The Reconstruction
of Niépce’s First Photograph

This project is dedicated to the experimental reconstruction of the first permanently fixed photograph of 1827 – 200 years of photography, questioned anew. The starting point is the historical process of heliography on asphalt – carried out under present-day conditions, with the same materials, the same light.

The focus is not on exact replication of the original, but on understanding the material and temporal conditions under which the image could come into being.

I have documented the entire experiment on Medium:
→ Photography on Asphalt – Reconstructing Niépce’s First Photograph, Week by Week

. . .

View of Mihaela’s Garden, exposed June 13–22, 2023

from the series “The Reconstruction of Niépce’s First Photograph”
Dimensions: approx. 6.5 × 9 cm,
Materials: tinplate, Bitume de Judée, lavender oil,
Method: Heliography, produced after the process of Joseph Nicéphore Niépce (1822/1827).
Exposure time: 8 days.
Unique work, signed and dated, private collection.

. . .

View of Mihaela’s Garden, exposed June 23 – July 4, 2023

from the series “The Reconstruction of Niépce’s First Photograph”
Dimensions: approx. 6.5 × 9 cm,
Materials: tinplate, Bitume de Judée, lavender oil,
Method: Heliography, produced after the process of Joseph Nicéphore Niépce (1822/1827).
Exposure time: 11 days.
Unique work, signed and dated, private collection.