Historical pHotos.

Guillaume-Benjamin-Amant Duchenne (de Boulogne), French, 1806–1875.

A neurologist, physiologist, and photographer, Duchenne de Boulogne conducted a series of experiments in the mid-1850s in which he applied electrical currents to various facial muscles to study how they produce expressions of emotion, he then photographed his subjects to establish a precise visual lexicon of human emotions.

I find this photo so interesting, because of how normal seems to be an experiment with people, take a photo and then post it on a scientific book. And also because the face of the men is so funny hehehe 🙂

Eadweard Muybridge, American, born England, 1830–1904.

Muybridge’s experiments in the 1880s revolutionized the understanding of movement and inspired scientists and artists alike. Using banks of cameras equipped with precisely triggered shutters, he captured sequences of pictures of people and animals moving and performing simple actions, such as climbing stairs or, as here, performing a head-spring. Showing small increments of movements, his work made visible what once was imperceptible to the human eye and laid the foundation for motion pictures.

I really like this photography, because we can see all the movements that the men has to do during the head-spring, and I also find it impressive that the photographer could take some images with such a good quality and precision.