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THE HISTORY OF LIGHT PAINTING

FROM FLASH POWDER TO FLASHLIGHTS

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“Nocturne: Aqueduct of Izcuchaca,” Arequipa, Peru, Carlos and Miguel Vargas, ca. 1920

Underappreciated pioneers of night photography and light painting, the Vargas brothers were probably the first to apply light painting techniques for artistic purposes. It is just possible to make out a faint image of one of their assistants holding a bottle filled with flash powder. Their Nocturnes were clever, beautiful, and technical masterpieces of the time.

In the first edition of this book, ...

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