An elegantly written history that speaks to an immutable human desire 'to pursue knowledge, to create something beautiful, to record a moment in time' ... It’s also a lot of fun, as Burgess makes ample space for the eccentric and adventurous spirits who played a role in the uncertain decades between 1839 and 1910 ... Burgess wisely eschews a dry, chronological structure in favor of a more thematic approach that allows her to focus on the era’s most impressive feats and to deftly relate the challenges of the past with those of the present. Through painstaking research and her obvious love of the medium, Burgess succeeds in reminding us how special this 'small miracle of chemistry, optics, and light' really is. She allows us to see it with fresh eyes and to recognize that, whenever we agonize over finding just the right angle or get caught endlessly scrolling through galleries, we are taking part in a rich and decidedly human tradition.
A scintillating history that’ll have you looking at photography in a new light ... Enlightening ... Entertaining ... Burgess’ dry wit comes through ... The book is packed with equally astonishing details, covering the fields of underwater photography, microphotography (great for concealing sexually explicit images), and—long before artificial intelligence—photo manipulation.
A captivating whirlwind tour of photography’s early years ... Full of colorful details about the ingenuity of early photographers (some lugged around 75-pound cameras or hopped into hot-air balloons to get the perfect shot), this is a thrilling history of a medium and its seismic impact.
