To Photograph Darkness
The History of Underground and Flash Photography

Author: Chris Howes
Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale, IL. 1989.
ISBN: 0-8093-1622-6
Library of Congress Catalogue Number: 89-21590
Number of Pages: 330

This book traces the history of underground photography, and the techniques used, from the first pictures taken in the catacombs beneath Paris to the pyramids of Egypt, from American caves to Cornish tin mines, and underground locations throughout the world.

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 limelight, Bengal fire, arc lights, and even magnesium mixed with gunpowder to make the first crude flashpowder as well as specially designed electronic flashguns and powder burners giving a searing 2m flame. The story is continued to underwater and cine photography and the techniques used in cave photography today.

To Photograph Darkness is a fascinating and highly readable account of the use of artificial light and the difficulties the first underground photographers had to overcome - explosions, the boredom of models who would wander away half-way through a long exposure, falling rocks, fumes and dampness, and the superstitions and disbelief with which their results were often confronted. Ten years in the writing, it is the only book of its kind and is based on primary sources of information throughout. The extensive use of quotations retains the immediacy of the challenge that both amateur and professional cameramen had to overcome.

The book is illustrated with 160 engravings, line drawings and photographs, many of which have never been published before. If your interest is the underground world of caves and mines, or the development of artificial light and photographic history, To Photograph Darkness contains something of relevance and interest for you. Fully referenced and indexed, it can also be used to identify and track down rare photographs and photographers worldwide. This volume is bound to become a major source for search and the authoritative book on the subject.