Roger Fenton (1819 - 1869) was born in Rochdale in England. He graduated from the University of Oxford in 1840 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

 

He learned photography in 1851 and in 1852 traveled to Russia in order to documented the construction of the Nicholas Chain bridge being constructed in Kiev by his compatriot Charles Vignole. Fenton took stereo photographs there as well (curiously for the Wheatstone's reflecting stereoscope). Various magazines of the time speculated that the stereoviews allowed Vignole to show the real progress of work to Nicholas I directly, thus avoiding the trouble with the courtiers of the Tsar.

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Later in his photographic career Fenton took stereoviews of the English scenery.

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In 1863, disillusioned with photography, Fenton abandoned his profession and became a lawyer.