During my recent trip to New Orleans, I visited the art museum in the city and in there was an exhibit displaying some of the first war-time images captured on photographic material. These images of the Civil War were captured via the wet plate collodion technique and reminded me of Ian Ruhter.
Ian Ruhter is a LA-based photographer who has embraced this process as his own and made his big splash in the photographic community two years ago. The wet plate technique was first introduced in the 1850s and, compared to the various processes available today, is very inconvenient in terms of the time and materials required for each photo. The process involves sensitizing, exposing, and developing the photographic material within a short period of time. Even more limiting is that fact that all these steps must be performed in a dark room, making the use of this process in the field very difficult. The upside to the wet plate collodion process is the high level of detail captured in each frame and the unique aesthetic.
Ian's workaround for this is amazing. He looked at what he had to work with, said it was impractical, built his own rig, and made it practical. Today, he travels all over the country in his mobile darkroom in pursuit of that "perfect image."
What is amazing about Ian is the amount of heart he (literally) pours into his work. What was once a personal project for him has evolved into a new lifestyle.