Wilbur and Orville Wright have to be classes among the great amateur photographers of the early twentieth century. In addition to dabbling with the practice of shooting family outings and portraits, they began in the late 1890's to record scenes in nature, pastoral settings and people in action.

At the turn of the century, cyanotype prints, which are recognizable by their distinctive bluish-green tint, and sepia prints, which are black and white photos toned with an archival-like brownish tint, became extremely popular with journalists and photographers because of their relative ease in production and inexpensive nature. While the cyanotype’s color gives it a more modern appearance, the rustic look of the sepia retains a traditional essence.