When was the first colorless photo born?

A British photographer told the outside world on May 6th that a photo of a leaf exposed on ochre photosensitive paper is considered to be the first black-and-white photo in the world, and its history can be traced back to 200 years ago.

The previous estimate was 50,000 to 70,000 pounds.

This photo was taken by an ordinary leaf. At that time, the photographer put the leaves on a piece of photosensitive paper and then exposed the photosensitive paper to the sun. Finally, a picture with the same size as the leaf is clearly displayed on the photosensitive paper, and the veins of the leaf are clearly visible in the picture. Since a British MP got this photo at 1984, it has been carefully kept in a stamp album, so the photo has been intact.

Previously, this photo was to be auctioned at Sotheby's in new york, with an estimated value of 50,000 to 70,000 pounds. However, because the experts wanted to do further research on the photos, the auction house withdrew the work. If the work is identified as the first photograph in the world, its value will be re-evaluated.

Exactly who took it is still inconclusive.

At present, this photo is regarded as the work of British photographer William Henry Fox Talbot, who is known as the "father of modern photography". Experts believe that this photo was probably taken 30 years before Talbot created the first photos as early as 1835. During his lifetime, Fox Talbot announced that he had invented a different photography technique, which required making negatives first.

However, Dr. Larry Scarford, the authority of Fox Talbot, believes that Talbot did not take the photos. Scarford said that the work may be older. From the appearance of the photographed landscape in the shape of the letter "W", it can be preliminarily inferred that the photo may have been taken by British photographer Thomas Wedgwood. Thomas Wedgwood began to try photography in 1790, but his works have not been preserved so far for various reasons. Although he also tried to image with photosensitive paper, they all ended in failure. If Dr. Scarford's view is correct, the history of photography will be rewritten.