Burning with Desire: The Conception of Photography

Rating:
Summary: Interesting and different, to say the least
Review: Batchen's book is full of information and introduced me to several potential inventors of photography of whom I was unaware from reading the standard monographs in the field (e.g., Eder, Gernsheim and Gernsheim). This, however, is probably the least important of the book's many themes delivered on so many fronts. The idea that people somehow had to be ready for photography is thought provoking and different, but I still think greater weight should be placed on the conceptual leaps that had to be overcome. It is true that the optics for photography existed as early as 1685; it is equally true that the chemistry or photography was fully developed around 1775-1780. True, people were not rich enough to afford photographs and thus make the medium into a popular success, but there remains the lingering question of putting the chemistry and optics together, and if the book has a flaw, it is that Batchen gives this short shrift - but this material is available in abundance elsewhere. On the whole, for the interested (and already fairly well informed) layperson and specialist in the history of photography, this is excellent, eye opening and, yes, even mind bending reading. Someone wiser (and much funnier) than I said that he disliked arguments because they are always vulgar and often convincing - and much of what Batchen says is convincing. Even if I ultimately disagree with a lot of Batchen's conclusions, at least he has introduced me to some alternatives I did not think of on my own. Beyond this, questions arise regarding the nature of technology, innovation and invention. Ultimately, what is the purpose of technology? What prompts invention? What leads one to make the conceptual leap that links optics with chemistry and yields something as earth shaking as photography? Batchen's book seems as good a place as any when approaching questions such as these, at least on a serious, scholarly level.