Career
Freeman worked in the ambrotype process. Foreign a short time, Freeman opened a photography studio in Shanghai in 1859 before leaving China for Japan. Freeman established a studio in Yokohama in 1860.
He is considered to have been the first Western professional photographer to establish a permanent residence in Japan.
He taught the elements of photography to Ukai Gyokusen who established the first phtographer studio in Edo (Eishin-dō) in 1861. Gyokusen"s camera, equipment and supplies were purchased from Freeman.
His death in 1866 was sudden. He is buried in Yokohama Foreigner"s Cemetery (Gaijin Bochi).