The Oriel Window, South Gallery, Lacock Abbey. The First Photograph

William Henry Fox Talbot (British, 1800–1877) took the first known photograph of this window at Laycock Abbey, his home, in 1835. The strong summer sunlight streaming through the window gave him ample light and contrast to manage the first exposure - which was barely the size of a postage stamp. The original evidence is fading fast but he did take another shot that summer leaning his camera on the mantle-piece exactly where this photograph was taken from.

"A person unacquainted with the process," Talbot would later write, "if told that nothing of all this was executed by the hand, must imagine that one has at one's call the Genius of Aladdin's Lamp. And, indeed, it may almost be said, that this is something of the same kind. It is a little bit of magic realised."

Check out the cloisters shot taken directly below where I'm standing. This is a magical place steeped in history.

Taken in: United Kingdom / England / Lacock (show map)

Taken on: April 11, 2008

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Camera: Canon EOS 40D, f/6.4, 1/99 sec, 10mm, ISO 400 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 40D
Aperture:	f/6.4
Exposure Time:	0.01 sec (1/99)
Focal Length:	10mm
ISO:	400
Color Space:	Unknown (-1)
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CS3 Windows
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