Gezicht op de Olijfberg en het hof van Getsemane c. 1850 - 1865

This photograph of the Mount of Olives was taken by Francis Frith sometime in the mid-19th century, using the collodion process. This technique, popular at the time, involved coating a glass plate with a light-sensitive emulsion, then exposing it in a camera. The resulting image, a collodion negative, would then be printed onto paper. Frith was one of the first photographers to extensively document the Middle East. What's interesting here is the industrialization of image-making – the mass production of photographs for a growing market of consumers eager to see the world. Frith's company employed many people, reflecting the changing nature of labor and the rise of a visual culture tied to commerce. Think about the amount of work involved, from setting up the shot in a distant land, to the darkroom processes, to the distribution of the final product. This photograph is a testament to the power of photography to shape our understanding of the world, and to the complex relationship between art, industry, and consumption.