Getting the right wet plate collodion supplies
Getting your hands on quality wet plate collodion supplies is honestly the very first real check of patience with regard to anyone diving directly into this 19th-century build. It's nothing like modern digital photography where you just pop the memory card in and call this a day. Along with wet plate, you're basically a part-time chemist and a part-time carpenter just before you even consider your first photograph. I remember the particular first time I actually looked at a grocery list for this stuff; it felt the bit like I actually was preparing to build a laboratory within my basement, which usually, to be fair, is pretty very much what happens. ...