Dirty History of Photography
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A01=Michelle Henning
Author_Michelle Henning
Britain
Category=AGA
Category=AJ
Category=NHB
Category=PDX
ecology
eq_art-fashion-photography
eq_bestseller
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_new_release
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_science
extraction
imperialism
interwar
nonhuman agency
photographic manufacture
photography
poison gas
war
Product details
- ISBN 9780226840673
- Weight: 739g
- Dimensions: 152 x 203mm
- Publication Date: 13 Jan 2026
- Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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An environmental history of chemical photography through the lens of its deep connections to empire and industry.
Dependent on the extractive practices of fossil-fueled industrial capitalism, chemical photography’s emulsions and films were highly sensitive to polluted atmospheres, and photographic companies had to work hard to control this sensitivity. Drawing on histories of empire, coal, and chemistry and from the archives of British photographic manufacturer Ilford Limited, Michelle Henning exposes the ways photography shaped how we see and understand the atmosphere while leaving its toxic residues in the air, soil, and water.
Structured as thirty-six short chapters and with over seventy illustrations, this innovative book begins in interwar London, follows the supply of Ilford products to photographers on the West African coast, and considers photography as a military technology linked to the development of chemical warfare. Combining close readings of photographs with discussions of low-light, tropical, and aerial photography, Henning examines the extraction and development of photographic materials, their role in the current environmental crisis, and how they have shaped experiences of time and the environment.
Dependent on the extractive practices of fossil-fueled industrial capitalism, chemical photography’s emulsions and films were highly sensitive to polluted atmospheres, and photographic companies had to work hard to control this sensitivity. Drawing on histories of empire, coal, and chemistry and from the archives of British photographic manufacturer Ilford Limited, Michelle Henning exposes the ways photography shaped how we see and understand the atmosphere while leaving its toxic residues in the air, soil, and water.
Structured as thirty-six short chapters and with over seventy illustrations, this innovative book begins in interwar London, follows the supply of Ilford products to photographers on the West African coast, and considers photography as a military technology linked to the development of chemical warfare. Combining close readings of photographs with discussions of low-light, tropical, and aerial photography, Henning examines the extraction and development of photographic materials, their role in the current environmental crisis, and how they have shaped experiences of time and the environment.
Michelle Henning is chair in photography and media at the School of the Arts, University of Liverpool. She is the author of Museums, Media and Cultural Theory, Museum Media, and Photography: The Unfettered Image. She also works as an artist/designer, designing award-winning album covers for artists including PJ Harvey.
