Civil-War Era Processes, New Advertising

Photography is not as appreciated as it once was years ago. Technology has influenced the way we take photographs and interpret them. Many people do not consider photography as art because they don’t appreciate or understand the process. The wet-plate process is a time consuming process where chemicals are poured onto a glass plate, dipped into nitrate solution, then loaded into the camera and developed right away. Comparing this process to cell phones and professional cameras that we have today, there is no need for a manual process in order to take a photograph. Photos are taken by the click of a button and by general people where there is no hard work or effort put into taking most photographs. Today I believe that many photographers are reconnecting with the nineteenth century process because of the appreciation and satisfaction that it gives when taking and processing a photograph. Photographers like to form a connection with the person or scene they are photographing. For some photographers like Shindler and Bornfriend, using the wet plate process can help form that connection since the person is forced to remain still and engage with the camera. I agree with Shindler that the wet plate process is rewarding and cannot compare to the iphone or modern camera. Placing a filter over a photograph or editing it with Photoshop is not considered photography and defeats the purpose of capturing a moment because once you edit it, it is no longer real.