On Display at Glen Echo Park: Rocketpunk! Modern Tintypes and Ambrotypes

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Now on display at Glen Echo Photoworks through May 7th, 2012.

Join us for the reception on Sunday, April 22nd, at 6:00 PM.

More info here: http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs017/1101905082432/archive/1109762327461.html

These are from the “Rocketpunk” project. It’s an exploration of spaceflight history and what the future might’ve been if things had turned out different, if spaceflight hadn’t turned out to be prohibitively expensive, if nuclear propulsion development had been continued and implemented. It’s the “future that might have been”. As an engineer in the space field these are the thoughts present in my mind since I was a young boy watching the first space shuttle launch and imagining walking on the Moon, and the ambrotype is an effective format for conveying the dreamlike nature of such futurist thinking.

 

Atomic Moonship, homemade computer model

Lunar Landing Craft, homemade computer model

Apollo Command Module and Sounding Rockets, Goddard Spaceflight Center

Delta 3rd Stage with Payload and Aero Shroud, Goddard Spaceflight Center

Delta First Stage and Hold Down Clamps, Goddard Spaceflight Center

The main reason I built the “Mark I” camera was for the purpose of exploring primitive photography. Eventually I would like to try historical processes, such wet collodian, but since I lack the studio required for that, I make do with the next best thing, using Rockland Colloid’s dry-plate tintype emulsion and developer. The only difference between an ambrotype and a tintype is that a tintype is on a metal plate while an ambrotype is on a glass plate. The plate is first painted with black enamel paint and then coated with a positive emulsion. When developed, the areas struck by light turn a light tan color, while the dark areas turn clear, allowing the black background to show through. Because what comes out of the camera is also the photo, the resulting photo is left-right reversed. These photos have been slightly contrast-enhanced after scanning for better viewing on a computer screen.

Observations: Jam at the Jazz Workshop

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At the Jazz Workshop in Tysons Corner, December 2011. Free open jams are held here every month to encourage people to play jazz and take lessons. Click the link for more information. I was there to play bass. The jam session leader lamented the lack of good photos, and since my camera was in my truck I offered to help. These are the results. In my opinion black and white chemical photography is the best medium for jazz photography, as the two art forms both reached their heydays in the middle of the 20th century and are closely linked. Many famous photos of jazz musicians were shot on Kodak film, just as these are.

Photos shot with the Minolta X-700 on Kodak 400 TriX and printed on Ilford glossy fiber paper.

Rocketpunk: Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles

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In February of 2011 I traveled to Los Angeles and while I was there I visited Griffith Observatory with a friend. The art deco architecture and old-fashioned equipment fits well with my Rocketpunk theme of “Yesterday’s Future”. These were shot on Kodak film using the Diana Mini camera.