LEARN ABOUT PLATE PHOTOGRAPHY

Plate photography is where the magic of early image-making truly began 📸. Long before digital cameras and Instagram filters, photographers were crafting stunning, ultra-detailed images on glass or metal plates. It wasn’t quick or easy—you had to coat the plate with light-sensitive chemicals, load it into a bulky camera, and develop it all before the chemicals dried (in the case of the wet collodion process). But the payoff? Sharp, moody, almost ghostly images that captured people and places with an unforgettable sense of drama and depth.

Even today, plate photography has a cult following among artists and photography purists who crave its hands-on intensity and vintage vibe 🎞️. It’s not just about taking a photo—it’s a ritual. The glint of glass, the smell of chemicals, the slow reveal of an image emerging in the darkroom—it all feels like alchemy. There’s something thrilling about reviving a 19th-century technique and watching it stand proudly in a digital world. It’s slow, yes—but gloriously so.