Wet plate collodion photography is the second oldest form of photography. Frederick Scott Archer has been credited with inventing this historic process back in 1851. The process became very popular worldwide but then replaced in the late 1880's when dry plate photography was invented. In recent years there has been a bit of a revival of the process when a number of contemporary photographers decided to go back to the roots of photography and embrace the old. Making a wet plate can be difficult, costly, unpredictable, and requires a high degree of time commitment.
The images can be captured on glass (ambrotype) or on metal (tintype). The word Ambrotype is translated in Ancient Greek as "Immortal Impression". Digital photography of today relies on technology, wet plate photography relies on chemistry from the late 19th Century, a bit of magic and, as Sally Mann describes, the angel of chance.
A wet plate photographer makes a film base on a piece of glass or metal using collodion, submerges it in a silver nitrate solution to make it light sensitive, and then exposes the photograph usually in an old style wood bellows camera box and antique brass lens from the 1800's. The process is called wet plate because during the entire process the chemicals on the plates must remain wet and cannot be allowed to dry.
The end result is a one-of-a-kind piece of art that will last many lifetimes.
“A lot of work you say? Absolutely, this process isn’t for people who desire the comfort of a Herman Miller chair and Adobe Photoshop, the physical work is part of what makes it special.”
― Quinn Jacobson, Chemical Pictures The Wet Plate Collodion Photography Book: How to Make Ambrotypes and Tintypes
Victorian Polaroids: 4x5 Tintypes
Portraits in Silver : Victorian Polaroids
Cost:
£395.00 for 3 4x5 tintype or ambrotype plates.
£595.00 for 3 8x10 tintype or ambrotype plates
Lawton Girls
“In a world where immediacy seems to be valued so highly, it was refreshing and magical to be part of an experience where time, process and patience were key in creating individual and unique wet plate portraits of my two girls. Something to treasure.”
- Louise Lawton
Half day or full day wet plate experience (Morning, afternoon or evening)
Bespoke costings for half and full days
Selection of plates/sizes, is unrestricted for this offer.
Martine
“Losing my hair was devastating. Alopecia makes you feel broken and unfeminine; it chips away at your identity until you no longer see yourself.
Paul is a highly skilled wet plate photographer - that’s clear to see - but he has captured so much more than a face in these images. The strong, beautiful woman you see is someone I had forgotten existed.
Thank you, Paul.”
-Martine Ellis
Fire
”My experience with Paul was so so grounding. He is so good at creating a space where you can be truly authentic and unapologetically yourself, all while creating art that is so complex, and executes it beautifully. I’d recommend him in a heartbeat.”
- Fire
1851 Caresses and Collides with the 21st Century
Alchemy
“When I was shooting with Collodion, I wasn't just snapping a picture. I was fashioning, with fetishistic ceremony, an object whose ragged black edges gave it the appearance of having been torn from time itself.”
- Sally Mann
