E. Muybridge's San Francisco Panorama, 1878
19th-century Photographer Shoots Majestic 17-Foot-Long Panorama
Nov 10, 2008
When Eadweard Muybridge shot his 1878 panorama, he took his equipment to the same location from which he had photographed the year before: the southeast corner of California and Mason Streets, atop the home of wealthy businessman Mark Hopkins. From 381 feet above ground, he had a clear 360-degree view of the city.
Sometime between the fire and July 7, 1878, he made his replacement panorama. This time he used larger glass plates, each 24" x 20". He also shot his photos vertically rather than horizontally as he had the first time. He began by shooting the southwest part of the city between 10:30 A. M. and 11:00 A. M. From there he took each photo successively moving clockwise. Thirteen prints mounted on heavy backing and folded into sections created the final 17-foot long panorama. In the book Eadweard Muybridge and the Photographic Panorama of San Francisco, 1850-1880, it was estimated that since it took 15 to 25 minutes to expose each negative, Muybridge finished shooting between 3:00 P.M. and 4:00 P. M.
Wet-Plate Process
This was a huge undertaking. He undoubtedly had at least one assistant. His large-format camera mandated that he steady it, probably with a tripod. He developed the negatives using the wet-plate process. In this process, the photographer or photorgrapher's assistant coated a glass plate with a chemical mixture called collodion, then dipped the plate in silver nitrite and then put it in a light-blocking holder. Next, the wet plate was placed in the camera, the holder removed and the exposure made quickly before the light-sensitive ether evaporated from the collodion. Then the wet plate was developed. . Since the development and drying had to be completed quickly, a darkroom had to be nearby.
Assessment of Quality; A Valuable Reference
Muybridge was not the first to shoot a 360-degree panorama of San Francisco, but he gained great acclaim for his work because he was a well-known and extremely able photographer who had the resources to promote his work. He used the best equipment and constantly strived to improve his technique. Despite the fact that there was some trouble shooting in the available light and a mix-up with a couple of glass plates in the 1877 panoramas, in total his San Francisco panoramas are a remarkable achievement. The 1878 panorama is exquisite. In Eadweard Muybridge and the Photographic Panorama of San Francisco, David Harris wrote that the 1877 and 1878 panoramas "represent one of the supreme conceptual and technical achievements in the history of architectural photography."
A final point. Muybridge's panoramas allow us to see what San Francisco looked like years before the April 1906 earthquake and fire destroyed many structures.
Sources:
- Harris, David, ed. Eadweard Muybridge and the Photographic Panorama of San Francisco, 1850-1880. Montreal: Canadian Centre for Architecture. 1993
