Roger Fenton

Roger Fenton was an English photographer and a pioneer of the medium, often called one of the first war photographers. Born in 1819, he trained in law and painting before taking up photography, at which he quickly excelled. In 1855 he traveled to photograph the Crimean War, hauling a horse-drawn darkroom across difficult terrain to capture soldiers, camps, and landscapes.

His famous image of a battlefield road scattered with cannonballs is one of the earliest and most debated war photographs. He also made fine landscapes, architectural views, and still lifes. Fenton helped found Britain's main photographic society and did much to establish photography as a serious pursuit before giving it up to return to law.