We believe that art is where you find it. Meaning if you keep your eyes, and your imagination, open you can find art all around you. Where others see two old TV's we see art, and an adventure! Not everything is 1851 - here is a digital photo of the TV's with some nice fall colors! Back to Our Blog
Wet plate collodion photography has a unique way of rendering the world. Little silver salts react to light and become microscopic bits of silver; and the bits of silver form an image. There is no grain - the silver bits are too small for a microscope to see. But all those tiny little atoms of precious silver somehow come together in just the right way to capture a moment in time... forever maybe... Our first tintype - washing in a tray after development Illinois creative artist Carolyn, aka Ember, and I created these memories in silver and metal and wood.…
I see people doing "revel" videos of their art so here is my rendition of a reveal video. All these tintypes were made in September at Pleasant View Studios - during their annual Halloween open access day. You can see more about the studio on their FaceBook Page So here is the video - let us know if you like the format and maybe we'll do this again! Back to our Blog Page We do an occasional fun video of our Victorian Photography - you can see more Videos Here
We had an amazing, although rainy, Saturday at True Love Tat2, Madison Wisconsin. It is always a fun creating tintype portraits, telling stories and making new friends. Here are our wet plate images from the popup. Many thanks to the entire group at True Love for all the help and welcoming us to their shop! You can follow them on Instagram @truelovetat2 or on their website Truelovetat2.com Here are some of our favorite tintypes from our day together! Looking for a tintype portrait or popup? Then fill out my contact form and I will notify you before our next adventure!…
Part of the fun of creating wet plate images is you can play around with just about any size and format you like. This year I have been making a lot of really small tintypes. They run 2-3 inches on a side. The small plates are a real challenge, especially pouring the collodion without drenching your hand! Here is a little video of some of my favorite little tintype memories so far this year, Enjoy! If you enjoyed seeing my tiny tintypes why not have your own made? Contact Me for availability and pricing for a wet plate collodion portrait…
Like a raindrop on a blade of grassShe appears,Reflecting the world around her, Not just the present, butThe Future, andThe Past. Like a raindrop on a blade of grassHere for a moment, and thenDisappears.Where did she come from andWhere did she go?Out of thin air and back again..And like the rain,Just a matter of time, andShe will be back again. A 6in x 8in wet plate collodion photograph on aluminum. Featuring Claire Voyant. Clare Voyant is a published alt model and model coach. She is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Check out her FaceBook Clarevoyantcreative for more information and booking. Check…
The life of a Victorian style photographer is not always easy. Each image requires so much gear and chemicals and preparation and time that you often wonder is it worth the trouble? With almost no effort I could just take a cell phone picture... But then a client comment reinforces everything you are doing and the world feels like Spring again. Last Fall we had the joy of creating Halloween tintypes with a group of models in Germantown / Milwaukee. The irrepressible Claire posed for the 8x10 plate below. It was near the end of the day and the sun…
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
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…
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…
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…
