The advertising slogan for the early Kodak Brownie camera was, "You press the button, we do the rest". That tagline holds true with today's modern digital cameras and printers too. This past summer, I was wondering, what would it be like to step back in time and reconsider photography at its beginnings - I'm talking way back, pre-George Eastman. I saw an opportunity to attend a workshop taught by Heather Wetzel at our Community Darkroom and learn the art and techniques of hand-coated glass plates. Back in the day (1851-1880: prior to the introduction of Eastman's Dry Plates), that was the way to acquire images - wet-plate collodion.

My thumb prints... there's no way to avoid it

These days, I'm routinely banging off a couple of hundred shots at a time onto big gig cards. And then doing some computer work to sort and preview before showing or presenting the images. Collodion required a whole new mindset; more intense photographer involvement with a single image -- far more than simply pushing the button. It's not for everyone, for sure, but there was a unique satisfaction that came with learning and working the entire imaging process. Now I know, first-hand, why George was so successful and, similarly in today's digital environment, why easy-to-use applications are the ones that will succeed. Where are the tough spots in your uses of digital photography?

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