The Daily Book of Photography

DAY 72

HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Motion Studies

TAKING A PHOTOGRAPHIC “GALLOP” POLL

It soon became apparent that photography could be an invaluable tool in the scientific study of the natural world in ways unlike other forms before it, such as sculpture and illustration. Throughout the 1860s, a number of photographers experimented with various ways to capture motion but found only partial success. Oliver Wendell Holmes, who had invented a hand-held stereoscope, captured images of pedestrians in midstride, and the studies of knee, ankle, and foot movement that he conducted later contributed to the advancement of prosthetic limbs for Civil ...