It’s been a while since I’ve posted an update around these parts. And for good reason. Besides being buried alive with work/work, I’ve taken on a new endeavor. I’ve been feeling like I’ve outgrown my current live/work space in my building. It had become burdensome to prep the studio for clients, or subjects to come over to create. My humble 1600sqft studio and makeshift darkroom and home was feeling cramped. Cluttered with photo gear and the trappings of life in our new work from home reality. If I wanted to continue to grow and create, I needed to branch out. Keeping a half eye on the available units in my building, when 416 became available I jumped. Cautiously. It’s one of the best spaces in the building. A corner unit, in the clock tower. I can’t say I was exactly ready, mentally, but I couldn't let this studio slip through my fingers. So I did it. Meet Silver. A dedicated photo studio and someday darkroom. Fourth floor, incredible light all day long, sweeping views. And she’s available to rent if you’re so inclined. I wanted to curate a space that was particularly suited to slower processes. Analog processes. Tintype. Polaroid, Film. It feels fitting in a 105 year old building.
I was cautiously optimistic about its suitability for shooting tintype. Over the last eight or so years, on this tintype journey I’ve been on, I’ve been trying to emulate natural light images. Images that looked and felt like the ones that came from the 1800’s. I was restricted to using flash, and making flash look like daylight is challenging. I was using the largest soft source I could get my hands on, and pumping out 9600 watt seconds (joules) of power to even get close. And I couldn’t really shoot full length images. Head to thigh was about the window of light I could throw.
The main shoot space, through that door in the image above, is a peninsula of light. Windows on three sides. But would it be bright enough to get a manageable exposure? Turns out, it very much is. Beyond my wildest imaginings.
I had booked a shoot date with Brett a month out. She would be traveling through the Bay and I decided would be my inaugural session. It would give me impetus to get things in gear for a tintype shoot. The night before I prepped fresh collodion and developer. A little rushed for my tastes. I prefer a collodion that has ripened for a week or so. Better contrast. Our first plate came out beautifully, if not a little over exposed. I don’t dislike its high key nature. Late morning light is giving me 2-3second exposures at F3.5. Fast. Way faster than I expected.
Over the next three hours, we would make a series of plates, a handful of Polaroids and a grip of digital images. Just beginning to explore the new studio. I am beyond excited. Thinking about the potential of what I can make with this new reality.
There are 7 or 8 plates from this day as well as a bunch of instant film images. Some actual film shots, that will take a while to get to. I shot a couple cards of digital files. All of which will be forthcoming, and in order to access, you’ll have to be a paying subscriber. Many of them are a bit too intimate to just have out there for everyone to see.
So, that’s the update. Watch this space.
