It must have been getting close to Christmas 2019 when I first started to sketch the rudimentary designs of what would become my first homemade wet plate camera. I’d previously built an Afghani Box Camera for my friend and fellow wet plate photographer, Simon Riddell, so I had some sense of how to go about […]
Tag: Wet Plate Collodion
Posted inFeatured projects
My new portrait project: “Inspired”, passionate artists and a 145-year-old Dallmeyer 3B 290mm f/3 Portrait Petzval lens
I have been looking for this historical artwork for some years – a useable Dallmeyer 3B Portrait Petzval 290mm f/3 lens made during the 70s — the1870s. Finally, I got it (with some help). The lens is at the heart of my project, “Inspired”, which will be published in a book — you can register […]
Posted inAdd to Queue...
Add to queue: Interviewing Borut Peterlin
The latest photographer and YouTuber for my interview series is Borut Peterlin. Borut is a Slovenian wet plate collodion artist who lives in a small village in rural Slovenia. His photographic tool of choice – wet plate collodion – was created almost 200 years ago. Something he uses with aplomb to create beautiful, haunting and […]
Posted inOpinion
Seasonal Reflections of an Analogue Photographer
“It’s Christmas Theo, it’s the time of miracles”Hans Gruber, Beloved Christmas Terrorist Christmas is a piece of family-orientated theatre, rich with idiosyncratic traditions that only exist within our own eccentric little bubbles, along with the shared, large scale infectious hysteria of a nation psyching itself up for some overly indulgent festive respite. The glittery extravagances […]
Posted inArticles, Darkroom, Developing Film, Featured, Featured projects, Wet plate collodion
Introducing MentalCollodion: Shining light on mental health struggles
In the Summer of 2021 something special is coming to the Scottish Highlands (and hopefully elsewhere), courtesy of Simon Riddell, a van, a large camera, and a lot of chemicals! No, it’s not a sequel to Human Traffic, it’s a bold and exciting project from the man who helped bring us One Shot: Inchindown, the film […]
Posted inWet plate collodion
Visualising the Unspeakable: Exploring Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder with wet plate photography
Even when the camera is focused on a single subject, photographic portraiture rarely, if ever, speaks with just one voice. It is this multifaceted layering, be it intentional or otherwise, that generates intrigue and keeps us coming back for another look, drawn to some inexplicable detail that refuses to sit quietly on the page. Historical […]
Posted inWet plate collodion
A world-first? Creating a traditional wet plate portrait over the internet from 4,000 miles away
With half the world under lockdown and the rest being advised to implement physical distancing and other measures to stop the spread of COVID-19, a traditional approach to studio portraiture and other relatively close-quarters photography needs a rethink…
Posted inWet plate collodion
Making “VIRUS”: A tintype stop motion animation
“You know me, if something bothers my mind, I have to make art out of it. Sadly at this moment, it’s the virus — COVID-19 — so I put my thoughts and feelings onto seven wet plates to make a stop motion animation.” Regular readers will no doubt be familiar with Markus Hofstaetter through my […]
Posted inArticles
Behind the scenes with Saoirse Ronan, Timothée Chalamet and the cast of Little Women on 1860s wet plate photography + photographer Q&A
Going against the grain, the on-set photographer of 2019’s Little Women included the use of traditional wet plate photography – also known as tintypes – to capture Saoirse Ronan, Laura Dern, Timothée Chalamet, Emma Watson, James Norton and the rest of the production’s cast. It’s not very often that a unit still photographer gets to […]
Posted inWet plate collodion
Bringing a 160 year old giant Petzval lens back to life
It was a normal Saturday afternoon in November when I walked into a flea market. I met some friends there and looked around a little bit. In the end, I bought this Gasc and Charconnet 500mm petzval lens. If you are as old as I am and have seen the movie “Big trouble in little […]
Posted inWet plate collodion
Greta Thunberg: capturing the voice of the 21st century using 150-year-old wet plate photography
The call came in on the afternoon of Monday 7th October. Shane Balkowitsch would have little under 24 hours to plan a 15-minute wet plate photoshoot with Greta Thunberg at Standing Rock. Naturally, the first thing he did after getting off the phone was to start packing his studio up into the back of his truck — including his portable darkroom.
Posted inArticles
Ultra large format stereo wet plate photography: my camera build and results
You may remember me talking about my plan to build an Ultra Large Format (30×40cm) stereo wet plate camera in my interview here on EMULSIVE.
Posted inWet plate collodion
Not for legal use: Polaroid passport photos on wet plate collodion
Wet plate collodion doesn’t spring to mind as either the most practical or in fact, legal approach to creating passport photographs but that didn’t stop EMULSIVE interviewee #196 Markus Hofstaetter from giving it a shot.
Markus isn’t a stranger
Posted inArticles
Ice crystals on tintype: making nature a part of my photographic process aka a song of ice then fire
I am a native New Yorker who has been photographing the streets city streets and musicians for over two decades, from up and coming bands to big names like Alice in Chains, Lenny Kravitz and Ice-T, I’ll shoot in
Posted inFilm Photographer Interviews
EMULSIVE interview #196: I am Markus Hofstaetter and this is why I shoot film
It’s an absolute pleasure to welcome you all to join me falling into the words and work of a rather rare beast.
Posted inArticles, Darkroom, Experiments, Guides & How-Tos, Wet plate collodion
How to: An introduction to wet plate collodion
You might remember that we featured an interview with Robert Marsters some months ago.
Posted inFilm Photographer Interviews, Interviews
EMULSIVE interview #95: I am Robert Marsters and this is why I shoot film
When the opportunity came up to grab some time with today’s interviewee, I couldn’t help but fall over myself to grab it with both hands. You see, Robert Marsters is a bit of a conundrum.
