E O Goldbeck

San Antonio, Texas, USA (1892-1986)

Most of Goldbecks work involved photographing large military groups with a Cirkut camera. Known as the "unofficial photographer of America's military," Goldbeck conducted three-year tours to all of the major military bases in and outside of the United States until demand diminished for military group photos after World War II. He pushed the limits of his craft by working with ever larger groups in striking designs. For his largest group shot, in which 21,765 men were arranged to represent the Air Force insignia, he spent more than six weeks building a 200-foot tower and making blueprints of the formation and attire of his subjects. The photograph was subsequently featured in Life magazine and became the most frequently reproduced of his prints.

A typical Goldbeck military panorama with neatly laid out rows of equipment and troops

Goldbeck's interest in panoramic photography extended beyond its lucrative potential. In later years he used it to record serene landscapes and city skylines, often for his own pleasure. Over a dozen trips around the world offered him access to many striking scenes, and he took exceptional photographs of the Parisian skyline (1927), the Pyramids and Sphinx in Cairo, Egypt (1971), and the ancient fortress city of Machu Picchu in Peru (1972), among many others.

Goldbeck patented several improvements to the Cirkut camera, including the wedge which enabled the camera to operate from great heights while maintaining an even scan.

Another neatly laid out group

In 1967 Goldbeck discovered that many of his early negatives had deteriorated in storage. Distressed by this loss, he donated 60,000 of his negatives and more than 10,000 vintage prints to the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas.

Goldbeck continued to travel extensively well into his eighties, recapturing familiar scenes in color with his panoramic cameras.