Eadweard Mybridge, a 19th century English photographer, was a pioneer in studying motion and capturing moving images.
Mybridge was likely Autistic, exhibiting traits like monotropism, attention to detail, data gathering, and artistic integrity. He had intense interests like studying horse gaits and photographing motion.
He invented the zoopraxiscope, which projected motion pictures and allowed him to study and capture animal and human movement in sequences of photos taken in quick succession. This led to the development of motion pictures and cinematography.
Mybridge’s big emotions led to him being at the center of his own true crime murder plot line, with a surprise twist ending!
“He was defined as, quote, ‘impassive indifference and uncontrolled explosions of emotion,’ because he went from being very matter-of-fact—as we tend to do—to being very passionate, also as we tend to do.” —Matt
In his lifetime, Mybridge took hundreds of thousands of photographs, including many controversial nude studies to analyze motion, and published collections like Animal Locomotion.
He led an adventurous life, traveling extensively to photograph in the American West and invented photographic techniques and equipment like a mobile darkroom.
Angela: You know, like autistic people generally have like less money, on average, than neurotypical people. But if we just like got rid of money, and everybody could have anything they wanted, how much crazy shit would autistic people be doing?
Matt: Oh, God, yes.
His work was influential on many later creations like stop-motion animation, the Matrix bullet time effect, and more. He brought a scientific approach to analyzing motion.
Podcast hosts Matt and Angela discuss how his apparent "unmasking" after a near-fatal accident allowed him to fully pursue his interests without regard for social conventions. They tie his dedication and focus to Autistic traits. Join us as we dive into the extraordinary life of this Autistic celebrity.
Do you love motion pictures? What do you love about them?
Eadweard Mybridge’s wet plate collodion pictures
Eadweard Muybridge Wikipedia page
Related…Episode 41: Tim Burton is Autistic and Episode 04: Industrial Light & Magic
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Motion Pictures are Autistic (Episode 37)