Camp of the 4th Light Dragoons 1855

Roger Fenton made this photograph, Camp of the 4th Light Dragoons, using the wet collodion process. A glass plate was coated with chemicals, exposed in the camera while still wet, and then developed immediately. The resulting print has a slightly soft, ethereal quality, due to the technical constraints. The collodion process demanded long exposure times, which softened movement, and also required a portable darkroom right on location. The final image shows the everyday life of soldiers during the Crimean War. Fenton's photographs were intended to present an idealized view of war. But consider the labor involved - not only of soldiers, but also of the photographer, lugging equipment across the war-torn landscape. Photography at this time wasn’t art for art’s sake, but a tool of documentation and propaganda. So, as you look, think about the image's inherent materiality, the artist’s intervention, and the socio-political context of its production.