Soon after the invention of the very first camera in the 19th century, photography spread far and wide in colonial India.

Administrators of the British Raj apart, Indians themselves took to documenting people, landscapes, and architecture around them. Over the years, a variety of photography societies and studios mushroomed in what were then Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras, and pioneers such as Maharaja Ram Singh II from Jaipur and later Homai Vyarawalla, the country’s first woman photojournalist, would go on to capture the many different facets of Indian life on film.

Beginning Oct. 04, this rich history of photography will be on display at the Science Museum in London as part of its Illuminating India exhibition to celebrate 70 years of the country’s independence from British rule.

Featuring images from as far back as 1857, the collection highlights the work of Indian photographers through the years, beginning with the very first, Ahmad Ali Khan, to the present day with Vasantha Yogananthan. It also features iconic photographs taken by Europeans like Henri Cartier-Bresson who captured the changing face of India over the years.

Here’s a selection:

© Alkazi Foundation for the Arts Court photographer, Pannalal Parasram Gaur, Maharana Swarup Singh of Udaipur (1815-1861), 1860.

© Alkazi Foundation for the Arts Bourne & Shepherd, photographers to the viceroy, Calcutta, DL Udaipur, Mewar, Maharana Fateh Singh of Udaipur (1849-1930), 1876-1900.

© Trustees, Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum, City Palace, Jaipur Self-portrait as a Shiva bhakt, 1870.

© Alkazi Foundation for the Arts Court photographer, unknown artist, Maharaja Venkat Raman Singh of Rewa (1876-1918), 1899.

© Alkazi Foundation for the Arts Unknown photographer and artist, Wedding portrait of an Indian couple, 1920-40.

© Alkazi Foundation for the Arts Homai Vyarawalla, Lord Mountbatten among jubilant crowds outside the Parliament House, Delhi, Aug. 15, 1947.

Courtesy of Galerie Thomas Zander, Köln Mitch Epstein, Shravanabelagola, Karnataka, India, 1981.

Courtesy of Galerie Thomas Zander, Köln Mitch Epstein, Lonavla, Meghraj Cabaret, Bombay, India, 1984.

© Vasantha Yogananthan Lovebird, Ramtek, Maharashtra, India, 2015, from the series A Myth of Two Souls (2013-).

© Vasantha Yogananthan Rama Combing His Hair, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India, 2015, from the series A Myth of Two Souls (2013-).