John Thomson was a nineteenth-century British photojournalist who used the wet-plate process to illustrate his explorations of eastern and Southeast Asia. His travels from 1862 to 1872 took him to the following places, among others: Ceylon, Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand, Saigon, Siam, mainland China, and Taiwan. Thomson chose to use the wet-plate process, despite its problems and demands, because of the quality of negative possible. As one of the earliest European photojournalists to work in Asia, Thomson produced work that goes beyond mere documentation; it presents the grandeur of the Asian landscapes and gives probing images of living people that together convey a full sense of the land. He also experienced many difficulties with malaria, hostile people, and harsh climates. He was especially interested in the "small trades" and in anonymous individuals who could not pay for their portraits and who are thus underrepresented in the works of most Victorian photographers. A bibliography of Thomson's work is included. (CC)