Moonlight in Venice - Italy, circa 1870 Photographer:
Carlo Naya Ref:
SK02042
This image, taken in the 1870s by the Italian photographer Carlo Naya, shows what appears to be a sumptuous moonlight illuminating the Grand Canal in Venice. Due to long exposure times, however, night photography was not possible until the invention of a glass plate negative in the 1880s (the gelatin dry plate negative) that did not need to remain damp during exposure. Interestingly, Naya was able to create the wonderful effect of moonlight in this image by using a photograph he took during daylight hours, placing a mask on the areas he wanted to remain luminous and then dying the image with an indigo ink.
