though would he really use the camera? He was blind..

C'mon Strelets,you know you want to make a Wild West set,you know you do!
Not the traditional 50's western looking cowboys but the type of characters wearing late 19th century clothing like this marvellous photographer.

Please,pretty please!

Most sources say he was half blind.

Normally the rear of the camera had a black cloth that protected the plates from light seepage as the exposure time was long. These early cameras used a rubber bulb device that operated the shutter connected to it by a tube and enabled long exposures without touching the camera. Releasing the pressure on the bulb allowed the shutter to close. Some cameras still have the B(for bulb)setting which mimics the bulb feature usually with a cable release. I am not sure what the figure has in his left hand but the time could always be counted like 1001,1002, etc or any other trick to count the seconds.The bellows and lens was a means of focusing the image on the plate. Long shots would be set on infinity so no need to visually focus the camera. There was also no need to stand behind the camera and most photographers stood at the side when taking the shot. The photographer would have at least one assistant so being half blind or poor sighted was not such a problem.