The photography exhibition in Palma, Miquel Salom i els pioners de la fotografia, introduces visitors to the evolution of this art form through historic cameras, original documents and works created using early photographic techniques. The exhibition, promoted by Mallorcan photographer and collector Miquel Salom, can be visited at Can Bordils, home to the Palma Municipal Archive, until 27 August.

photography exhibition in Palma

Montse Torras, coordinator of Mallorca PhotoFest; Pilar Ribal, director general for Heritage and Interpretation of the City; Javier Bonet, first deputy mayor and councillor for Culture; and Miquel Salom. Photo: Palma City Council.

The project forms part of the programme of Mallorca PhotoFest 2026 and marks the 175th anniversary of the introduction of Wet Collodion, a revolutionary process developed by the British sculptor Frederick Scott Archer during the 19th century and regarded as one of the major advances in the history of photography.

A photography exhibition in Palma with historic cameras and previously unseen pieces

Miquel Salom, who was born in Santa Maria del Camí, has brought together period cameras, historical documentation and several of his own creations for this exhibition, some of them produced recently using traditional techniques linked to Wet Collodion.

Much of the material on display comes from the studio that the photographer keeps in his home town and, as Palma City Council highlighted during the opening, is now being shown outside this private space for the first time.

The exhibition offers a journey through the technical and artistic transformation of photography from its origins in the early 19th century to later stages shaped by innovation and visual experimentation.

Wet Collodion and the origins of photography

One of the central themes of this photography exhibition in Palma is Wet Collodion, a traditional technique that still has many followers today because of the sharpness and visual quality of the images it can produce.

The exhibition also revisits the beginnings of photography through historical figures such as Louis Daguerre, creator of the daguerreotype, and Nicéphore Niépce, regarded as one of the authors of the first photographic images in history. The route also includes references to other pioneers such as Hippolyte Bayard and William Fox Talbot.