The wet plate process is one of the first forms of photography and dates back to even before film was invented. The process involves flowing a chemical, Collodion over a substrate of either glass or metal, this is then sensitized in a silver nitrate solution, exposed in camera and developed. The resulting image is in the form of a metal [tintype] or glass [ambrotype] plate. The image size directly relates to the size of the camera used. The plates are individually prepared by hand in the darkroom and must be exposed and developed within a few minutes, hence the term wetplate. These images produced are of exceptional clarity and character. There is no negative and every plate is a true handmade original and unique to its subject, a piece of art.!