Tintypes, Ambrotypes and Wet Plate Collodion: Early Photography for Costumers

[@oliveatearthenaurora229]

Wow! That's fascinating about the color differences in wet plate versus reality and about the depth of detail in the wet plate process. I paused the video to check out the color shifts article and I had mentally noted how the wet plate photos seemed to capture much more detail, so that was validating to hear you follow up with information that confirmed this! I would love to get a tin type done one day, especially once I have a finished historical outfit. Looking forward to the video of you photographing yourself in wet plate; I'm really curious to see how the process actually works.

[@VtorHunter]

I am really glad you enjoyed the video! I hope you are able to get a tintype made someday. I will be sure to find time to film a video showing how it works in the next couple months!

[@tonjeacupoftea6120]

I find it so funny that those head-rests are used as proof today that the person in the portrait was deceased. People are so obsessed with post-mortem photography that they believe you can prop up a corpse like that. This video was so good, you've managed to make me a fan of early photography too now.

[@VtorHunter]

I'm glad to convert another early photography fan! Yeah, I can't believe that people say, when you see them in photos it is so clearly a person who is alive and often standing up. There is a show about some post mortem photographers on right now, but I haven't seen it yet. I am curious how accurate it is.

[@tonjeacupoftea6120]

@@VtorHunter there is another KZbinr who is a mortician, she made a video a little while back basicly debunking most of the claimed post mortem pictures. But as you said those early photographs can at times look haunting.

[@ydwang6726]

Honestly I find this series so incredibly interesting. I'm so glad you're doing this for cocovid! thank you :)

[@VtorHunter]

I'm so glad! I was worried that people would not be that interested since it's not directly sewing related, so your comment makes me happy.

[@KristenK78]

I’ve seen what you talked about re: color rendering. My grandma was born in 1926; I’ve seen a scanned photo of her wearing what appears to be a VERY dark dress for a school social event, so probably early 1940s? When asked, she said she was pretty sure it was a red dress, that she had made. My jaw dropped. RED!? Yup.

[@lamsing2u]

Wonderful video. I do find a stock photography and wet plate photography very interesting. And I agree, it is fun getting your likeness taken. A friend of mine does plate photography.

[@VtorHunter]

Thank you. Totally agree!

[@arimurila]

Oh, I do remember seeing an original photograph taken from a plane and you could blow it up to the size of an entire room and you could see the tiny little trees in the surface used for geological studies. It was quite impressive. The negative was about thirty cm or so in size. Also, I now very much want teeny tiny little portraits of me with fancy frames, it's adorable. Did I miss the badge code?

[@arimurila]

Oh, I totally did, good thing I watched this again.

[@VtorHunter]

You watched it twice? I'm so honoured! Those tiny portraits are so cute! I like tiny photos that are matted and framed large, I think one of those would be cool framed in a frame that is like 6x6 inches or so.

[@VtorHunter]

Also, fyi, tomorrow's badge notice is in different place, so keep on your toes!

[@arimurila]

That's the fun part!

[@metamorphoseis_]

as a photographer, I'm just so happy to have these installments available during cocovid, thank you so much! (greetings from chile :) )

[@VtorHunter]

Hello fellow photographer! I am glad you liked them and I hope you learned somethings.

[@michelleshaffer8847]

Wow! Your first two videos in this series have been so interesting! Thank you for participating in CoCoVid so I could find your channel and subscribe. I want to go read about the history of photography now.

[@VtorHunter]

Yay, thank you! I am so glad you have found it interesting.

[@victorianweeper]

So glad I just discovered your channel. I’ve been collecting Tintypes, Ambrotypes and Daguerreotypes for about 7 years. There’s just something very special about them. I’ve done a course on making dag cases, still have to have my photo taken one day! Ive added your suggested books to my Christmas list. Your video is insightful and a joy to listen to, keep up the great videos. Your newest subscriber :)

[@VtorHunter]

That's great! Which case-making class did you do? I haven't made a video in a while, but I will get around to the making a portrait one this summer.

[@fossilheads]

Hi thanks for this - finding these processes explained in an accessible way was very helpful for something I'm working on for the likes of me!

[@jackiejames4551]

This is so interesting. Thank you for taking the time to do this.

[@VtorHunter]

My pleasure! I'm glad you are enjoying the videos.

[@cheerful_something_something]

Another really interesting video, thank you. I look forward to your next video, and seeing your photographic process in the future.

[@VtorHunter]

Awesome, thank you!

[@printexsprasadprintex3561]

Very happy explain.thanks.

[@wb3ccn]

I have several tintypes and ambrotypes, my goal is to recreate both types and I'm getting close to that goal, probably by summer I will have everything together. I also am going to get reproductions of the cases so I think it will be as close to the old prosess as I can get in these modern times. Thanks for your videos, they are very educational and informative.

[@VtorHunter]

That's so cool! You're learning wet plate then? It is a lot to get together for sure.

[@selkiemorien9006]

I'm going to watch the rest of this series before doing any guessing on my relative's photo. I took a lot of notes to remember all that information - it's insanely interesting! During watching you show the examples I remembered visiting a special exhibition in a museum about one of the first photographers in Styria (Austria). Most of his family still is very involved in the business even several generations after him. They found a ton of his equipment and plates in a barn covered in straw and put together this exhibition. A lot of the people where getting their photo taken when they entered a new phase of life or when they got something life changing - there where a few women who where posing with sewing machines :)

[@VtorHunter]

I hope you were able to figure out what kind of photos your relative's photos were. That exhibit sound super cool! You've got me thinking about when I would take the time for a portrait if photography was still so rare. I guess we still kinda do that with school photos, graduation photos and wedding photos. But it is fun to think about getting your photo taken with prized possessions. I think I might just go take a photo of me and my light meter! That's the best thing I have bought in a good while.

[@emmylou78]

When my great great grandfather was a babe in arms they thought he would die as he had become very sick. So they had a photo taken of him. After your lecture I now know that it is likely an Ambrotype as it is a photo on glass. It is also colourised. Luckily for me the baby survived. Thank you so much for this lecture as I was aware of tin types but I knew nothing about Ambrotypes.

[@VtorHunter]

Sounds like an ambrotpye! What a special photo to have. I am glad you enjoyed the talk.

[@emmylou78]

Vtor Hunter i wish i could attach pic to youtube comments. I just had mum take a photo of it as i was excitedly telling her all about your video 😃

[@VtorHunter]

If you are on instagram you can send me a photo there, my username is @vtorhunter. Honestly I don't check it much, but I do like looking at old photos!

[@user-bf1zr2wh6d]

Omg, the coloured images are so cute ) And the gems, too. Your photography series is now one of my favourite things that I foung during CoCoVid. Looking forward to the wet plate photography video :3

[@VtorHunter]

Wow, thank you!

[@CraftsyPenguin]

Wow, that was very interesting again! I love the tiny gem photos, that's such a cute thing! I didn't know about the different way the colours worked with these techniques, that really gives one something to think about when looking at old photos. Thank you for this series, I'm looking forward to the next video (my watch list is sorta still full of CoCoVid :D )

[@VtorHunter]

Glad you enjoyed! I still have a lot of videos I want to catch up on from CoCoVid too!

[@Shannon-Townsend]

I'm REALLY enjoying these videos!

[@VtorHunter]

I'm so glad!

[@lopsan457]

Very informative, thank you!

[@albinocavewoman]

I have so many tintypes of various ancestors. I don't know who any of them are, but still. I would love to get into wet plate photography, but I've already got enough on my plate for now. Someday.

[@VtorHunter]

That's still really cool! And I hope you do get to learn wet plate someday.

[@liessabai]

Thabk you again! Super interesting to learn about this subject :) See you at part 3 ;)

[@VtorHunter]

Glad you enjoyed it! See you there!

[@seancrowe3353]

Great video, thank you

[@jenniferwallace6983]

I really enjoyed the 2 videos I have watched. I would love to see your 1850’s costume

[@VtorHunter]

Thanks! I will be sure to film that video in the next coupe months.

[@Mommamacnz]

This has been super interesting.

[@VtorHunter]

Thank you!

[@yourbookladykatie]

How was I not already subscribed to you?! Fixed that now!

[@VtorHunter]

I'm so glad!

[@VictorianMusicMaestro]

Hello Victoria, You are so knowledgeable on Victorian photography. I have been collecting cdv and cabinet cards for years now. Daguerreotype and ambrotype are my favorites. Are tintype hard to make? I have develop 120 film in a 1906 box camera. I would love to try to make one. I also been enjoying your sewing videos! Keep posting! :-) Kevin

[@VtorHunter]

Thanks, Kevin! Early photography is so fun. Tintypes aren't really easy to learn, but they certainly aren't impossible. Taking a workshop is by far the easiest way to learn although there are varying levels of quality from ones that will let you shoot a plate to ones that show you how to mix chemicals and really give you the ability to do it on your own. If you wanted to go all on your own, its possible you just need a really good manual like John Coffer's. It is an investment in the gear, which can be $100 or $2000 depending on how fancy you get. You can also buy kits of ready to go chemicals from Bostick and Sullivan for a few hundred dollars, or mix all your own for less, but you'd still want a manual either way. You've got to be a little comfortable with handling not so nice chemicals though. But it is so much fun! You 1906 camera sounds fun- it is a brownie or something? I have a few I keep wanting to try film in, one I converted to wet plate though.

[@VictorianMusicMaestro]

@@VtorHunter Hello Victoria, It is so nice of you to replied back to me. I learned so march from the information you gave me. The John Coffer's tintype book and the course looks so interesting. The John Coffer tintype course is not far from me. It is only about three hours from my home in Canada. My 1906 camera is a old brownie. I developed the film in coffee. It is called caffenol! Have you herd of it? Its also works good for prints too. Is there any way I can see some of tintypes you made? Do you have a photo page like twitter or a Instagram page for your pictures? I hope you have a great day and is keeping safe! Thank you again! Kevin.

[@VtorHunter]

@@VictorianMusicMaestro I have heard of coffee developer, but haven't tried it. One of my friends had a beer that doubled as a developer too, I can't remember how that turned out. I don't have a website but I keep meaning to make one! I am so jealous that you live so close to John Coffer, I am three days away.

[@VictorianMusicMaestro]

@@VtorHunter Hello Victoria, I am the one who should be jealous because you will be soon learning how to make tintype photos. I heard also you can develop film in beer. coffee developing is a lot of fun! It was magical developing paper prints with coffee. Photoshop and ink printer will never have the same fun and magic that darkroom photography has. I wish I was able to take the John Coffer's course and because of the pandemic it won't be this year. It sounds so interesting and fun! I am looking into buying his book. I hope you have fun making your tintype prints this week. I hope you enjoy your week and hope you are safe from this frightening pandemic in this world. Wish you all the best Kevin!

[@spaceaholic11]

These videos are some of my favorites that I've watched over this whole CoCoVid! I'm so glad you made this series, I'm finding it very informative. As a Civil War reenactor, I've heard about daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and tin types and have even had a tintype made of myself, but I didn't know much more than that. I've always been interested in getting into film photography someday, now I may get into older photography instead! How did you get your equipment and get started?

[@VtorHunter]

Thank you! I am so glad that you are enjoying them. I love both film and older processes of photography, but one benefit of wet plate that love is that you don't need a darkroom for it. I will probably cover some of this in my video when I demo how wet plate works, but I got into it by taking a class from John Coffer. There are a lot of places where you can take classes in it these days, but I highly recommend learning from him because he teaches how to do it in the field so it is easier to get set up at home. He also very much wants people to learn it and be successful and so will tell you everything not try to make it seem mysterious or dangerous. If you trace back the lineage of people learning wet plate, it almost all traces back to him, so you might as well learn from him in the first place. It isn't necessarily the cheapest, especially depending on where you are traveling from, but you get, by far, the biggest bang for your buck. His workshops are an ALL day event and you can shoot as much as time allows. As far as equipment, I got into this ten years ago, when it was still possible to find somewhat affordable antique lenses. I mean you still can, it is maybe just a bit harder, but if you compare them to lenses for modern cameras it is similar. I have a reproduction camera that someone made because I was thinking about shooting at reenactments. However, if you don't mind, you can use modern view cameras, an intrepid is going to be what I get when I want to move up to 8x10. You can also shoot with an old brownie, which you can get for like $20. You can even shoot in an old slr film camera. My dad built me my dark box, they are pretty simple and people make them from trunks or suit cases or whatever. So... that's my super long reply to that. It is super fun. I love it, and as you might be able to tell, I can talk about it for a long time. Let me know if you have any other questions.

[@spaceaholic11]

@@VtorHunter Thank you so much for your detailed reply! :) I will definitely look up John's classes. A Kodak camera looks to be right up my alley, I'm somewhat broke right now (aren't we all? LOL) and tight on space. Someday I'd love to get into doing tintypes at reenactments like you mentioned, but for now I just want to dabble. :) I'm thinking that either cyanotypes or the Kodak camera is the way to go. I would love to learn more about wet plate processes and what a beginner could do to get started, is that something you'll cover or could point me in a direction for more resources? Again, thank you so much for answering all my questions!

[@VtorHunter]

@@spaceaholic11 cyanotype is by far the easiest and cheapest, so it would probably be a good place to start, if you don't mind blue!

[@k8cre8s17]

Not being able to tell what color something is because of tonal shifts in b&w photos/film DRIVES ME NUTS!! I’m constantly googling like a crazy person while watching old 1930’s movies, hoping someone somewhere wrote down “green dress”! Or when looking at old family photos, hoping there’s a memory quilt, or record somewhere of what the members wore! I just want to know the colors!

[@VtorHunter]

I know what you mean!

[@TheBibliophiliac]

I keep thinking of The Music Man when Charlie goes, "Not on your tintype."

[@VtorHunter]

Haha, I'll have to watch that again! I don't know how I had forgotten, I stage managed it in high school... but then again, maybe I blocked it out?

[@themusecalliope1066]

We have a few tintypes of my husbands family, but now I want to see what else is out there. ...And get a tintype of myself too. Thank you!

[@VtorHunter]

That's so special to have some of his family! I am glad you enjoyed it, and hope you get to have a tintype made someday.

[@bidemioloyede8238]

Hi Victoria, I am interested in what was used to hand colour the plates, I am interested in hand colouring some tintypes but not sure what is best to use? Very informative video!

[@VtorHunter]

You could use pan pastels or scrape some powder off of soft chalk pastels, I use the brand Winson Newton. The tintypes can't be varnished though, are you colouring ones you shot?

[@bidemioloyede8238]

@@VtorHunter yes i was hoping to shoot some new plates and hand colour some sections of them, does this affect their longevity? - also i take it that the plates have to be unvarnished to hand colour/dye them?

[@VtorHunter]

@@bidemioloyede8238 Yes, colour them before varnishing. Varnishing will tone down the colours a little bit. I don't know the affect on the longevity, I imagine it would depend on what was used. I know ones that were coloured 150+ years ago still look great, but I don't know how what we use now differes from them.

[@AnnaCMeyer]

Would the need to back ambrotype images with a dark background be one of the reasons why early photo albums were made of heavy black paper?

[@VtorHunter]

I am not sure, but I would lean towards saying no. All the very early albums I have seen have light coloured pages (although my sample size is small and I bet there are others out there). I just think that an ambrotype would be too delicate and heavy to be in an album, I think they were mostly in cases. They are also quite thick- way more than a tintype, as they are as thick as a piece of glass. I can picture albums from about 1900 and on that have black pages, maybe the black and white photos just look good agains them?