PORTABLE DARKROOM SET UP

This type of photography was called the wet-plate process because the photographer had to coat and sensitize the glass plate, expose it in the camera, and then develop it—all while the emulsion was still wet. If the emulsion dried, it would no longer be light sensitive. If a photographer was shooting on location (away from his studio), he had to take a darkroom with him because the emulsion needed to be sensitized in the dark, just before a picture was taken. This is why he took a tent and all of the chemicals with him. Eastman wanted to take pictures but he wanted the process to be easier.