Portrait

Tuesday in The Park

It was Tintype Tuesday in the Park. The weather, and the light, was variable. Cloudy to sunny to partly sunny and back to clouds! Rain all morning but we managed to get a window of dryness. They say "the show must go on" so we worked through the continuously variable light. Smith Park, Menasha, was the location and Victorian era costumes were the order of the day - a perfect fit with Victorian era photography! After the more formal portraits we switched it up. You know the party is starting when the bag of stuffed Paddington Bears is opened up!…

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Riverside Tintypes with Nataly
Riverside with Nataly

Riverside Tintypes with Nataly

Wonderful session Riverside tintypes with Nataly. The 1st of February and almost 50 degrees temperature is an excellent opportunity for making some tintypes. We met at Riverside Park in Neenah and had fun around the fountain and by the river. The fountain is “Playing in The Rain” by Dallas J. Anderson. And is fun and whimsical. Someone dresses the children in knit hats for the Winter! Nataly came in a stunning red dress and had a lot of fun with the children in the fountain – almost as if Summer is just around the corner. Our first pose in the…

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Classic Tintype Portrait on a Winter Day

Some times it is fun to capture some classic tintype portraits on a Winter day. Cameron and I met by the Fox River in Neenah for some cold weather tintypes. It was a day that started with heavy fog, giving way to sunshine and finally dark clouds. But, we also saw temperatures in the 40’s which is really nice for February in Wisconsin. Wet plate collodion can be a difficult process because of the way it reacts to changing light. Light meters work really well for film and digital photography but not for collodion. So the alchemist has to guess…

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BTS Tintype Session with Nataly

Time to go BTS on a tintype session with Nataly Divine. The warm February 1st gave us an opportunity for some outdoor Tintype portrait. We also grabbed a few digital pictures during our tintype session for a bit of BTS (Behind The Scenes). Nataly wore a beautiful red dress in a 1920's style. Here are a few close ups of her in both monotone / black and white and color. The color picture captures the overcast skies at the end of our time together. Of course, where would a BTS post be without showing the camera? Here is two beautiful…

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How Changing Light Impacts Wet Plate Collodion

One of the most difficult aspects of 19th century photography is how changing light impacts wet plate collodion. The light sensitive silver in a wet plate "sees" light much differently than our eyes. Yellow and blue become white and shades of orange become black. Tattoos can completely disappear and eye glasses can look like sun glasses in the portrait. More modern cameras come equipped with sophisticated light meters. The light in the scene is measured when you take the photograph and the camera will adjust the exposure to get it right every time. But there is no exposure meter that…

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Halloween Tintypes

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…

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Asylum Point Magic

She came from the west, bringing hot weather, humidity and maybe a bit of magic. We met at Asylum Point - once the site of the Northern Asylum for the Insane. A little north is the modern Winnebago Mental Health Institute. The asylum point lighthouse was built in 1937 and still provides a beacon for boaters on Lake Winnebago. The old and strange art of wet plate collodion (Tintype) photography is also shrouded in mystery. One day the spirits align and perfect images appear as if by magic. On other days, things conspires against you and every exposure becomes a…

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Collodion Tintype Portrait in The Summer

Summer is for outdoor collodion tintype portraits! I am so blessed that I have friends who are willing to pose for practice sessions. A good friend braved the Summer heat to pose for an outdoor practice plate. This is an 8x10 inch tintype made with the collodion process. They say the practice makes perfect. But I don't think that is true. What I think is practice + reflection + adjustment puts you on the path to "good". You have to reflect on the result and think about what worked and what could be improved on. Then make a change and…

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Collodion Portrait Session FAQ

So you booked your portrait session.. Awesome - I am so excited! So let's chat about important collodion portrait session FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions). Collodion sessions are a little bit different from digital photo sessions. The mood is slower paced and much more relaxed. We only produce a small number of images so it pays to plan things out in advance. Collodion is also a one-of-a-kind image process so there is always a bit of randomness to the final image. Of course, the surprise is just part of the fun. So here are some frequently asked questions.. How do I…

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Cyanotype Portrait

Cyanotype prints can also make compelling portraits! Blue is not the first color one would choose for humans and human skin - except maybe at an awesome cosplay convention! But in the palette of monochrome colors the blue of cyanotype can be most interesting. Here is a portrait of one of my favorite people in the entire world. She is beautiful inside and out and has so many layers of thoughts! Here is a close up - those eyes and expression hold a world of mystery! In Your Eyes I see the doorway to a thousand churches! Want to see…

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Ambrotype Self Portrait

Testing my lighting setup with a self portrait. This is an Ambrotype - a wet plate collodion on glass. All of my glass is recycled - I use the glass from old windows. If you are going to use an "antique" photography process why not use antique glass? Pretty happy with the lighting - uniform and a good exposure. I need to work on the eye focus as I missed a little bit. It is not easy setting up, pulling the lens cap off, moving into position and then hitting the flash. But I will do better next time. Here…

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