even More Muybridge
This picture is of a man, either a student of Pennsylvania University, or a random volunteer, is quite obviously doing a head/hand-spring. His picture was taken at the University, probably outside else the pigeon would not be there. This series of pictures was taken with 24 cameras, 12 positioned to catch the man from the side as he performed the flip, 12 in front positioned close together. Eadweard is often argued to be a ‘cheater’ in that he modifies his pictures to get better backgrounds and sometimes clearer pictures. He also removes unnecessary or unclear pictures before releasing the plate to the public. The man is positioned to have a black wall with a white grid running on it as is customary with Muybridge's subjects. This is a final version of a 5 stage developing process. The man here is unclothed to better study the human body and how it reacts to the movements that it is being made to do. The man may or may not be wearing some form of underwear to cover himself.
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onwards!
