Today, Google celebrates the birthday of Eadweard Muybridge, the British photographer who is thought to be one of the most important figures in the beginning of motion pictures.
Born April 9th, 1830, today would be he 182nd birthday.
Muybridge began his photography career as a landscape and architectural photographer, and he became successful in San Francisco in the 1860s. In 1873, after gaining some level of fame for his landscape work in the U.S. West, he was tapped to photograph the Modoc War, an U.S. Army campaign against Indians in the West.
His breakthrough work in motion capturing came in the late 1870’s with the famous “Sallie Gardner at a Gallop” or “The Horse in Motion,” as it’s more commonly called. This early example of videography was prompted by a simply question from the former Governor of California Leland Stanford, who called into question the fact that all four of a horse’s hooves were simultaneously off the ground mid-trot.
Check out his early photos set to motion below:
And it’s “The Horse in Motion” that’s the inspiration behind today’s Google Doodle. It’s playable, and when activated comes to life with the images of the famous horse galloping in every frame. Of course, the Google logo has to be present somewhere within the Doodle, and it is in a truly minimalistic way. It’s a great Doodle, probably one of the best in some time. Check it out below (music added in video, the Doodle doesn’t have sound):