Out on safari in Fond du Lac yesterday. Making 8×10 tintypes and having the time of my life. The mobile darkroom is working well and close to being set up the way I want. It is so nice to have a good work space that I can take around wherever my travels take me. Check out more on my Mobile Darkroom

So, you might ask, why do I use the terms “Victorian” and “safari”?

Well Victorian is pretty easy. It refers to the Victorian Era the years 1837 to 1901 during Queen Victoria’s reign. These years correspond well with the birth of photography and especially the wet plate collodion process (1851). During this time the basic chemistry light sensitive materials was developed and turned into a practical method to make images.

Lots of people use the terms “tintype” or “collodion” or “wet plate” to describe this type of photography but I find these terms to be to clinical, too limiting. So I use “Victorian” to describe my basic photo and print methods – collodion, salt printing and cyanotypes. It evokes a simpler time and reflects the purity of my images – pure silver.

So why “safari”? Well, the word safari has its origins in the Arabic word “safar” which means to make a journey. Adopted as safari in Africa it has shades of adventure and hunting. The most common word used for going out to take photos is “shoot” and I really hate it! I am not “shooting” anything but rather capturing light and creating an image. So instead of “shoot” I use safari!

Back to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. I traveled there to capture images of a beautiful covered bridge. Yes, I did get images of the bridge (and will post them later) but I also wandered around. Here is an image of a Carousel in the park on Lake Winnebago. So fun, so whimsical!