The wet collodion is a photographic process attributed to Frederic Scott Archer and Gustave Le Gray, which is said to have been invented in 1851. This is a photographic technique that uses glass plates as print media. What sort of products are necessary? What is the specifical technique of this photographic process? What is the collodion good for?

To use this photographic process with glass plates, it is necessary to use collodion and potassium salt or ether. Collodion is used for fixing the emulsion on the glass plate.

How to produce collodion?

It is produced with alcool 95 ° and potassium salt. It is important to let it settle. After a while, salts are collected. 

To practice this alchimy process, it is important thereafter to put the glass plates with silver salts during 3 or 4 minutes. Glass plates must be removed in the dark, then placed in a chassis in the photography room.

Finally, glass plates must have been recovered by iron sulfate and then rinsed. They will be subsequently placed in a fixative.

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