Oldest Photograph Of Human Beings Arouses Renewed Attention Online

The oldest photograph of human beings was taken by Louis Daguerre in 1838. The black and white picture depicts an early 19th century scene as a man gets his shoes shined on what appears to be a deserted street. However, the street was likely far from deserted at the time the oldest photograph of human beings was shot. Instead, the moving pedestrians and horse-drawn carriages were moving too quickly to appear in the pic, according to UPI.

With a seven-minute exposure time, only the two stationary human beings were captured on camera in the oldest photograph known to date containing actual images of people. One man stood still as his shoes or boots were shined. The other man, or shoeshine boy, was relatively still as he did the shining. Those two people remain frozen in time on a Paris street in the oldest photograph of human beings. The street seen in the photograph is the Boulevard du Temple. With its shops, theaters, cafes, and restaurants, the Boulevard du Temple would have been bustling with activity at the time the picture was taken.

Another photograph getting plenty of online attention these days concerns the elusive creature said to be lurking in the murky depths of Loch Ness. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, the Loch Ness monster apparently reared his ugly head recently, and someone just happened to capture the shocking sight on camera.

Renewed interest in the 176-year-old photograph was sparked by Mashable, when the wildly popular website posted the pic as part of a “Retronaut” feature along with the following description of the oldest photograph of human beings.

“This picture, the earliest known photograph to include a recognizable human form, was taken in Paris, France, in 1838 by Louis Daguerre. The human in question is standing in the bottom-left of the photograph, on the pavement by the curve in the road. He is having his boots shined.”

Although it appears that the fellow having his boots shined nearly two centuries ago gets most of the attention, the hardworking individual doing the work is also visible in the oldest photograph of human beings. His form is slightly less distinguishable, presumably because of his movement.

Some have suggested that the picture actually shows a man standing at a pump, but another photo of the area taken by Louis Daguerre contradicts that theory. The second photo doesn’t show any people, but it does show shoeshine supplies that seem to back the thought that the man in the oldest photograph of human beings was having his shoes shined.

[Image Wikimedia Commons]