In the Beginning Dr Richard L. Maddox
Richard L Maddox
English photographer and physician
What he was known for...
He invented lightweight gelatine negative plates for photography in 1871.
What process he was known for...
Inventor of the dry plate process
He used cadmium bromide and silver nitrate coated on a glass plate in gelatine, this meant photographers could use dry plates off the shelf instead of having to prepare their own emulsions in a mobile dark room, negative's didn't have to be developed immediately.
Camera and Process ...
After creating an emulsion of silver nitrate and gelatine, warmed glass plates were coated with the emulsion and allowed to dry. They were then washed off to remove the soluble salts that remained from the emulsion. This paved the way for the modern day silver nitrate and gelatine-halide solutions.