Eugene Atget is considered by many to be a founding father of documentary photography.   Born outside of Paris in 1857, he trained to be a priest for awhile and then went into the merchant Navy for a stint.   Following a 17 year career in traveling theater,  he turned to painting, and then finally to photography.  His life work was to document the city of Paris, particularly the everyday,  through photography.   This he did for 30 years, faithfully day by day walking around the city with his large format camera and tripod.   Churches and monasteries are frequent architectural subjects, chronicling the religious life of Paris during his lifetime.   For a classic of documentary photography, check out Eugene Atget on the web or photobook.