The Unseen: An Atlas of Infrared Plates is a photography book made with some of the last rolls of colour infrared film ever produced.
The Unseen is a photographic odyssey by photographer Edward Thompson into the deadstock medium of colour infrared film and is made on some of the last rolls ever produced.
Given that there were over 1,800 documented scientific uses for the film The Unseen covers a wide array of topics and photographic styles including aerial photography (The City), medical nude portraiture (The Vein), landscape photography of a radioactive forest (The Red Forest) and a haunted village (The Village), astrophotography (The beginning and the end) and the bees (The Apiary). The entire project was photographed on only 52 rolls of film of this incredibly rare film.
The Unseen: An Atlas of Infrared Plates is going to be a 276 page, offset printed, hardback photography book.
It has been designed by acclaimed book maker Teun van der Heijden and is to be published bySchilt Publishing.
£5 / Postcard. A postcard of a pony. Everyone should have one.
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£30 / The book. A copy of the 276 page hardback book of The Unseen: An Atlas of Infrared Plates and a pony postcard.
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£50 / The book & two work prints. You get a signed copy of the book and two small c-type work prints that were printed to aid the editing of the work for the book. You may get prints fromThe Village, The Flood or The Red Forest.
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£100 Tea? Ale? Print? Book? Signed copy of the book, a work print and Afternoon Tea in Cambridge or Ale in London with Edward Thompson.
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£150+travel Guest Lecture Signed copy of the book and a talk, lecture or interview at your work, college or camera club. £150 + travel/accommodation.
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£200 / The book & your portrait on infrared film. A signed copy of the book and the opportunity to have a portrait session with one photograph made on one of the last rolls of infrared film. There are twenty frames, so one portrait each for twenty people. The portraits will be made in a park in London in June 2016. All the portraits will be made on one day. Included is a high res scan of your photograph.
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£250 / The book and a trip to the village. A signed copy of the book and you get to visit the haunted village of Pluckley in Kent guided by photographer Edward Thompson and special mystery guest Psychopomp. A pub lunch is provided but you must arrange your own travel to and from the village. Bring your cameras.
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£1250 / The book and a 16 x 20 inch print. A signed copy of the book and a 16 x 20 inch digital c-type photographic print made by Bayeux Photo Lab, London. It can be of any photograph in the book.
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£2000 / The book and a 40 x 30 inch print from The Village series. A signed copy of the book and a signed editioned (1/12) 40 x 30 inch digital c-type photographic print. You choice of either photograph from The Village series shown below. Made by Bayeux Photo Lab, London. For higher resolution photographs of these two prints please contact ed(at)edwardthompson.co.uk
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£2000 / The book and a 40 x 30 inch print from The City series. A signed copy of the book and a signed editioned (1/12) 40 x 30 inch digital c-type photographic print. You choice of either photograph from The City series shown below. Made by Bayeux Photo Lab, London. For higher resolution photographs of these two prints please contact ed(at)edwardthompson.co.uk
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£2500 / The book and a frame of infrared film. A signed copy of the book and a one-off unique original piece of film from the series. This will be an out-take from the projects shot on medium format colour infrared film. Only three available, you can choose from your favourite series from the book.
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£5000 / The book and nude self-portrait of the photographer. A signed copy of the book and a one-off unique frame of medium format film. An infrared self-portrait test shot of photographer Edward Thompson, produced whilst devising The Vein series.
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Earlier parts of the project have been published online by the BBC, Featureshoot, VICE Motherboard, Photoworks, The Daily Mail Science & Tech, TimeOut, Design Boom etc and published in print by Pipeline Magazine (Hong Kong), Professional Photographer, The Independent New Review, The Telegraph (U.K) Falter, German Wings (Germany).
If you would like to make an editorial feature of this work and the book please get in touch with ed(at)edwardthompson.co.uk
You can download a press pack here.
If you would like to share this page via social media (Facebook, Twitter etc) please do! I will be sending small things (prints, postcards) to people who share the most widely & freely.
Huge thanks to so many people who have been involved helping me to further my knowledge of this film and also facilitating the production of this work – you are thanked in the book! A special thanks to the Arts Council England who helped to fund the work and the book.
The book should be ready by the end of this crowd-funding campaign.