Italy, circa 1870
by Carlo Naya

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 1880s with the invention of a glass plate negative (the gelatin dry plate negative) that did not need to remain damp during exposure. Interestingly, Naya was able to create this wonderful effect of moonlight 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.