India, 1864
by Samuel Bourne

The practice of using of vanishing points (the point at which parallel lines receding from an observer appear to converge) to create perspective in artistic works has existed for centuries. This image, taken near Srinagar in Northern India by Samuel Bourne – one of the most talented British photographers working in India in the 19th century – of an avenue lined with Poplar trees converging on the horizon, is a wonderful example (and one of the earliest) of this effect as used in photography.