The photograph titled “Head-spring, a Flying Pigeon Interfering” was captured by Eadweard Muybridge in the year 1885. It is a black and white sequential series of images that together depict a dynamic progression of a man performing a head-spring, starting from a standing position, thrusting into a handstand, and then returning to a standing pose. A pigeon appears to fly through the sequence, giving the impression of interfering with the action.
The image is an early example of stop-motion photography, one of Muybridge’s pioneering techniques for studying and capturing motion which was groundbreaking at the time. The multiple panels show the detailed stages of the motion, allowing viewers to analyze the physical dynamics that are typically too fast for the naked eye to fully appreciate. The work is characteristic of Muybridge’s experiments with capturing motion, which laid the foundations for the development of motion pictures.
