The Cold War's ghostly radio broadcasts

A photographer attempts to track down the shortwave transmission sites that are mysteriously still in operation

Spectrum 7, waiting
Lauren Hansen
By
published
(Image credit: Spectograms are the visual representation of sound, in this case the sound of a shortwave radio transmission.)

(Image credit: An aerial view of a transmission site in Cyprus, composited out of satellite imagery.)

(Image credit: (Lewis Bush))

(Image credit: (Lewis Bush)Once he collected enough information on a transmission site, he used satellite maps for visual clues. "A transmitter site that is very highly secured, for example, with double lin)

(Image credit: (Lewis Bush))

(Image credit: (Lewis Bush)Two years after beginning his deep dive, Bush has launched a crowdfunding campaign to publish a visual collection of his findings. The resulting Shadows of State (Brave Books) fee)

(Image credit: "The Buzzer" can be found on the radio frequency 4625 kHz, which is still in operation.)

(Image credit: (Lewis Bush)"I hope [the viewer] will understand just how subjective and slippery photographs of all sorts are," he said."I hope these images are haunting — both haunting as a reminder of a p)

Shadows of State (Brave Books)**For more information about Shadows of State, or to contribute to the campaign, check out Lewis Bush's KickStarter page.**

(Image credit: (Lewis Bush))

Lauren Hansen
Lauren Hansen

Lauren Hansen produces The Week’s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.

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