Remains of Old Genoese Castle above the Harbour of Balaklava 1855

James Robertson captured this view of Balaklava's harbor using the collodion process, a photographic technique that was revolutionary for its time. This process involved coating a glass plate with a sticky solution of collodion, sensitizing it to light, exposing it in a camera, and then developing it, all before the coating dried. The resulting print, muted in tone, is mesmerizing in its detail, capturing the texture of the stone ruins and the rigging of the ships. Robertson’s choice of photography, a relatively new medium at the time, reflects a shift towards more mechanically reproduced images, tied to the rise of industrialization and the desire to document the world with unprecedented accuracy. In many ways, photography democratized image-making, challenging the traditional hierarchies of artistic skill and labor, by offering a seemingly objective record of places and events. By focusing on the materials and processes involved in creating this image, we can understand how photography reshaped our perception of the world.