Camera geologica: an elemental history of photography

Abstract

"Camera Geologica considers photography from the perspective of the rare earth materials it has historically required, specifically bitumen, silver, platinum, iron, uranium, and others. The book marks a shift from the study of photography's focus on light or paper to metals, which open a way of thinking about the histories of labor and the environment than underpin the photographic object. Siobhan Angus employs a historical materialist approach to think about how the use of earthly materials are bound up in questions about labor, empire, colonization, and the environment. Angus demonstrates how photographic materials can be unique entry points to explore photography's relationship to capitalism, labor, land, and both literal and cultural extraction"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents

Bitumen and a Reorientation of Vision -- Silver and Scale -- Platinum and Atmosphere -- Iron and Unstable Boundaries -- Uranium and Photography beyond Vision -- Rare Earth Elements and De/Materialization -- All That Is Solid Melts into Air.