{"id":14773,"date":"2021-08-06T11:35:49","date_gmt":"2021-08-06T15:35:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maundymitchell.com\/?p=14773"},"modified":"2026-04-01T06:44:53","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T10:44:53","slug":"tintype-portraits-for-an-artist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maundymitchell.com\/photography\/tintype-portraits-for-an-artist\/","title":{"rendered":"Tintype Portraits for an Artist"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Brittany Soucy<\/a> is an artist who lives on the seacoast in New Hampshire. Her studio is in a 200-year-old barn, where she paints in oils and watercolors. She paints nature, still lifes, and sometimes, faces. Sometimes she uses large brush strokes and sometimes small. Sometimes the scene feels still, and sometimes it gives the viewer the sense of movement. The thing that I think all of Brittany’s work has in common is a feeling of serenity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brittany was asked for a current headshot for an upcoming exhibition of her work. She has always loved tintype photographs. In her search for someone to create headshots for her, she found me and saw that in addition to the digital Portrait Experience and Headshot Sessions, I offer Tintype Sessions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Behind<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Tintypes are one-of a-kind photographs, hand-made on metal (aluminum) plates. Using the wet-plate collodion method invented in the mid-19th century, I create original, unique, and truly archival portraits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plates are individually prepared by hand in the darkroom (which is an old bank vault from the 1930s). Then they must be exposed and developed within a few minutes. I use an antique Deardorff camera from the 1920s, and a Dallmeyer brass portrait lens from 1867. With these, I intentionally create soft-focused images. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

When I focus this camera, the image appears upside-down. It always makes me think of the classic Houdini poster, where the woman is upside-down in a water tank. It does seem like magic, but I promise – my subject is actually right-side-up and there is no torture involved! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Upside-down<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Original<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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