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
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
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…
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
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 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.
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…
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/
What is real? When it comes to images do our eyes determine real? Is a physical object more real than electrons dancing on a screen? I have spent more time on analog photography than digital the past few years. Part of me wonders why? Digital is easier, costs nothing (after the initial investment) and I have state of the art digital cameras and lenses. Film, 19th century printing and wet plate collodion are complicated, expensive and sometimes frustrating processes. So why do i find myself attracted to analog? The thought occurred to me this week that maybe the attraction of…
An 8x10 gothic tintype portrait of Francheska. Taken at the annual Retzer Nature Preserve Goth & Steampunk event. This tintype used our Wollensak Vitax 5A portrait Petzval lens. The Wollensak has that beautiful Petzval swirl in the background while staying share in the center. This makes for a beautiful and timeless portrait! We had to use about 15 seconds of exposure time due to the lateness of the day. Francheska is a Milwaukee based model. After the sun set we also did two digital portrait sets. You can see the first on our companion site JalanLee.com/blog/Francheska-in-12-looks You can see more…
It's a nice day for a white wedding - or so Billy says! Our white wedding photo was taken at Pleasant View Studios on a September day. Over 40 models and photographers gathered for some Pre-Halloween fun. Sun and Silver loaded up our darkroom and made the trip to do tintypes. We made over 25 tintypes that afternoon which was a record for us! Model KD Jae came by for some digital photos on the bench near our darkroom. She brought along photographer Steph or S Giron Photography. Here is one of their dreamy shots! As luck would have it…
Just a random Saturday night in Wisconsin - with tintype portraits of fire artists! Cloud Nine Fire Show is a Wisconsin based troupe of talented performers specializing in the art of flow. We've worked together earlier this Summer to capture the art of flow in the historic tintype process - see our first plates at Cloud Nine Tintypes. Unfortunately, your humble alchemist was unable to to capture the fire in the plates. So like the Alchemists of old, when confronted with failure it is back to the lab and the library in the sub basement for research. The findings were…
