Wet plate collodion photography goes back to the 1850’s, but the process was short lived and only lasted until the end of that decade due to the discovery of the dry plate.

The wet plate process was popular during the American Civil War because this was the first war that was extensively photographed using this photographic process.

Today, the process is becoming popular again due to photographers looking for a different alternative from the digital process and the bombardment of the “selfie”.

For my university BA (Hons) Communication Design (Photography) degree I wanted to move away from the digital process and go back in time and discover the art and craftmanship of real photography.

My wet plate journey started on the 22nd November 2014.

When working with wet plate collodion photography, the first thing that really captures your attention is the stunning cameras and the craftmanship that went into making these beautiful cameras.

I felt very lucky to have the privilege to use these stunning cameras for this university project.

These cameras go back to the 1800’s, and its only once you see them and begin to use these cameras for the wet plate process that you start to feel what photography really means.