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.

Michelle will be here at bookhaus to discuss this with Rebecca Goddard. Tickets cost £7 and include a glass of wine or a soft drink and £3 off the book. Presented by bookhaus.

Michelle Henning is Chair in Photography and Media at the University of Liverpool. She has written 2 books and numerous essays and articles on photography, and also works as an artist and designer.

Rebecca Goddard is an artist and lecturer, who is studying for her PhD at UWE. Her practice research explores materiality, memory and place through photography, moving image and sound.