Shadow Catchers: Camera-less Photography

A unique survey of the most prominent contemporary artists creating photographs without the aid of a camera. Includes a fully revised and updated text as well as new works by the featured artists. Shadow Catchers is an authoritative and sumptuously produced account of the history of camera-less photography and the processes involved.

The very first photographs of the nineteenth century were produced without the use of a camera. Today, having rediscovered camera-less techniques, a number of artists are using camera-less photography to create beautiful, startling images. Now available in an updated and fully revised edition, Shadow Catchers surveys the work of five leading practitioners - Pierre Cordier, Susan Derges, Adam Fuss, Garry Fabian Miller and Floris Neususs - who, by casting shadows on light-sensitive paper or by chemically manipulating its surface, capture the presence of objects, figures or glowing light. The resulting pictures are consistently powerful, often with surreal effects and symbolic content. This is the first book to gather together the work of these key contemporary artists, revealing the technical processes and creative practices involved in their art. In an age of mass-produced imagery, Shadow Catchers offers a fascinating insight into a world of handcrafted photographs that are at once visually striking and intellectually stimulating.