Wet-Plate Collodion on Laser etched Trophy Aluminum (Tintype) 6"x8" or 6"x6" or 4.25"x5.5"
After 35 years of making photograms I felt challenged to make something new, but it seemed I had photogrammed every kind of object. I decided to create my own objects to make photograms with - and the best place to start is with simple geometric shapes. I 3D printed geometric shapes which were placed on the wet tintype and exposed to light. Before making the photogram I laser-etched photographs of the geometric objects onto the aluminum to achieve a layered effect. I was able to produce new imagery of timeless shapes using 19th century analog process combined with 21st century laser etching and 3D printing.
Eleven collodion wet plate portraits made with color anodized aluminum mounted in a carefully spaced overlapping pattern standing off the black velvet background in a 18.5″ x 22.5″ frame
Eleven collodion wet plate portraits made with color anodized aluminum. The strobe light was so bright I didn’t want to photograph innocent subjects who might not be careful enough to avoid looking at the 5000 watt seconds of lights when they flashed. So I used the only subject who I trusted - my assistant Nick.
Thirty 3"x3" collodion wet-plate self-portrait photographs on color anodized trophy aluminum spaced 1/4" apart and standing 3/4" off the black background in a 21" x 24" frame.
Thirty collodion wet plate self portraits made with color anodized aluminum. The strobe light was so bright I didn't want to photograph innocent subjects who might not be careful enough to avoid looking at the 5000 watt seconds of lights when they flashed. So I used the only subject who is patient enough to sit for 30 portraits. The process required 3 days to complete all 30 plates.
wet-plate collodion photogram tintypes on trophy aluminum and powder coated titanium 5.5"x4.25" up to 10"x8"
Using only the most basic elements of photography - light, lenses and silver nitrate - Photonic Drawings are photogram ambrotypes made on either trophy aluminum or on powder coated titanium. Made using the historic wet-plate collodion chemistry on modern substrates, the Photonic Drawings are the simplest interaction of light and lenses and sensitized metal.
