He had a mixed heritage. What were his
roots?

Photography has changed its subject matter quite a lot over the past few years. in the 1800's, it was considered normal for families to have  post mortem photos of their loved ones, and now that would be completely unacceptable. i think that photographers have always pushed boundaries and have been eager to capture everything, it is just society that changes their boundaries.

The answer here would be "work ethic." 

He showed real human suffering rather than symbolism.