Silver nitrate, the light-sensitive chemistry at the heart of the wet plate collodion process, darkens when exposed to light, leaving stains that are an unmistakable record of the work. These marks speak to the hours each photographer has spent coating plates, making photographs, and practicing a process that has changed little in more than 170 years. Each hand bears its own pattern of stains, scratches, and traces of labor. They are quiet evidence of a craft carried forward by the incredible people who continue to practice it. 

Taken at John Coffer’s 2026 Camp Tintype Jamboree, in Dundee, NY.