Shimla
Medium
waxed paper negative
Dimensions
image: 38 × 48.2 cm · paper: 38 × 48.2 cm
Classification
Photograph
Department
Photography
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of William and Margaret Lipscomb
Accession Number
2021.206
Tags
male
About this artwork
Before digital photography, most cameras yielded a negative, an image in which the tones are the reverse of those in the original subject. Early photographers shot on sheets of paper that were waxed to make them more translucent, then coated with a light-sensitive solution and exposed in the camera. To create a positive image, light was passed through the negative onto light-sensitive paper, which was developed in a series of chemical baths to create the print.