To Photograph Darkness: The History of Underground and Flash Photography

This book traces the history and techniques of underground photography, from the first pictures taken in the catacombs beneath Paris to the pyramids of Egypt, from American caves to Cornish tin mines.The opening chapters are concerned with the earliest experiments to record images without the aid of the sun in the 1860s. Innovative photographers have since used techniques ranging from limelight, Bengal fire, arc lights, and even magnesium mixed with gunpowder to specially designed electronic flashguns and powder burners.Ten years in the writing, this is the only book of its kind and is based on primary sources of information throughout. Howes’ extensive use of quotations retains the immediacy of the challenges both amateur and professional photographers have had to overcome.The book is illustrated with 160 engravings, line drawings, and photographs, many of which have never been published before. Fully referenced and indexed, it can be used to identify and trace photographers and rare photographs worldwide.