Today we celebrate World Wet Plate Day!
May 6th 2017
Every year, we celebrate the World Wet Plate Day the first Saturday in May. Block your agenda for this 8th edition. Organize your Wet Plate Day event and have some fun.
What is a Wet Plate Day?
World Wet Plate Day is a day to celebrate the work of the artists who practice it today. Wet Plate Collodion is the photographic process of pouring Collodion onto a plate of thin iron or glass, then exposing and developing that plate while it’s still wet. This process was the primary photographic method from the early 1850s until the late 1880s. It replaced paper negatives/Calotypes (Talbot) and Daguerreotypes (Louis Daguerre). The current revival of the Wet Plate process is due in large part to the ubiquity of digital photography and because of the unique Collodion “signature” and aesthetic.
Who We Are and Why We Do This
From reenactment tintypes, to still life ambrotypes, to studio portraits, photographers have embraced the ethereal look, handmade process, and arcane yet simple materials of Wet Plate. Wet plate photographers can be artists, engineers, wilderness travelers, studio operators or backyard hobbyists. But they all have been deeply impacted by this beautiful technique.
The unique collodion signature makes for such beautiful photos, but I don’t think I would have the patience to do it these days. I only have to admire those early photographers who travelled far and wide with all that was needed for the wet plates.