Gezicht op Jeruzalem before 1875

This photograph, "Gezicht op Jeruzalem," was created by Francis Frith in the 19th century, using the wet collodion process. The wet collodion process was complex and demanding, requiring Frith to coat a glass plate with chemicals, expose it in the camera while still wet, and then develop it immediately. This had to happen on-site, and as you can imagine, lugging the necessary equipment around for landscape views was no easy task. Each print required great skill, precision and patience. This technique, though innovative for its time, was labor-intensive and fraught with challenges. It speaks to a moment when photography was as much a craft as it was a science, deeply intertwined with manual skill and chemical processes. Think of the effort required not only to master this process, but also to transport it to a place like Jerusalem. Considering the environmental constraints involved in its creation, this photograph underscores how deeply intertwined photography was with materiality and human effort. It encourages us to appreciate the labor and innovation behind the image.