Photography is quite literally defined to be "drawing the light" as coined by British scientist Sir John Herschel in 1839. He used the Greek word phōtós, meaning "light" and graphê which means "drawing or writing".

The world's oldest surviving photograph, "View from the Window at Le Gras," was taken in 1826 by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce. Niépce used a sheet of pewter coated with bitumen that required an exposure time of at least 8 hours!

Painter Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre later partnered with Niépce to refine and tinker with the process of using sheets of copper and mercury vapour to vastly reduce the exposure time. Since then, photography continues to evolve, enabling you to capture the momentous events of your lives and immortalise those memories in photographs that are passed on to future generations.

In 2010, professional photographer Korske Ara, founded World Photo Day to commemorate photography's rich history and inspire people to take photos of experiences that matter to them.

Here are some interesting facts about photography that might motivate you to take more pictures today and every day!

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August 19, 1839, is when the French government bought the patent for the daguerreotype and released it to the public as "a gift to the world."

The daguerreotype was invented by Daguerre in 1837 and was the first practical photographic process. The French government recognised the enormous potential of Daguerre's invention and acquired the rights to the process in exchange for annual lifetime pensions for him Daguerre and the deceased Niépce's son.

The French Academy of Sciences later released the invention to the public and called it "a gift to the world" for everyone to use without any copyright. Since then, the process of photography has seen several changes including the introduction of colour photography in 1861.

Food photography pays the highest salary.

The salary expert website lists entry-level food photographers, or those with 1-3 years of experience, earning an average salary of £19,759. While senior-level food photographers or those with 8 or more years of experience earn an average salary of £26,991.

Thanks to digital cameras, more than 350 billion photos are now taken worldwide every year.

Gone are the days when you have to wait weeks before you can view the developed pictures you took with your small disposable film camera. Now, you can take a hundred photos during your family reunion and effortlessly save them on the cloud for future use.

Seize this opportunity to take at least one meaningful photo every day. You can choose to post them online to share with your friends and family or keep them to yourself, even if only to document a bird you saw from your bedroom window or a selfie showing off your awesome outfit before a first date.

While it is still best to live in the moment, taking a photo to help you remember those moments later on won't hurt.

Photography
Photography JESHOOTS/Pexels