Favorite Victorian Portraits of 2025

Blog / Portrait

2025 is over! It was an amazing year at Sun and Silver Photo with so many wonderful clients and creative muses. Here, in no particular order, are our favorite Victorian portraits of 2025. What makes a portrait a "favorite"? Some might say it is all about the image, the subject, lighting and pose. But we here at Sun and Silver Photo are all about creating memories. So our favorite portraits are not just the final image but they are about the experience of creating the portrait. The portrait is about the fun we had, the creative process, the location and…

Silver Collodion Fix

Blog / Video / Wet Plate Collodion

The magical moment for wet plate photography has to be the fixing step! Fixing is the final step in the developing process and is where the unreacted silver is removed from the collodion. As the silver washed out the final image is revealed. This video shows the fix of a silver collodion print (which is basically a tintype copy of an existing photo or negative). We speeded up the middle part just a little bit. https://youtube.com/shorts/uAwpiG5br1E?si=ttRiiVFnSD8wdGY_ You can see more of our videos on our YouTube channel @sunandsilverphoto Back to our Blog Page

Victorian Inspirational Portraits

Blog / Portrait

None of our work is original. Maybe a better phrase is none of our work is completely original. We stand on the shoulders of the many who went before us and their work provides the inspiration for our work. So here we present a gallery of historic and historic style portraits with a vibe that we admire. We do not wish to copy any of these but rather use them as starting point. We hope that with this inspiration the creative Muse will inspire us to make our own images which honor and extent the originals! These are all public…

3D Printing for Wet Plate Collodion

Blog / Tutorial / Video

Wet plate collodion photography is a very do-it-yourself endeavor. We are very much like the original roving photographers of the 1800's because there are no, or limited, commercial sources for much of our suppliers and equipment. Thankfully we don't have to make our own lenses but are limited to lenses made around a century ago. This is because the small number of large format lenses still made incorporate glass and coatings which block the blue and UV light essential for collodion photography. But old lenses often have parts like lens caps missing. So we decided to invest in a 3D…

Tintype Varnishing Tutorial

Blog / Tutorial / Video / Wet Plate Collodion

Wet plate collodion photography has a significant learning curve! The process is rather complicated and requires not just technical knowledge but a degree of tactile skill. The most difficult part to learn is varnishing the plates. It has been almost 2 years since my first image and I have so much to learn. Here is a video showing my current process for achieving a reasonably good varnish. Enjoy! Back to my Blog Page

A Whisper of Alchemy

Blog / Portrait / Tintype

Something in the wind isCalling my name.Who is it, what do they want?Are they calling me, or am I the one doing the calling? Out of the corners of my mind I hear words, but nothing is clear..Like shadows of a desire, or it it just..A Whisper of Alchemy Tintype photographs - both 8x10 inches. Featuring Wisconsin model Ayrn, see more of her work on FaceBook Back to our Blog Page

On Dagget’s Creek

Blog / Silver Collodion Print

A Silver Collodion Print from a digital negative. This 5x7 print is a tintype copy of a photograph. It is exactly the same chemistry and process as making an original photograph, except we use a negative in the camera. The original photo was taken in 2021 when we did both some still picutres a a couple of fun videos with Gigi Michelle. This first video is a more serious tone highlighting Gigi's natural charm and grace. But our sessions are not all serious - we mostly have a lot of fun. Here is a little bit of the fun we…

Root and Runner Creative Space

Blog / Popup / Portrait

Tintype images from our November 29th popup. Download button below each image. Sunandsilver-Root-Runner-Nov-29-2025-tintype-5x7-109Download Sunandsilver-Root-Runner-Nov-29-2025-tintype-5x7-108Download Sunandsilver-Root-Runner-Nov-29-2025-tintype-5x7-107Download Sunandsilver-Root-Runner-Nov-29-2025-tintype-5x7-105Download Sunandsilver-Root-Runner-Nov-29-2025-tintype-5x7-104Download Sunandsilver-Root-Runner-Nov-29-2025-tintype-5x7-103Download Sunandsilver-Root-Runner-Nov-29-2025-tintype-5x7-100Download Sunandsilver-Root-Runner-Nov-29-2025-tintype-5x7-110Download

Helios 44 Portraits with Madeline

Blog / Portrait / Vintage Lens

Along with Victorian Photography, we also love film and vintage lenses. By "Vintage" we mean lenses built 50 or more years ago. We use modern digital cameras with adapters to mount the old lenses. One of our favorite vintage lenses is the Helios 44. The optical design and glass used in the Helios gives amazing character and beautiful rendering in a portrait. Madeline posed for tintype portraits in an 1860's warehouse (images coming soon) but we also had some time for Helios 44 portraits. The portrait above is a classic Helios rendering. The window lights glow in the background and…

Somewhere

Blog / Fine Art / Portrait / Tintype / Wet Plate Collodion

Somewhere in the dark a light still shines, We see, but we don't, All the things that we want to see are there, but some of them are hidden. You can always turn towards the light, or so you tell yourself, But the darkness sometimes is the brightest place, Where everything you want to know hides, Surrounded by everything you shouldn't know. "Somewhere" is an 8x10 tintype created with the Victorian wet Plate Collodion Process. Featuring Wisconsin Model Amber - you can contact her on FaceBook at AM Model.

Classic Tintype Portraits with Nataly

Blog / Portrait / Tintype

We are always in search of the best classic portraits at Sun and Silver Photo. Of course, defining a "classic portrait" is much harder than just saying the words. So what do we mean when we say "classic"? If seeing is believing then the image above is a classic photograph. It is a 12x10 inch tintype of Nataly at The Ember Studio in Menasha. But what makes it classic? We can think of four elements: It is Black and White: Monotone photographs give the best classic feel. This image is naturally in a creamy silver tone because it is a…

Ember of Romance

Blog

Being loved by heris like being held by fire—the scorching hug willdrain oxygen from lungs,but only because going all in is her only form of love. I envy the one she loves, but I amnot, no. I am her— the ember of romantics,too charred to be remembered.Jasmine Tsai Excerpts from Ember Lover by Taiwanese poet Jasmine Tsai Victorian style portraits featuring Wisconsin model Nataly. Check out her Face Book page for more of her work. https://sunandsilver.photo/ambrotypes-with-nataly/ https://sunandsilver.photo/romantic-couple-portraits-victorian-tintype-photography/