You may not believe it, but the earliest photographic “moment” came from a bet. Two racehorse owners in San Francisco bet on whether all four legs of a fast-running horse would leave the ground at the same time. . . Photographer Muybridge thought he could prove it with photograph

You may not believe it, but the earliest photographic “moment” came from a bet.

Two horse racing owners in San Francisco bet on whether all four legs of a fast-running horse will leave the ground at the same time. . .

Photographer Muybridge thought he could prove it with photography. So, after a few experiments with wet plates that he considered promising, he persuaded a railroad millionaire to provide him with funding and allow him to use his pasture for experiments.

In 1877, Muybridge designed a row of cameras installed next to a specially built runway. There are ropes stretched across the track, and the ropes are broken when the horses pass by. Each broken rope electronically triggers a 1/1000 second shutter on a camera. The resulting photo, although underexposed, shows that only when all four of the horse's legs are retracted under the belly do they all leave the ground. . .

More importantly, Muybridge also confirmed that if these photos are arranged in sequence and flashed before the eyes quickly (or viewed inside a cartoon toy), the horse looks like it is running. This was the earliest important step towards action films, and he earned the reputation as the "Father of Cinema". . . .