In this issue of Photonics Focus, we explore the dark—an oft times bountiful counterpoint to light. One feature follows researches on a hunt for the perfect black color—wholly man-made or nature inspired—that absorbs almost all light hitting it. A second feature surveys the ongoing hunt for dark matter in the universe, now including the use of new instruments like the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.  Finally, a third feature looks at optics technologies being used to better understand and treat childhood myopia, a public health crisis in need of solutions to prevent vision loss later in life.