Since the middle of the nineteenth century, the histories of science and photography are so closely related that it might very well be impossible for one to be told without the other. Not only was photography invented by scientists, both amateur and professional, it was presented, discussed and refined in the halls of some of the world's most prestigious scientific institutions. Photography acquired a scientific patina very early, borrowing terms, analogies, and metaphors from science, gaining its identity and reputation by close association with key scientific ideas and practices. But science also borrowed from photography - scientists relied on photography's ability to capture experimental results that would otherwise be impossible to record, and the resulting images helped to mould the early public perception of science in many crucial ways.

"Photography and Science" is a richly-illustrated introduction to this complex and fascinating interconnection, serving as both an introduction to photography's technical innovations, and also to some key concepts in the history of science. Kelley Wilder tackles the thorny debate over photography's 'success' in the sciences, its use in practical fields like medicine (the X-ray), and the relationship of scientific theory to art practice. Featuring around 80 illuminating photographs, many published here for the first time, this book is a thought-provoking, broad-based examination, and will be an essential addition to the bookshelves of scientists, photographers, and art-historians alike.

Author Biography

Kelley Wilder is a Research Scholar at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin, Germany. She has published widely in the fields of science, art and photography, and is co-editor (with Roger Taylor) of Roger Fenton's Letters from the Crimea (2004).