Wet plate collodion photography seems to be having a bit of a revival these days, and I have a number of friends working with that media. I’ve tried it, taking a workshop from Alan Barnes, and there’s a lot of skill required. Beyond getting good chemistry, there’s an art to the pouring and exposure that can only be mastered by few. It’s rare to see a complete plate without flaws, and getting good dynamic range is hard. That’s why I was so stunned when I first saw the still life work by Roger Fenton. He captured his still life images on Collodion plate and made albumen prints.

Roger Fenton’s photographic still life Fruit and Flowers (1860) is among the last images he made before quitting photography for good at age 41.