author
Charles A. Long
An early photography writer whose practical manuals helped make new image-making techniques easier to understand. His books focus on the hands-on craft of working with glass and paper processes at a time when photography was still finding its footing.
1 Audiobook
The Dry Collodion Process
by Charles A. Long
About the author
Charles A. Long is known for 19th-century instructional books on photography, especially Practical Photography on Glass and Paper, first published in 1854. Surviving editions show that he wrote for working photographers and beginners alike, explaining how to produce portraits and views using processes such as collodion, albumen, calotype, waxed paper, and positive paper.
Later editions of the book expanded to include material on stereoscopic pictures, showing how closely his writing followed the fast-moving technical changes of early photography. He is also associated with The Dry Collodion Process, another practical guide to photographic method.
Reliable biographical details about his personal life are hard to confirm from the sources found here, so the clearest picture is through his books: straightforward manuals aimed at helping readers master the chemistry, preparation, and workflow of early photographic practice.