Art

Kodak Invented This Film for World War II Spy Planes. Then It Became Art.

Aerochrome photography is a beautiful example of a warlike technology being turned toward peaceful ends.

Matthew Petti | From the May 2026 issue

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(Photo: New York City skyline as seen from New Jersey; Matthew Petti)

LSD was famously pioneered by the CIA and adopted by the hippie movement. But it wasn't the only psychedelic technology that made its way from the deep state to artsy subcultures.

Infrared color photography, originally developed to help spy planes unmask enemy camouflage, has become a favorite of hobby photographers long after the surveillance method became obsolete. It's a beautiful example of a warlike technology being turned toward peaceful ends.

During World War II, scientists at Kodak developed a film known as Aerochrome that would shift the........

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