Dry Plate Collodion

Dry Plate Collodion 1871

The collodion process was invented in 1851 by Fredrick Scott Archer and Gustave Le Gray. The collodion process gave a negative image on a transparent support. It was relatively inexpensive process. According to Liquisearch "The collodion process, had desirable qualities of the calotype process which enabled the photographer to make a theoretically unlimited number of prints from a single negative and the daguerreotype”. By doing this it creates a sharpness and clarity which made their work much easier to do

Taken by William Micklethwaite

It also had some disadvantages for instance the entire process, from coating to developing, had to be done before the plate would dry off. This gave the photojournalist no more than 10 minutes to complete everything, Which can put a lot of pressure on them. The Dry Plate Collodion had a huge effect because it made it inconvenient for field use, as it required a portable dark room.