Something Old, Something New: Antique Wet Plate Collodion Tintypes

Something Old, Something New (2005-ongoing) is a series of photographs which are linked by it's antique, 19th century photographic process. Each of my still lifes depicts old vessel-like objects (with or without fresh flowers) collected over the years, while the portraits are of friends and or other artists/peers also living in NYC. With the digital age pushing photographers and amateurs further and further away from the medium of exposing images onto celluloid film, instead I go back in time and aim to replicate and master the nuances in this breathtaking process. While these photographers/scientists in the mid 1800's were perfecting their collodion emulsions and silver nitrate baths to imitate life as best they could, they immortalized loved ones and loved ones of clients on these one-of-a-kind glass and tin plates. By contrast to the ubiquity of digital imagery, the accessibility of digital cameras and the vanishing businesses of Polaroid and film stocks these days, with this new work I hope to renew and instill a new love and appreciation for the glorious medium of photography.