Investigation: February 2011

1966 - First Photo of Earth From the Moon

This is the first photo of the Earth to be taken from the moon. The photo was taken by a Lunar orbiter in 1966 235,00 miles away from the Earth showing half of Earth, from Istanbul to Cape Town and areas east, shrouded in night.

http://photography.nationalgeographic.com

1940s - First High-Speed Photography Images

Dr. Harold "Doc" Edgerton, a professor of electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, works with National Geographic to perfect high-speed stroboscopic photography, freezing on film the rapid movements of nature that elude the eye. National Geographic publishes several of the images, including bullets frozen in mid-flight and stilled hummingbird wings. Nicknamed "Papa Flash," Edgerton's techniques are later used to illuminate the ocean's deepest abysses.

http://photography.nationalgeographic.com

1926 - First Underwater Color Photo

The first underwater photo was taken of the hogfish in Florida Keys in the Gulf of Mexico by Dr.William Longley and National Geographic staff photographer Charles Martin in 1926. As this photo is taken underwater a highly explosive flash was needed to illuminate the dark scene, the pair pioneered underwater photography.

http://photography.nationalgeographic.com

1906 - First Nighttime Animal Photos

This photo of a doe with her fawns is one of the first night tine photographs to be taken of animals.The photo was shot by photographer and wildlife enthusiast George Shiras who was also a pioneer in trip-wire and flash photography.

http://photography.nationalgeographic.com

1861 - First Color Photograph

The first colour photograph was taken by Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell. He created the image by combining three photographs, with three different filters red, blue and yellow then combining them into one colour composite.