For many years, photographer Michael Collins had wondered what exactly it was that he found so mysterious about photography. In this series of linked pieces, Collins offers a reappraisal of humble--and often ubiquitous--photographic genres that he believes are worthy of greater understanding.

From restoring abandoned photos, whose subjects are lost to time, to a quotidian history of the studio portrait; from tracing the origins of the panorama within the wider field of the history of art to an experiment in photographic portraiture using gorillas, Collins reveals what it is about photography that continues to fascinate us.