Tintype Photography history

Tintype

Tintype also known as ferrotypes came about in 1854 where a black plate of iron was covered in a wet collodion emulsion. Collodion is a cellulose nitrate solution, which is mixed with soluble iodide. In the darkroom the plate is immersed in a silver nitrate solution to form silver iodide and then the plate is exposed in the camera. When using the collodion process one must be immediately develop because the collodion film dries waterproof and the developing solution can’t penetrate to develop. The tintype photograph when developed made the shadows in the image black due to the black plate behind.  When developing and the darkest shadows turn black it is time to use water to stop the development because if you let it develop longer it will be underexposed and if you don’t wait long enough it will be over exposed. In tintype photography there is no aperture and the shutter speed of the shot is how long the lens cap is taken off which is typically several seconds. If the lens is exposed again there will be a double exposure. When transporting the light sensitive plate you muse use a plate holder that is light tight because if not the plate will be useless and completely exposed.

The average tintype was about 2.5 x 3.5”.  It was a cheaper and more accessible camera than the previous popular camera, the Daguerreotype. An effect of it being a cheaper camera made it more fragile, which caused scratching to often occur when handled carelessly. A way to prevent scratching is to apply a varnish on the image and as a added benefit, the varnish creates a more flattering contrast and glossy look.  A plus to the camera though was its ability to capture a large amount of detail due to its black backing. With its invention the camera sparked a boom in the portrait studio business because the cost of taking a portrait was affordable to the average family. Another feature of the tintype that made it so successful was the multiple exposure possibilities where up to a dozen exposures could be taken on a single plate where people can share copies of their portrait.

I like the detail and the subject matter, what a beautiful portrait.

I am a Nick Cave fan so that is why I was initially drawn to this image. After looking at it more artistically, I love the placement of Nick and how contrasted his face is to the background.

I love this photo because it is a beautiful example of how a tintype can be double exposed to create a more interesting image.

This tintype has a great focus on the glasses and a lovely out of focus glow around the models face.

I like this tintype because of its historic narrative and interesting subject matter.

This is the first tintype from a drone. That's pretty cool.

I picked this because it is a more abstract double exposure on a tintype.

I love this tintype because there are not many tintypes in existence of landscapes.

This is just a very unique double exposure with a beautiful subject.

This is another example of history and how photography is used to document it even if it is the humor of a civil war soldier standing still for several second with his gun pointed at his friends head. Haha