Tintype Family Portrait Day

Denver’s Tintype portrait day was a little while ago, and it’s never late to share a little bit of this marvelous experience. It’s an anual event organized by the Colorado Photographic Arts Center to give people the chance of having their portrait taken in the old fashion way. I had the privilege of been invited to the Arts Student’s League beautiful building, as part of the three collodion photographers making wet plate collodion portraits, to share with community this marvelous alchemist process.

A painting classroom converted into collodion processing lab for three photographers

Jacqueline Webster, Dennis Russell and myself shared one of the painting class rooms converted into an effervescent collodion processing lab, with people avid for getting into the world of hand made photography. It was, no doubt a great experience working side by side with these two fellow artists and a lovely, super friendly group of sitters.

Very grateful with an excellent group of sitters

It was a very long day, exhausting and rewarding, and the most important, with hope in the near future. Looking that many people coming after these old processes where things are made by hand, one by one, with tools and patience, make me think there’s still a chance for new generations to get in contact with craftsmanship, to understand we can make things by ourselves, with our hands, away from main streams. That may makes us free.

Sisters

It was a real Wet Plate Collodion Family Portrait Day

Our Pinhole Wet Plate Workshop

What a great experience we had during our Pinhole Wet Plate photography workshop last week.
First day we met at a totally renovated 1800’s sheep barn at the Lakewood Heritage Center. We couldn’t have a better room to make our pinhole cameras out of recycled cardboard boxes and set them ready to start shooting next morning. We also had a good conversation about how passion can get lost due to how easy to make are some things nowadays thank to new technologies.
We fueled our passions by putting our hands to work, so we went back to the basics, examining how the camera obscura works and what is needed to make a photograph; a real one, made with light, silver and patience.

We started early next morning setting up our working station at the Semper historic preservation farm in Westminster, a farmhouse built in 1881 which also hosts the Allison community gardens. Great and inspirational spot allowed us to shot some really good pinhole pictures and also rewarded us with some fortunate, happy accidents resulting in wonderful images.

After postponing our third scheduled session due to weather conditions, we enjoyed a splendid autumn day for our final pinhole shots. In the end, what’s important, is we all left with a big smile in our hearts, new experiences in our souls, our fingers stained black with silver, exhausted after washing, finishing and varnishing our plates and of course after packing up the car again with all the equipment to get back. And, the best part, with many pictures made by ourselves using cameras made by ourselves.

Check our website for more info.

Antique Photography Studio.

All images are copyrighted by the artists who made them. All rights reserved ©2014.

Pinhole Photography Class

There’s one spot left in our special Pinhole Photography Class. This is going to be a one of a kind experience, not just because we will build our own cameras but because we will make pictures on aluminum using the wet plate collodion process. This will be a two and a half days workshop, with two full days of outdoor experience, taking pictures with our own cameras and developing on the field right away.

We will provide everything, including chemicals to sensitize and develop the the aluminum plates.
We’ll meet on June 27th, Friday afternoon, to build cameras and mix chemicals. Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th we will go on field trip, shoot photography and develop on site. At the end of the day all the photos you have made will be finished and ready to take home. An unforgettable adventure, for sure.  Cost all included: $300.

Reserve the spot.

Red Line Jurors Choice Award

We had very exciting news at the Antique Photography Studio last November, when our piece "New West and Nymph" got the Jurors Choice award at the 1sq Ft show at Red Line. The piece is a collodion photography based collage, that claims for the preservation of our memories.

Red Line is one of the most important art galleries in Denver, an urban laboratory where art, education and community converge. With over one hundred artists on the show, we are truly honored with this recognition.

'Curating the Cool' is carrying our framed art

Curating the Cool is Boulder County’s best place to find unique new & vintage gifts. Located in Old Town Lafayette, they specialize in gifts, furniture, clothing, art, unique collectibles, and home-goods. And best of all, Z, its owner, is a very cool guy as well. Curating the Cool is the 2013 winner of 5 Best of Boulder East awards. You can find our framed ambrotypes and tintypes at the store or in their online store.

401 South Public Road
Lafayette, CO 80026
(720) 432-4292
Curatingthecool.com

Working with artists

It's great what can be accomplished when artists get together to work. I should take that back. It's wonderful what can be achieved when people cooperate to work. People together with a purpose undoubtedly means that wonderful things are about to happen. Somebody's work value goes beyond monetary measurements. It is the pleasure of just giving a little bit of ourselves in pursue of someone's dream. In this issue we want to highlight the work of three artists who have collaborated with us:

Ryan Dirksen at Where Wood Meets Steel uses a wide variety of materials from reclaimed and recycled wood and steel to unique slabs to produce custom furniture. Ryan is the artist who made the cover for the Antique Photography Studio book.

Ray Tomasso, printer, typographer, graphic designer, sculptor, is the artist, master paper-maker who in his newest exhibition "Forgotten Latitudes" shows, in monumental size, the magnitude of his 40 plus years of research in paper making. His paper cast abstract sculptures, saturated with no muted colors are truly impressive.
I had the privilege of working at Ray's Inter-Ocean Curiosity Studio making the paper used to create the Antique Photography Studio book.

Kiko Yamada is an artist who loves drawing, painting, and never stops creating. She is a classically trained artist and began drawing caricatures in 2007. She is passionate about caricature art and feels blessed being able to make a living doing what she loves. I like her energy and love her work.

Pico Cam and Pinhole photography

We are very pleased with the arrival of our new Pico Cam. This is our redesigned, redeveloped and always loved pinhole camera, which had proved to be working in excellent condition.
A selection on our pinhole tintypes are on display at the Lakewood Heritage Center until October 2014 as part of the Collectors exhibition.

Antique Photography Studio

We do commissioned projects on antique photography processes, commercial photo-shoots, cultural and patrimony preservation projects, and family or personal portraits. Wedding planners and event coordinators now have the option to request the presence of the Antique Photography Kiosk at top of the line celebrations, giving special guests the joy of being photographed using this historic photographic process.

For questions, assignments, quotes, or general info send an email to info at AntiquePhotographyStudio dot com.

The Englewood Depot - Pinhole wet plate collodion photography

The Englewood Train Depot

The Englewood train depot is a mission style railroad depot built in 1915 as the stop for the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company and the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad. Designed by the Santa Fe Railways Company, it was in use until the late 1970's and then moved, from it's original location at Hampden and Santa Fe to South Galapago and Dartmouth in 1994.

Just a few of these beautiful, filled with history buildings are still standing, after serving as passengers, freight, and other commodities stations along the railroad lines between the late 1800's and most of the twentieth century. This historical building will house now the Living Museum of Letterpress Printing, Typography, Design, Poetry & Art, and we had the privilege of photographing the first meeting of supporters who will bring this endeavor to life; a living community center for letterpress printing and related arts.

Kick off day at the Living Museum of Letterpress

The Antique Photography Studio had the privilege of been invited to the inaugural day at the Living Museum of Letterpress, when this tintype was made. We'll keep supporting all this projects, meant to be enjoyed by communities, enthusiasts, artists and friends.

We do photography crafted by hand, we value the object, we sublime what we, humans can do. We have the patience to meticulously hand process each photograph and we have acquired experience in many related topics as well, for instance, the equipment we use is hand made, most by ourselves.

Click to visit our Web Site.