Flashes of Brilliance: The Genius of Early Photography and How It Transformed Art, Science, and History

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$35.00
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  • FLASHES OF BRILLIANCE: THE GENIUS OF EARLY PHOTOGRAPHY AND HOW IT TRANSFORMED ART, SCIENCE, AND HISTORY by Anika Burgess

Today it's routine to take photos from an airplane window, use a camera under the sea, or gaze at an X-ray. But the innovations more than a century ago that made such things possible were incredible and sometimes dangerous, and the innovators often memorable eccentrics. In this absorbing mix of science, art, and social history, Anika Burgess describes early aerial photography experiments with balloons, kites, and pigeons; reveals how photographers first captured the surface of the moon, the bottom of the sea, and the structure of snowflakes; recounts the race to photograph motion and how it led to moving pictures; and delves into photography's social effects, including the use of the telephoto lens to surveil suffragists and of self-portraits by Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass to assert their autonomy. Richly illustrated and filled with fascinating tales, Flashes of Brilliance shows how the rise of a new art form transformed culture and our view of the world.

Flashes of Brilliance: The Genius of Early Photography and How It Transformed Art, Science, and History
$35.00
Available for Pre-Order
Description

Today it's routine to take photos from an airplane window, use a camera under the sea, or gaze at an X-ray. But the innovations more than a century ago that made such things possible were incredible and sometimes dangerous, and the innovators often memorable eccentrics. In this absorbing mix of science, art, and social history, Anika Burgess describes early aerial photography experiments with balloons, kites, and pigeons; reveals how photographers first captured the surface of the moon, the bottom of the sea, and the structure of snowflakes; recounts the race to photograph motion and how it led to moving pictures; and delves into photography's social effects, including the use of the telephoto lens to surveil suffragists and of self-portraits by Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass to assert their autonomy. Richly illustrated and filled with fascinating tales, Flashes of Brilliance shows how the rise of a new art form transformed culture and our view of the world.

Description

Today it's routine to take photos from an airplane window, use a camera under the sea, or gaze at an X-ray. But the innovations more than a century ago that made such things possible were incredible and sometimes dangerous, and the innovators often memorable eccentrics. In this absorbing mix of science, art, and social history, Anika Burgess describes early aerial photography experiments with balloons, kites, and pigeons; reveals how photographers first captured the surface of the moon, the bottom of the sea, and the structure of snowflakes; recounts the race to photograph motion and how it led to moving pictures; and delves into photography's social effects, including the use of the telephoto lens to surveil suffragists and of self-portraits by Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass to assert their autonomy. Richly illustrated and filled with fascinating tales, Flashes of Brilliance shows how the rise of a new art form transformed culture and our view of the world.

ISBN
9781324051107
Publication Date
July 8, 2025
Binding
Hardcover
Item Condition
New
Language
English
Pages
320
Keywords
Photography | History; Art | History | General; Science | History; Social Science | Media Studies