WET PLATE COLLODION PORTRAIT
THE “TRUE” PHOTOGRAPHY
An honest look at your self.
A way to rediscover yourself as you are, without the modern obsession for a fake perfection.
THE WET PLATE COLLODION PORTRAIT AS ART AND LOVE TO THEMSELVES
Offering a photograph nowadays without the possibility of photo retouching seems a crazy thing. We are all used to seeing ourselves as perfect, according to the stereotypes imposed by modern society. Each smartphone will make you beautiful, with smooth skin and big eyes.
Yet each of us is beautiful in his intimate imperfection. Wet Collodion Portraiture allows us to rediscover this side of ourselves.
There are ancient photographic printing techniques (Platinum and Palladio for example) that start from a digital photograph and therefore open to the possibility of a photographic retouch.
Your wet plate collodion portrait is, instead, entrusted to my experience and sensitivity and will be surprisingly beautiful in its sincerity.
AMBROTYPE OR TINTYPE?
TWO SOULS OF THE WET PLATES COLLODIUM
Portraits made with wet collodion are historically created mainly on two supports: glass and aluminum.
The first material used is Glass. It is more delicate but returns incomparable tones and brilliance.
The Ambrotype made its appearance with Frederick Archer Scott, the inventor of the technique, in 1852.
In 1856 Hamilton Smith introduced the Ferrotype.
A photograph on an aluminum plate is very resistant and returns the most typical tones, with less bright highlights. The Ferrotipo generally has fewer imperfections and can be handled with much more ease than a 2mm thick glass plate.
The value of a unique work
Cecilia – Ferrotype 2019
Only by holding an ambrotype in hand you can fully realize its beauty!
A portrait that is born with light and, without intermediate steps, impresses itself on a common glass plate, shining with the typical reflections of silver.
There are very few people who have a Tintype or Ambrotype portrait and even fewer who have had the opportunity in their life to see a photographer create one.
A portrait made with this ancient technique is a unique piece of art, born from the experience and randomness of the gesture that creates it. Each portrait can be perfect, scratched, contrasted or soft and most of these characteristics are absolutely unpredictable and uncontrollable because they are determined by the temperature, humidity and skill of the photographer.
With this technique there are no negatives and it is not possible to create copies of the same image. It is however possible to create digital copies of the original to be used on digital channels but the materiality of the original will remain unmatched.
A family, couple or simply a portrait of you is a priceless memory, made with the first original recipe dating back to 1852 called “Poe Boy”, a hand-built large format camera and vintage lenses.
THE EMOTION OF PARTICIPATING
The Fixing moment
All photo sessions can be followed in every phase, from the emulsion of the plate to the dark room.
They are unforgettable moments for spectacularity and involvement. I will explain step by step what you are about to observe in order to make the experience even more interesting.
Seeing your negative image appear from the gray of the collodion exposed is something magical and even more exciting is to observe the photograph disappear and then reappear positive in its final form.
“One of the most immersive experiences ever made!“, “It’s magic! It’s truly magic! “,” I can’t wait to share this experience with everyone” are some of the phrases that are usually said to me at the end of the photo session.
An experience that I experienced firsthand the time I created my first Ferroype and that I invite you to try participating in one of my active workshops.
You can check the dates of the next appointments HERE.