oops...
we've packed up and moved the equipment and supplies to
a BIGGER BETTER BLACKER DARKER room.

 

come back this summer to check out the expanded walls,
the new photos, the new look and new feel of the darkness.
 

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Until then, a little lesson...

The word photography, which is derived from the Greek words for light and writing, was first recognized when used by Sir John Herschel in 1839, the year the invention of the photographic process was made public. During the previous decades perhaps as many as ten individuals had tried to make a photograph. At least four were successful: Joseph Nicephore NIEPCE, Louis J. M. DAGUERRE, and Hippolyte BAYARD in France, and William Henry TALBOT in England.

Each of them employed two scientific techniques. The optical techniques date back at least to 1646 when the the Dutch settled in Nagasaki, Japan. The chemical technique had also been in development since the 1600's but it had never before been successfully combined with the optics. The first attempt to combine the two techniques to record the images was made unsuccessfully by Thomas WEDGWOOD about 1800.

The first successful picture was produced in the summer of 1827 by Niépce, using material that hardened on exposure to light. This picture required an exposure of eight hours. The first photograph on paper of a human figure was by William Henry Fox Talbot in 1840, requiring a 3 minute exposure.

The above was adapted from Bob's Photo page - History of Photography and A History of Photography by Dr. Robert Leggat.
Bob's Photography page also covers the history of cameras and history of film.