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Eadweard Muybridge: The Man Who Captured Time in Motion

Carson Blair

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Published in River Of Shadows: Eadweard Muybridge And The Technological Wild West

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Eadweard Muybridge was a pioneer in the field of photography, and his work had a profound impact on our understanding of motion. His most famous images are of animals and humans in motion, and these images helped to lay the foundation for the development of motion pictures.

Muybridge was born in Kingston upon Thames, England, in 1830. He emigrated to the United States in 1850, and he worked as a photographer in San Francisco. In 1872, he was commissioned by Leland Stanford, a wealthy railroad magnate, to photograph a horse running. Muybridge's images showed that a horse's feet were all off the ground at the same time during a gallop, which contradicted the prevailing scientific belief of the time.

River of Shadows: Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West

by Rebecca Solnit

4.6 out of 5

Language	:	English
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Muybridge's work on animal locomotion continued for several years, and he eventually published a book of his images called Animal Locomotion. This book was a major contribution to the field of zoology, and it helped to change the way that scientists thought about animal movement.

In the 1880s, Muybridge began to experiment with motion pictures. He invented the zoopraxiscope, a device that allowed him to project a series of images in rapid succession. These images created the illusion of movement, and they were a precursor to the modern motion picture.

Muybridge's work on motion pictures was groundbreaking, and it helped to pave the way for the development of the film industry. He is considered one of the fathers of cinema, and his images continue to be studied and admired by artists and scientists alike.

In addition to his work on motion, Muybridge was also a talented landscape photographer. He traveled extensively throughout the American West, and he captured some of the most iconic images of the region. His photographs of Yosemite Valley are particularly well-known, and they helped to popularize the area as a tourist destination.

Muybridge was a complex and fascinating figure. He was a brilliant inventor and artist, and his work has had a lasting impact on our understanding of motion and the world around us.