These two sets of twelve sequential images were captured by Edweard Muybridge. He created them by setting up twelve cameras along a horse track with wires connected to each, so that the shutter of each camera fired as the horse tripped over the wire. The resulting photographs are taken only fractions of a second apart from each other and therefore showcase the precise movement of a horse. Nearly every step the horse takes to gallop is sharply captured, including the fascinating moment when all four of its legs are in the air. This new method of taking motion pictures served as an effective way to study animal locomotion, which was not previously possible. In capturing the way in which animals move, whether it be running, flying, slithering, crawling, rolling, jumping, or swimming, scientists and engineers were able to better understand principles of animal and human locomotion and apply them to innovations such as vehicles and aircrafts.

In addition to inventing the twelve-camera setup, Muybridge also invented the zoopraxiscope, a device that shows a series of still photographs in rapid succession, creating the illusion of a moment in motion. He used this device in presentations to show the public motion as they had not seen before. Muybridge’s stop motion devices and techniques were turning points in the technological development of photography and served as important predecessors for the motion-picture industry.