A very important window

theoldsmithy

Hall of Famer
Location
Cheshire, England
Name
Martin Connolly
I visited Lacock Abbey over the weekend. It was the home of William Henry Fox Talbot, inventor of the photographic negative. This window was the one he photographed to produce the first negative in 1835. He then said nothing about his work until Daguerre started his positive-only method and something of a spat ensued about who invented photography first, although really they were very different methods. Anyway, I felt I had to capture this. I only had my iPhone with me but that seemed appropriate somehow.

IMG_0177.jpg
 
That must have been special to be there and realize how much photographic technology has evolved. To me it seems that the iphone was the appropriate tool to use in this case.
 
Ah, the world's most famous oriel window. It wasn't that long ago, ironically, that you wouldn't have been allowed to take that photo. Lacock is owned by the National Trust these days and, bunch of fascists that they are, they did not allow photography inside any of their properties. Their feeble excuses varied from "flash will damage the exhibits" (then just ban flash) to "thieves will know what's in there to steal" (so don't sell photos of the interiors in your gift shop then...) They had to bow to public pressure in the end.
 
It's interesting to me to see so much discussion on the 1830's origins of photography, when scientists who have studied a certain mediaeval burial cloth are insisting that it contains a near-perfect photographic negative of a man's body, full size, and was put there hundreds of years before.
 
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