"Along with fascinating examples of early efforts to capture images of society, the book captures well the dual role of the scientific image - as both a tool for discovery and a medium of communication. A reader begins to understand that photography in general, and especially in science, is not just illustrative, it is investigative. And sometimes, as Burgess clearly describes, it is revelatory."
"Through a series of compelling stories and visual examples, the author reminds us that an image can crystallize a complex idea in a way that no string of words ever can. It's a celebration of 'aha' moments made visible. Those photographs wake us up to social issues and phenomena we never even knew existed. Jacob Riis' images of the squalid conditions of people living in tenements in New York City's Lower East Side around 1889"
Early photography transformed visual understanding by revealing details invisible to the eye and by crystallizing complex ideas into single images. Photographic techniques such as flash powder enabled candid documentation of dark interiors and marginalized lives, exposing social conditions and prompting reform. Scientific photography operated as both an investigative tool and a communication medium, enabling discovery and clearer explanation. Manipulative practices, including combining negatives to create composite or spirit images, demonstrated the medium's capacity to mislead as well as to reveal. Photographic 'aha' moments sharpened perception across art, science, and society, altering how phenomena were seen and understood.
Read at Nature
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