What was the immediate difficulty photographers faced before Eastman refined the dry-plate process?
Answer
Coating glass plates with emulsion had to be done immediately before exposure
Prior to Eastman's improvements, the photographic process involved coating fragile glass plates with a light-sensitive emulsion. This process was exceptionally messy and difficult, and crucially, it had to be executed immediately before the photograph was taken. Photographers could not prepare their supplies in advance, severely limiting where and when they could shoot. Eastman’s initial success involved developing a gelatin dry-plate process that allowed materials to be prepared beforehand, thereby removing this logistical burden from the field photographer.
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