Blog Archives

Do You Believe?

Ambrotype / Blog

Believe To think that something is true, correct or real Do you believe? Or maybe a better question is what do you believe? Whether you believe me or not I think everyone has a belief system. Your belief system is a set of things you assume to be true. Proof or evidence is not really at issue here because none of us are completely rational. We all like to think we are rational (I do!) but it is extremely difficult to really be dispassionate and totally objective. The problem is we filter what we see and experience through our minds…

Random Wet Plates

Ambrotype / Blog / Tintype

Before January is over I need to catch up on random wet plates from 2023. I left my full time job last April to focus on alternative photography full time. Within a few weeks I started to wonder how I ever had 40+ hours a week to work a full time job. The days go by and the weeks go by and soon the year is gone and another year has started. So here is a collection of random wet plates I did during 2023. Somehow I never got around to posting them in my blog even though I did…

Halloween Tintypes

Blog / Portrait / Tintype

I am either really early for Halloween or really late! You decide, but I hope you enjoy these Halloween Tintypes even if they are out of season. This set of Halloween Tintypes, or Halloween cosplay tintypes, was made in October 2023 and I've freely confess that I have been too unproductive to post and share the story until now! We had planned a tintype photo session on the beach the week before Halloween. But life sometimes gets in the way and the client had a last minute happening and had to cancel. So we decided to enjoy the woods and…

Tintype of Morning of Life Bronze Statue

Blog / Tintype

A tintype of Morning of Life bronze statue. It was taken in December during our modest early Winter weather. This statue was created by Clarence Shaler in tribute to his twin sister Clara. She died at the tender age of 18 - in the morning of her life. The statue is outside Waupun, Wisconsin, and is one of a number of wonderful art works around the city. This tintype of Morning of Dawn was quite a challenge. I had underestimated the travel time and the sunset time so I arrived much later than I planned. The sun was already setting…

Ambrotype Portrait on Glass

Ambrotype / Blog

Ambrotypes are one of my favorite wet plate collodion techniques. There is nothing more stunning than an Ambrotype portrait on glass. Images on glass have a three dimensional quality that is unique. It is also hard to capture in an image on the web. Here is a wet plate on blue stained glass. I framed it with Came to protect the glass and to provide a means to hang the image. Back to My Blog

Turmeric Anthotype

Alternative Photography / Blog

I focus on 19th century photography methods especially tintype (wet plate collodion), salt printing and cyanotypes. I do sometimes fiddle with other, less well known, techniques. They say variety is the spice of life so here is a Turmeric Anthotype of a fern. So what in the name of silver nitrate is a turmeric anthotype!?! In 1842 John Herschel put out a paper on a new photographic processes. Essentially, he experimented with using plant based pigments exposed to light to produce photographs. So the anthotype process was born. A turmeric anthotype uses turmeric extract and sunlight to produce a photographic…

Wahclella Falls Cyanotype

Blog / Cyanotype

I don't use cyanotype for landscapes that often. Nothing wrong with the result it is just I like gold salt prints a bit better. But sometimes cyanotype really works well for a photo. Here is a Wahclella Falls cyanotype that really captures the beauty of the falls. You might ask - where is the world is Wahclella Falls? Wahclella is one the dozens of waterfalls in the Columbia River gorge in Oregon. I think it is my favorite but it is not that well known. For starters it is a bit off the usual tourist path. Next, it is a…

Tintype Principles for a New Year

Blog / Tintype / Wet Plate Collodion

Tintype principles for a new year. I had so much fun in 2023 making 19th century photography - tintypes, Ambrotypes, salt prints and cyanotypes. I think 2024 is going to be an amazing year. Often people choose New Years Day for resolutions but I would rather talk about core beliefs or principles. Resolutions are usually a set of "do" or "don't do" activities. Lose weight, exercise more, make more portraits are just a few examples. So instead of a list of things to do, or things to change, in the coming year I would rather reinforce the "whys" of what I am…

2023 Year in Review

Blog / Cyanotype / Salt Print / Wet Plate Collodion

What a year we've had at Sun and Silver.photo! The mobile darkroom was finished by Spring and operational all Summer. We did a lot of location shoots over the Summer. Last year I shut down for the Winter as the cold weather makes the chemistry not work as well. But this year I added a small heater to the darkroom and will be trying to keep making tintypes all through the Winter (at least when it is not too horribly cold). I also did a lot of cyanotype and salt prints this year and sold a lot of them at…

Winter Landscapes on Medium Format Film

Blog / Film

Analog or film was my first photography. I did a lot of 35mm film when I was younger and have a whole pile of negatives in my stash. Once digital cameras came around I abandoned film for the new format. Digital was faster and cheaper! But the last few years I have been moving back to analog photography - film and wet plate collodion. Why are the old timey methods so appealing? They are expensive - but that causes one to slow down and think about each shot. They take more time to see the result, but anticipation builds appreciation.…

Tintype Wall

Blog / Wet Plate Collodion

One of the problems with being a wet plate collodion tintype photographer is all the plates start to stack up! You end up with a big pile of plates waiting for mounting or display. I started on my backlog this week and did some experimentation on mounting systems. For these plates I decided to drill a couple of tiny holes at the top and hang them with a chain. The best part is the chain slips off so the plate can be mounted in a frame. The holes won't show or will not be noticeable. The removable chain also lets…

Location Wet Plate Photography

Blog / Wet Plate Collodion

Wet Plate collodion session using my mobile darkroom. The darkroom allows me to do portrait sessions throughout Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. This session was on a state trail near Neenah. Just capturing some 8x10 inch landscape tintypes for sale on my Etsy site Here is a nice picture of my Intrepid 8x10 inch large format camera. Intrepid is a UK based company that manufactures large format cameras and accessories. I use vintage lenses - over 100 years old. But I opted to have a new camera built for my business. Nothing wrong with an old camera but I wanted to…