Dain Tasker

Dain L. Tasker (1872–1964) was an American photographer and pioneer of botanical radiography whose work emerged from a unique intersection of science and art. Born in Beloit, Wisconsin, Tasker trained and worked as a doctor of osteopathy and served as chief radiologist at Wilshire Hospital in Los Angeles when the field of radiology was still in its infancy. In the 1920s he became involved in pictorial photography, creating conventional landscape and portrait images. In the 1930s, inspired by an X‑ray photograph made by a fellow physician, he began applying his medical knowledge to photography by using X‑rays as a creative tool to make images of flowers and plants.

Tasker’s botanical radiographs reveal the internal structures of flowers with a delicate, ethereal quality that has been described as minimalist, ghost‑like, and evocative of their inner beauty. His approach stripped botanic subjects of color and surface detail, allowing their fragility and structural strength to emerge through the transparency of X‑ray film. Tasker himself wrote, “Flowers are the expression of the love life of plants,” a phrase that reflects both his scientific curiosity and poetic sensibility.

His work was championed by photographer Will Connell, who encouraged him to exhibit in salons such as the Camera Pictorialists of Los Angeles and at the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition. Tasker’s images were published in U.S. Camera and Popular Photography, bringing broader recognition to his innovative practice. His photographs are held in major collections, including those of the Smithsonian Institution, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, and others, establishing his legacy as a significant figure in the history of photography.