World Photography Day: what is it, and why is it today?
Every year, on August 19, we observe World Photography Day – a globally recognized celebration of the photograph and its history. What actually is World Photography Day, though, and why does it take place on this particular date?
This is the date that recognizes the invention of the Daguerrotype, a process that was devised by the French artist and photographer, Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre in 1837. His idea was then effectively sold to the French Academy of Sciences, which gifted the process to the world on 19 August 1839.
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The idea to recognize World Photography Day as we know it now didn’t take hold until 1991 – and for that, we can thank respected Indian photographer OP Sharma.
“The idea came to me in 1988 when, over and over again, in various publications that documented the history of photography, I came across this date: 19 August 1839,” he told Harmony – Celebrate Age magazines. “It was recorded as the date on which the then French government announced the invention of the Daguerreotype process of photography as a ‘free gift to the world’.
“I proposed the idea to several masters and photographers