Arthur Batut

Arthur Batut (9 February 1846 – 19 January 1918) was a French photographer and pioneer of aerial photography.

[1] Batut was born in 1846 in Castres, and developed interest in history, archeology and photography.

His book on kite aerial photography appeared in 1890 and contained an aerial photograph taken in 1889 from a kite over Labruguière, where he spent most his life until he died there in 1918.

The use of unmanned kites promised obvious advantages in a military setting.

Inspired by Francis Galton, he also produced composite photographs combining portraits of multiple people onto one plate.