Since its invention, photography has been dependent on precious metals—silver, primarily, then gold, platinum, and today the rare earth minerals inside every digital device. This D.C. exhibition of photographs from the last 185 years focuses on the industries that provided those metals. From the days of daguerreotypes, here made during the California Gold Rush, to large-scale aerial and digital works from the last decade, the show’s 150 images take in landscapes, workers’ portraits, panoramas of destroyed communities, photobooks, and performance. —Elena Clavarino