Pineries of Minnesota. 19th century stereoscopic views of Minnesota

Benjamin Franklin Upton was born on 5 January 1818 in Massachusetts, USA. He began his career as a daguerreotypist in Boston in the early 1840s. In 1852 he moved to Philadelphia and set up a photographic studio. Upton is best known for his work in stereoscopic photography. Stereoscopic photography is a technique that creates the illusion of depth by using two photographs taken from slightly different angles. When viewed through a stereoscope, the two photographs merge into a single three-dimensional image. Upton produced a large number of stereoscopic views of Philadelphia and other cities in the United States. He also photographed landscapes, portraits and genre scenes. His images were popular with collectors and were sold as individual prints or in sets. Upton was an active member of Philadelphia's photographic community. He was a member of the Photographic Society of Philadelphia and served as its president from 1864 to 1866. He was also a member of the American Photographic Society and the Photographic Exchange Club. Benjamin Franklin Upton died on 4 December 1901 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His work is in the collections of many museums and libraries, including the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution.