Historical Photographer: Place

Gustave Le Gray, Brig Upon Water

     Le Gray was born in 1820. He has been called the most important French photographer of the nineteenth century because of his many technical innovations, which included improving paper negatives by waxing them before exposure, and combination printing. An example of combination printing is in the photo above. He created a seascape by using one negative for the water and one negative for the sky. He did this at a time where it was impossible to have the sky and the water in a photograph at the same time because the luminosity range was too extreme. This was an important step in photography that opened doors for more to be documented. 

     His success started with portraiture, but his most famous work were the  photographs of seascapes.  He did a lot of traveling and eventually established himself in Cairo in 1864, where he remained for about twenty years until death.  

     This seascape is such a beautiful scene. I've realized that I take for granted how easy it is to take a photo now compared to the tedious processes and limited exposure options from the past.  The sail boat in this photo is perfectly framed in the middle of the sea. I love the lighting, it is a very relaxing photo.