Taking it to the Skies

At a recent visit to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC, I came upon a very interesting story that dates back to the early years of aerial photography.  

In 1903, just a few years after the "Brownie" was marketed to the public, Dr. Julius Neubronner created a miniature camera to be worn by a pigeon.  It was activated by a timing mechanism while the bird was in flight.  While there had been earlier aerial photos captured from balloons and kites, this was the first known attempt using a bird.  

Today, our fascination with capturing images from the sky continues.  We have camera phones being flown in weather balloons equipped with GPS tracking technology, jaw dropping photos taken from space stations, and remote helicopters for DSLRs.  As amazing as these developments are, it's quite remarkable to see what Dr. Neubronner was able to accomplish well before the days of digital cameras and smart phones.

Check out some of the photos they captured while flying over Germany.

Photos via Wikimedia Commons

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Comments

[Prabudha Roy]

Fascinating !
I guess its the first time that a bird took a picture of other birds !
Roy