Is anyone shooting Tintypes?

I do it the old way with collodion. I make my own collodion emulsion and coat glass plates, sensitize in silver nitrate, process with a formula from the 1800's and fix in cyanide. I love the look and process but it's very time consuming and has its dangers.

Original tintypes were not dry plates. The wet plate process such came about in 1851 had to be shot while it was actually wet. Dry plates didn't come about for a couple of decades. I'm shooting wet plates.

I'm shooting with period petzval and rapid rectilinear lenses. They give such a beautiful look.

Click the link at the bottom and you can see some of my ambrotype images.
 
I've always wanted to do this, but I haven't really put the research in to determine how feasible it would be for me personally. Definitely following the thread to see where it goes.
 
I love the look and the process seems fascinating - but I was put off by the health risks (I'm not fully aware of the exact hazards - which is reason in itself to be cautious).

Some people on youtube seem to have an extremely lackadaisical approach to health and safety!
 
I've done a number of wet plate collodion on both glass and black aluminum. Really really fun process with lots of trial and error. The best thing about this medium is the look and feel of a single, one of a kind plate. Lots of imperfections and silver stains, variations on pouring the collodion, etc. If you ever have interest, definitely do it!

Quinn Jacobson and Chris Perez here in Denver have some amazing work in wet plate.

Here's some of mine, for reference.

ambrotype #11 by Jordan Dickinson, on Flickr

ambrotype #16 by Jordan Dickinson, on Flickr

ambrotype #21 - catherine by Jordan Dickinson, on Flickr

ambrotype #19 - sean by Jordan Dickinson, on Flickr

wet-plate-flower-1 by Jordan Dickinson, on Flickr
 
For my limited knowledge the collodion way is highly toxic. It means suicidal with my handling skills.

This is why OP original tintypes reference is on my wish list.
With bookmark kept on this for couple of years now:
http://rockaloid.com/tintypes/Tintype-kit-authentic

I have CLA'd by myself to working order Ihagee old folder with big film frame (bigger than 6x9) which is suitable for this kit.
 
slantface said:
I've done a number of wet plate collodion on both glass and black aluminum. Really really fun process with lots of trial and error. The best thing about this medium is the look and feel of a single, one of a kind plate. Lots of imperfections and silver stains, variations on pouring the collodion, etc. If you ever have interest, definitely do it!

Quinn Jacobson and Chris Perez here in Denver have some amazing work in wet plate.

Here's some of mine, for reference.

ambrotype #11 by Jordan Dickinson, on Flickr

ambrotype #16 by Jordan Dickinson, on Flickr

ambrotype #21 - catherine by Jordan Dickinson, on Flickr

ambrotype #19 - sean by Jordan Dickinson, on Flickr

wet-plate-flower-1 by Jordan Dickinson, on Flickr
Click to expand...


Jordan, these are amazing!!!😀
 
For those who do not wish to shoot out-of-camera tintypes and ambrotypes, it is also possible to make them with a negative and a large format enlarger. This takes some of the crazy field requirements out of the picture and allows for more experimentation.

You could theoretically be making yourself one of a kind tintypes with digital files from, say, a Leica M9. Now that's something to talk to the folks around the RFF water cooler about. 😛
 
x-ray said:
I do it the old way with collodion. I make my own collodion emulsion and coat glass plates, sensitize in silver nitrate, process with a formula from the 1800's and fix in cyanide. I love the look and process but it's very time consuming and has its dangers.

Original tintypes were not dry plates. The wet plate process such came about in 1851 had to be shot while it was actually wet. Dry plates didn't come about for a couple of decades. I'm shooting wet plates.

I'm shooting with period petzval and rapid rectilinear lenses. They give such a beautiful look.

Click the link at the bottom and you can see some of my ambrotype images.
Click to expand...



Great looking wet plate photography !

I wish the needed chemicals were easy to buy in Canada, I really would love to give this type of photography a try.
 
jammcat said:
For those who do not wish to shoot out-of-camera tintypes and ambrotypes, it is also possible to make them with a negative and a large format enlarger. This takes some of the crazy field requirements out of the picture and allows for more experimentation.

You could theoretically be making yourself one of a kind tintypes with digital files from, say, a Leica M9. Now that's something to talk to the folks around the RFF water cooler about. 😛
Click to expand...

Do you have any further information/instruction/links to this?
 
CK Dexter Haven said:
Do you have any further information/instruction/links to this?
Click to expand...

AlternativePhotography.com is a good place to start:

http://www.alternativephotography.com/wp/processes/liquid-emulsion/the-modern-tintype-process


This book is also wonderful, as it covers many different processes, but it's way too expensive on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.ca/The-Book-Alternative-Photographic-Processes/dp/1418073725

But yeah, using Pictorico (or the inkjet negative of your choice) it is entirely possible to produce Tintypes at home from a digital file in your (well ventilated!) darkroom. Its a great way to learn this process. If you're pouring the solution yourself, you'll need to practice a couple of times before you get an even pour. There are videos up on Youtube that will also teach you what you need to know.
 
jammcat said:
They are easy to buy in Canada if you know where to look. 🙂

Nymoc Products Co  
Chemicals-Manufacturers
Address: 24 McGee St, Toronto, ON M4M 2K9
Phone: (416) 465-1929
Click to expand...


Thank you for the heads-up.

When l was doing a bit of research on the needed chemicals, even things like high-proof pure ethanol alcohol was no longer available from the LCBO, and I don't even drink alcohol.
 
xayraa33 said:
Thank you for the heads-up.

When l was doing a bit of research on the needed chemicals, even things like high-proof pure ethanol alcohol was no longer available from the LCBO, and I don't even drink alcohol.
Click to expand...

Nah, for most alternative/historical processes you often will need to check out your local chemical supplier. Make your own Collodion, Pyrocat, Cynotypes, etc! As long as you know what you need in advance before bugging them they're quite pleasant to work with.
 
Bostic and Sullivan sells a real tintype kit with all the chemicals needed. They sbstitute sodium thio sulphite (rapid fix) for potassium cyanide. It makes nice looking tintypes without the danger. When using cyanide there's no margin for mistakes. It also comes with developer which is basically pickle juice with rust a has the pre mixed collodion and silver nitrate. Silver nitrate takes care in use as it can blind you if you get it in your eyes and will stain everything it touches.

You really don't need to spend a huge amount on a camera. Some people cut metal plates to fit old box cameras which have simple meniscus lenses that make beautiful vintage looking images. Some even use holgas. I took a nice old Kodak folding #2 camera that I bought for $28 and made beautiful images with it.

Wet plate is a messy and slow process but well worth the time and energy to make wet plate images.
 
Yes, I've been making wetplates for 8 years, almost every few weeks most of those years. I recommend you go to the Collodion.com web forum, and read some of the instructional posts that are stickies. It's quite easy to do, and not toxic or dangerous, unless you're the type that pulls bottles out from under your sink and drinks them.

The best way is to learn to make the chemistry from scratch. Then you can adjust things based on what you want, or error you experience. To be successful quickly buy a manual or attend a workshop. Don't try to "wing it", or you'll have trouble.

Couple of mine, and more here https://www.flickr.com/photos/garrettsphotos/sets/72157601802735284:

9336939545_be3003cf08_c.jpg


14360972509_d41b7790f5_c.jpg
 
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