A Man Got His Shoes Shined in Paris in 1838

And we have a picture to prove it.

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"First Ever Photograph of a Human Being"


This photograph of Boulevard du Temple in Paris was made in 1838 by Louis Daguerre....

In the bottom left-hand corner is a man who just so happened to stay somewhat still during the shot — he was having his shoes shined.





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Very cool photo, thanks for posting it!

Dave

Saw this on yahoo a couple days ago. It still amazes me that I can capture an extremely detailed frame in time in 1/3000th of a second and show someone across the world within minutes via the web. We really do take for granted our readily available technology. If we thought of the idea around that time we were persecuted like witches and wizards.

Me in 1800: "yea so I have an idea that I can freeze time and show it to you"

Everyone else: "burn him"

ni$mo350 wrote in post #11187504
Saw this on yahoo a couple days ago. It still amazes me that I can capture an extremely detailed frame in time in 1/3000th of a second and show someone across the world within minutes via the web. We really do take for granted our readily available technology. If we thought of the idea around that time we were persecuted like witches and wizards.

Me in 1800: "yea so I have an idea that I can freeze time and show it to you"

Everyone else: "burn him"

excellent take on this nismo...lol so true!

This photo was showcased in the BBC documentary series "The Genius of Photography" for anyone wanting a little more info and maybe a tad bit of context.

^^ I'll have to look that up. I just watched the National Geographic documentary on the photographers and found it really interesting despite it being over 20-25 years old.

ni$mo350 wrote in post #11187504
Saw this on yahoo a couple days ago. It still amazes me that I can capture an extremely detailed frame in time in 1/3000th of a second and show someone across the world within minutes via the web. We really do take for granted our readily available technology.

So true.

Yes, sometimes we forget that the field of digital imaging is littered with the bodies of technological innovators who were burned as witches.

tracknut wrote in post #11187386
Very cool photo, thanks for posting it!

Dave

You're welcome.

I thought it was especially interesting because the subject was engaged in the most mundane of activities and never knew the significance of the moment. The photographer would have understood when he looked at the final image. But the subject remained oblivious.

Quizzical_Squirrel wrote in post #11188840
And also an interesting comment on social status since the man or boy actually shining the shoes in the photograph doesn't even get a mention!

I can't make him out. I assume he's there, but if he's not polishing that man's knee then I don't know what is what with him.

This is also like that video where a women from the early 1900's looks lke she's in the background on a cell phone.

Awesome! Thanks for the link I love pointless trivia!

ni$mo: lol @ burn him...thanks for the laugh

This is very cool!

Quizzical_Squirrel wrote in post #11188840
And also an interesting comment on social status since the man or boy actually shining the shoes in the photograph doesn't even get a mention!

It's either a commentary on social status or an acknowledgment that of the possibly hundreds of people who were within the frame during this approximately 10-minute exposure, only one—the man receiving the shoe shine—is clearly distinguishable.

If it's a matter of social status, however, the almost entirely ghostly figure to the right of the shoe-shine scene must be the most socioeconomically downtrodden of all. Almost no one ever mentions the poor fellow.

Oh, by the way, the photograph is interesting, isn't it?