I realized that for the manuscript I'm working on, the MC would be interested in photography, and hoping to show her pictures in an exhibition. So far so good.
Problem #1: When it comes to photography, I know nothing, Jon Snow.
Problem #2: The story is set in 1890, so I can't find a professional photographer and ask about equipment/techniques that were unknown back then.
I googled a bit, but that didn't really help. For instance, Victorian post-mortem photography sounded fascinating, but then I found a website which said most such pictures weren't actually of dead people.
So I'm going to start from scratch, with the library. With more understanding of the topic, I'll feel better equipped to tackle websites. And finally, I plan on taking a vacation to London at the end of April, so I'd like to see the collection of photographs in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
But I'm also wondering how other people tackle this sort of thing. What do you do if you have to research something you're completely unfamiliar with? What tips or suggestions would you have?
Problem #1: When it comes to photography, I know nothing, Jon Snow.
Problem #2: The story is set in 1890, so I can't find a professional photographer and ask about equipment/techniques that were unknown back then.
I googled a bit, but that didn't really help. For instance, Victorian post-mortem photography sounded fascinating, but then I found a website which said most such pictures weren't actually of dead people.
So I'm going to start from scratch, with the library. With more understanding of the topic, I'll feel better equipped to tackle websites. And finally, I plan on taking a vacation to London at the end of April, so I'd like to see the collection of photographs in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
But I'm also wondering how other people tackle this sort of thing. What do you do if you have to research something you're completely unfamiliar with? What tips or suggestions would you have?