Filmmakers locate site of world’s first photograph

Filmmakers Maximilien Van Aertryck, Axel Danielson, and Kalle Boman spent two years identifying the precise location in Paris, France where Louis Daguerre took what is believed to be the first photograph of people in 1838.

Daguerre, an inventor of the Daguerreotype process, captured a man having his shoes shined and the shoeshiner himself on the Boulevard du Temple. The original photograph showed only these two figures because the long exposure time, up to ten minutes, required them to remain still.

Over time, the streetscape changed dramatically due to urban renewal projects led by Georges-Eugène Haussmann, obscuring the original location. The filmmakers researched city and museum archives, recreated the 1838 cityscape, and created 3D models to pinpoint the spot. They found three buildings from the era still standing, which aided their search. Two architectural firms independently identified potential locations, and the filmmakers settled on a point between the two.

On October 15, the city of Paris installed a bronze plaque at that location, titled “Un Détail Imprévu” (“An Unexpected Detail”), to commemorate the event and the historic photograph. The filmmakers see the image as representing the start of a new era, and a reminder of how past generations dealt with technological change.