Darwin Exposed: How He Advanced Photography

Earlier this year we honored Charles Darwin. 2009 marks both the 200-year anniversary of his birth, as well as the 150-year anniversary of publication of his world-changing On The Origin of Species.

Given Darwin's influence in the work of scientists who, generations removed, still stand on his shoulders, it seems worthwhile to pay him another visit in appreciation.

And today, it's to note his contribution to a field you might not have expected him to have influenced: photography.

In a sneak peak review of Art and Photography in the Theory of Evolution by Phillip Prodger, slated for release in August, Ewen Callaway writes at New Scientist of Darwin's groundbreaking work. Darwin applied in-its-infancy photographic techniques to document and catalog graphic data to aid his theoretical exploration of evolutionary basis for facial expression as adaptive behavior in humans and other mammals.

The original fruits of these labors came in the form of The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals, published in 1872. In addition to being an early and significant technical work reliant upon photography, its content represented advancement in what was understood to be the capability and possibility of photography itself.

Complete with a gallery of Darwin's images from the upcoming book, we can share Darwin's curiosity and his reach in an entirely new light.