Kory and His Husband Chris
Sam G.
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I poured collodion onto a 5”x7” aluminum plate, then carefully tilted the plate to let the collodion flow to the edges. I watched closely for the collodion to set, before putting the plate into a tank of silver nitrate in a darkroom.Three minutes later, I removed the now-silver-coated plate from the tank and drained the excess silver nitrate. I posed my models with their eyes in one plane, so that I could focus properly. The lens must be open very wide to let in enough light to expose the tintype. The result is an extremely shallow depth of field, which requires the focus to be particularly precise. After putting my plate into the camera and exposing it, I took it back into the darkroom. I poured developer over the plate, and once I saw details emerge, I poured on water to stop the development. Finally, I put the plate into the fixer, varnished it (to prevent tarnishing), and scanned it. Tintypes were most popular in the late 1800s. While many artists try to exactly replicate the style of photographs at that time, down to the Victorian-era costumes, I am more interested in using wet-plate photography as a lens through which to view modern society and institutions. This portrait of a legally married gay couple juxtaposed with a medium that was popular when gay relationships in the U.S. were illegal reminds the viewer that gay couples existed long before they were documented in photographs.
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Being creative through art lets me express my thoughts and emotions in ways unique to my medium. Art can be less ephemeral than other forms of expression, as I can get tangible final products that I can reflect on fondly to feel content and/or critically to improve my future output.
