Wet Plate Collodion Photography: Pre-Digital Photographic Technology

Way to Go PATS!  

I had the chance to head into Boston for the day and catch the Superbowl XLIX Victory Day Parade! I got to take some great shots throughout the day,  Julian Edelman is pictured on the left, along with my favorite part of the day...the CONFETTI!

This generation it so easy to be able to pull out my iPhone and snap a couple great pictures that could take only half a second.  Its near impossible to imagine such a complex photo shooting process that photojournalists experienced back in the 1800's (and simply because they had no other options).

A career in photography pre-digital age was difficult, and at times dangerously risky.  Here is a look inside how our history during the Civil War era was documented and how the photojournalists accomplished it.

Wet Plate Collodion Process: An Advancement in Photography (Pre-Digital era...)

There is no doubt about it, technology is developing with the growth of every generation.  With the right technology, it seems almost anything can be captured in the light of a photograph.  Even our cell phones now have the ability to capture anything with high resolution and quality, with just a touch of a button.  

"Wet Plate Collodion photography is both somewhat difficult and dangerous to do" said Quinn Jacobson.  

In the 1800's photography was becoming to be more a career for many rather than a part-time hobby.  The process of wet plate collodion photography itself could take any where from 10-20 minutes.  With several steps involved, the intricate development begins with panels of glass that are shaved down and coated with a chemical solution called collodion,.  Now that a negative has been created, the glass is submerged into a solution of silver nitrate, which makes the product sensitive to light.  The wet glass would now be moved to light proof box to deny all light from obscuring the image development. The negative that has been moved in the light proof object is then moved to the camera.  What has become to be known as the "dark slide" (panel in the light proof object) and the lens caps of the camera would be removed for several seconds, which would allow for the photograph to be taken.  To finalize the product, the photograph would be taken to a dark room where it is then mixed with other chemical solutions to complete the final project. 

"The biggest challenges I have is the technical aspects of the process.  I have no running water it is much more difficult to control the light when I am not in my studio." Jacobson commented, in regards to the troubles he faces when he takes his hobby on the road. 

Image by Alexander Gardner

Of course with any elaborate and complex process, there are going to be drawbacks the photographer must face.  The steps to achieving the wet plate process requires considerable skill and ability.  During the late 1800's many of the civil war photographs were documented with wet plates.  Being out on the battle field, many photographers traveled with a wagon full of required supplies, and almost every time the process has required  a two-man operation.  Almost all photographs we see during that specific time period are all stills.  It was essential to keep the shutter open for an extensive amount of time to be able to take the picture, action photography was always near impossible to capture.  This is the reason why there are no battlefield combat photographs of the war itself.  Not only did photojournalists struggle in achieving an exceptional product, but also experienced difficulty when it came to traveling with chemicals and breakable, required elements.  As an example, famous wet plate photographer Alexander Gardner, who documented much of the civil war, has been well known for his photograph he took of Abraham Lincoln (above right).  In this photograph, there is a clear crack in the glass negative, which occurred during the development stage.  Certain flaws affected many photographs during this era due to the complex process it took to accomplish a wet plate photograph.

August 1862
"Culpeper Court House, Virginia. Federal soldiers and wounded Negro."
Wet-plate glass negative by Timothy H. O'Sullivan.

"The technique itself makes me appreciate photographers of the 19th century even more" concluded Jacobson.     

It amazes me, as I was searching through the collection of images from Roger Fenton and the web site http://news.discovery.com/history/us-history/civil-war-photography-warfare-110411.htm   it is clear to see how photography has evolved. Comparing my photographs that I took while in Boston I noticed the one requirement photography has needed in almost every process, regardless of the era-is light. Light is the beneficial factor in successfully producing a photograph.  Too much light exposure can ruin a picture, and too little light can obscure the main object of focus.  Not only was this a factor many photojournalists faced during the 1800's with wet plate but it is something photographers need to consider today as well.