Waterval in een bos in Nederlands-Indië 1912

Onnes Kurkdjian made this photograph of a waterfall in the Dutch East Indies using a wet collodion process, a popular technique in the 19th century. The process involves coating a glass plate with a mixture of collodion, soaking it in silver nitrate, exposing it in the camera while still wet, and then developing it immediately. The resulting image captures the lush textures of the forest and the dynamic movement of the water, all rendered in subtle monochrome tones. This technique demanded considerable skill and time, reflecting the labor-intensive nature of early photography. The wet collodion process was not just a scientific method but a craft, intertwining chemical precision with artistic vision. By focusing on this, we can appreciate how photography, even in its early days, was deeply connected to both industrial processes and artistic expression.