This article explores what it means to write a cultural history of the flash gun, the apparatus used to explode flash powder between the late nineteenth and the mid twentieth centuries. Finding safer, more reliable ways to ignite magnesium and its compounds was a priority for over forty years for those photographers who wished to light up darkness, whether their field of operation was deep underground or in their own living rooms. The article argues that by paying attention to a piece of equipment used to create artificial light, rather than to more customary topics of photographic history, we can see the interdependence of the many different materials that come together in creating a photographic image, as well as the intersection of technology, inventor, and practitioner. Moreover, this focus underscores that when it comes to the history of the technology surrounding photography, invention, adaptation, and improvement are happening simultaneously on many fronts, with a loose network of practitioners – amateur and professional photographers, and employees of photographic companies – working in both competition and collaboration in their attempts to tame the unpredictability of compound flash powder.

中文翻译：

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闪光枪的文化史

本文探讨了书写闪光枪的文化历史意味着什么，闪光枪是 19 世纪末至 20 世纪中叶之间用来引爆闪光粉的设备。寻找更安全、更可靠的方法来点燃镁及其化合物是四十多年来那些希望照亮黑暗的摄影师的首要任务，无论他们的工作领域是在地下深处还是在自己的客厅里。文章认为，通过关注用于制造人造光的设备，而不是摄影史中更常见的话题，我们可以看到在创建摄影图像时聚集在一起的许多不同材料的相互依存关系，以及技术、发明者和实践者的交集。而且，