I did not want to miss this internationally celebrated photographer's homecoming at the Haldan Gallery at Lake Tahoe Community College.

Ian is very forthcoming about the path he took to get to where he is today with his photographic journey beginning here at Lake Tahoe. Diagnosed with dyslexia as a child, he discovered his artistic voice as a young adult in a photography class at LTCC. Using a pinhole camera made from an oatmeal container, Ruhter recognized a mirrored version of his own worldview: inverted, reversed, but profoundly meaningful. “At 26, I finally felt like I was able to speak,” Ruhter recalls.
When the photography world shifted toward digital, Ruhter resisted, searching instead for authenticity in historic processes.

Before looking at any of the works, we were invited to learn more about Ian's process. It came in the form of the wet plate collodion process. Invented in 1851, this photographic process involves pouring a liquid mixture of iodides, bromides, and a solution called collodion over a glass or aluminum plate. The plate is then bathed in silver nitrate, making it light sensitive. The plate must then be quickly exposed and developed in just a few minutes, before the collodion dries and loses sensitivity. Obsessed with perfecting the wet plate collodion process but eager to move from the traditionally small hand held plates to something larger, Ruhter’s epiphany came when he realized he needed to shoot from within the camera to create the size of wet plates he had envisioned. To achieve this Ruhter converted a large delivery truck into a giant mobile camera and traveling darkroom.

The Lake exhibition presents 68 images, including two of the largest wet collodion plates ever made, alongside an exploration of his process.




Ruhter’s work has been exhibited in cultural capitals like Paris, New York, and Los Angeles. But for him, this show is different. “These works are being seen all over the world, but not in the place where they were created,” Ruhter said. “This community helped me so much. I wanted to show it here. I just could never figure out how to bring it home, until now.” Welcome home, Ian. How truly wonderful!