Invented in the nineteenth century, photography radically changed the visual world by presenting a seemingly objective view of the world. Photography depends on the existence of a camera obscura, a phenomenon first observed centuries ago. When a darkened chamber has a small hole, or aperture, cut in one side, a reversed image of the exterior world is projected onto the rear surface of the chamber. In the nineteenth century, several artists and inventors searched for ways to fix these projections using light sensitive materials. Several figures have laid claim to the title of inventor of photography. Nicéphore Niépce, Louis Daguerre, and William Henry Fox Talbot were crucial in creating the precursors to the photographic processes used today. Early photographs required several minute long exposures. For portraits, this necessitated the subjects sitting still for an unnaturally long period of time, resulting in stiffly posed image. As technology progressed, exposure time decreased and the sharpness of images increased. The silver gelatin process for producing black-and-white prints was introduced in 1871 and continues to be used to produce velvety prints by artists like Luis Gispert, George Woodman, and Hernan Bas. Color photography became widely available in the twentieth century, and today is found in chromogenic prints, polaroids, and other media. John Isaacs, Jean-Francois Fourtou, and Liz Cohen are contemporary artists who produce chromogenic prints.

From the very beginning of the process, it has been possible to manipulate photographs. Early on, this was done by combining sections of different negatives to form a single print. This belies the idea that a photograph necessarily represents the truest view of a scene. Today’s photographers use both chemical and digital technology to manipulate their final prints. Some artists who use digital technology to create interesting and otherworldly results are Esmeralda Kosmatopoulos, Justin Bettman, and Peter Clough.