What did it feel like when the first images were created by light on glass? What does it mean to understand photography not just digitally, but as a deliberate, slow-paced craft? Dr. Erik Diewald-Hagen takes you back to the origins of photography in this lecture – to large-format wooden cameras, historical lenses, and the fascinating wet plate collodion process from 1850. He shares not only well-founded knowledge about the history and technique of early photography, but above all provides insight into his living practice. For many years, he has worked with historical processes himself, creating his photographs on wet glass and metal plates. From his own experience, he demonstrates how much precision, patience, and dedication these techniques demand – and what special aesthetic power emerges from them. Through practical examples, photo history becomes tangible and immediately experiential. A lecture for all those who wish to rediscover photography as an art form, as a craft, and as a conscious creative process.
