Coronet
Harold E. "Doc" Edgerton, 1937

Links
A Biography of Edgerton
Photos from The Edgerton Center at MIT
More Classic Edgerton Photos

"Coronet" is an early version of a photographic idea that would become an obsession for "Doc" Edgerton for basically the rest of his career. In 1931, he invented the flash, or stroboscope. With the stroboscope and other techniques he developed, he took pictures of everything from milk drops hitting the table to football kickers to bullets shooting thru objects to the first atomic explosions. He was the master of extremely quick photographic exposures, some down to a millionth of second for capturing the first atomic explosion when it was less than 100 m in diameter. Of all the things he photographed, he became obsessed with trying to create the perfect milk drop coronet, but was never able to.

Personal Text: I have always been drawn to his photographs because they allow us to see things that would never otherwise be able to perceive, and not because they are imaginary or too tiny, but rather happen far too quickly. These events happen right before our ideas, but until Edgerton's photographs, we could only guess at their complexity. What also interests me is while Edgerton was a scientist, he was also a very accomplished photographer, carefully composing his shots, even while working under the auspices of science.

Submitted by
Hans-Christoph Steiner

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