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Delving into the past, one story at a time — exploring historical people, places, and events that shaped our world.

Civil War soldiers using portable gas generators to inflate Professor Thaddeus Lowe’s military observation balloon near Gaines Mill, Virginia.

Balloons Of War, Part I: The Birth (and Near-Miss) of Aerial Reconnaissance

In early 2023, a high-altitude Chinese surveillance balloon drifted into U.S. airspace. The balloon spent days crossing the continent before an F-22 shot it down off South Carolina. U.S. officials

Glass photographic dry plate negative held up to light

How Dry Plates Solved Aerial Photography’s Biggest Problem

In 1860, if you wanted an aerial photo, you didn’t just need a camera—you needed a flying chemistry lab. The wet plate process required photographers to be part-aeronaut, part-chemist, and

Nadar and the Birth of Aerial Photography

History records that a man named Nadar took the first aerial photograph from a balloon over Paris. There is only one problem: no one has ever seen it. In 1858,

How Wet Plate Collodion Opened the Sky for Photography

On a summer afternoon in the mid‑19th century, a photographer in the field might be racing the clock—glass plate in hand, chemicals ready, light fading—knowing that once the collodion dried,

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