fields of innovation, creativity, and cultural impact, forever intertwined in the story of how we see and share our world.

THE HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY AND FILM

The early 19th century was a transformative era that reshaped the social, political, economic, and cultural landscape of the Western world and beyond. It lasted roughly from the turn of the century through to the 1830s. It was a period of profound change, marked by revolutions, rapid industrialisation, scientific advancements, and the emergence of new artistic movements. At the dawn of the century, the echoes of the Enlightenment still resonated across Europe and the Americas. Enlightenment ideals, emphasising reason, individual rights, and the pursuit of knowledge, had laid the groundwork for the political upheavals of the late 18th century, including the American Revolution and the French Revolution. These movements reverberated into the early 1800s, influencing both the rise and fall of empires and the emergence of nationalist sentiments. 

One of the most significant political figures of this era was Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), who rose to power after the French Revolution. His military campaigns and administrative reforms reshaped the map of Europe and left a lasting legacy, even as his eventual defeat at Waterloo in 1815 led to a conservative reaction in European politics, embodied by the Congress of Vienna and the restoration of monarchies. Simultaneously, the early 19th century witnessed the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution. Building on earlier innovations in textile manufacturing, steam power, and iron production, this period saw the rapid expansion of factories and urban centres, particularly in Britain. The rise of industrial capitalism transformed economies and societies, creating new opportunities for wealth and mobility while also introducing new forms of social inequality, labour exploitation, and environmental challenges. 

Culturally, the early 19th century was a time of Romanticism, a movement that celebrated emotion, nature, individualism, and the sublime. Writers such as Lord Byron (1788-1824), Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), and Mary Shelley (1797-1851), along with composers like Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), embodied the Romantic spirit, challenging the rationalism of the Enlightenment and the mechanistic worldview of industrialisation. This era was equally vibrant in science and technology. The early 19th century saw the rise of groundbreaking discoveries and inventions that laid the foundation for modern physics, chemistry, and biology. Figures like Michael Faraday (1791-1867), André-Marie Ampère (1775-1836), and Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855) advanced our understanding of electricity and magnetism, while others like Humphry Davy (1778-1829) and John Dalton (1766-1844) deepened our knowledge of chemistry and atomic theory. Meanwhile, colonial expansion and global trade networks were intensifying, with European powers extending their reach across Africa, Asia, and the Americas. This expansion brought about profound cultural exchanges, as well as exploitation and resistance, setting the stage for future conflicts and transformations.