Shadow Catchers: Camera-less Photography (2nd Edition)

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 Neusüss - 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.

The V&A Exhibition, Shadow Catchers: Camera-less Photography (13 October 2010 - 20 February 2011) presented the work of five international artists who, for the last twenty years or more, have been challenging the assumption that a camera is necessary to make a photograph. The V&A exhibition featured unique and beautifully crafted works by Pierre Cordier, Susan Derges, Adam Fuss, Garry Fabian Miller and Floris Neusüss.

Martin Barnes is Senior Curator of Photographs at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. His books Illumine; Photographs by Garry Fabian Miller: A Retrospective (2005) and Twilight: Photography in the Magic Hour (2006) are also published by Merrell.