I was on vacation all last week and I devoted most of that time to my greatest passion, photography!  While I was studying the history of photography, I came across the oldest surviving photograph of a real-world scene.  This was taken by Nicéphore Niépce, the French inventor who is usually credited as being the father of photography.  View from the Window at Le Gras was taken in either 1826 or 1827, from the window of his country estate.

Here it is:

That might not look like much but here’s the enhanced version:

If the image looks strange, that’s because it was done with at least an 8 hour exposure, meaning that the sun moved across the sky while the picture was being taken.  (Some historians think that the picture was actually taken over the course of several days.)  This is what most photographic historians think the view actually looked like:

Finally, take a look at the picture below.

It’s called Boulevard du Temple and it was taken by Louis Daguerre in 1838.  Do you see the two men in the lower corner of the picture?  It’s believed that one man is polishing the boots of another.

It’s believed that, even if it was by accident, this is the earliest known photograph to include people!

From these humble beginnings, came everything.