Tilt Gallery, Phoenix

“The New American Project” - Jill Enfield

January 16 – February 21, 2009

Opening Reception: Third Friday, January 16, 6-10pm 
Artist Reception: February 6, Jill will be present for questions & conversation
Closing Reception: Third Friday, February 20, 6-10pm 

We are looking forward to attending this exhibit!  Keith has been developing his collodion technique over the last few years…it is so beautiful! He has his own ideas for a series of photographs, but I keep bothering him to incorporate it somehow into his wedding photography!  I can only imagine how stunning a bride or bride/groom would look taken in this format – a one of a kind piece!

Hi All,

Day two and still posting. Woo hoo! Getting that resolution done. Only a year to go. Anyway, here is another in the collodion vein. As the year goes on I will be randomly changing subjects. Collodion portraits will be a recurring one. I hope you notice the progress even if you don’t recognize the difficulty. I will be at a conference for photographers over the coming week and of course I will be shooting opportunistically. I have no idea at present what I will get, but I will gt something. Who’s afraid of the unknown?

Sincerely,

Keith

Hi All,Here is the first photo of the next year.

This is a tintype shot on black trophy aluminum. For those that are not aware of the process, it is the same one (except the metal substrate is different) that was used during the civil war years here in the U.S. The defects are not added in photoshop, they are part of the actual plate. The process makes each exposure as unique as a finger print. That is one of the beautiful parts of it.The look can not be duplicated in photoshop. I have seen many attempts, some looking pretty good, but none exactly like the real thing. It is not for everyone but then again nothing ever is. That is the wonderful, universal truth about all art. As always, I welcome and appreciate ALL coments.

Sincerely,

Keith

Hi All,

Sorry for no post last night but I didn’t get back from Camp Tintype until midnight. John is a wonderful teacher and a great host. The other students and John’s helpers were wonderful people and photographers as well. I hope to continue a relationship with all of them and I wish their careers well. As sad as I am to be leaving I am equally happy to return to my wife and two young daughters (it is fathers day). The examples I am posting here are a few of the early attempts in my wet plate journey. I LOVE this process. Although it is extremely unforgiving, it does have an almost unique ability to make some mistakes look beautiful (beauty being subjective of course). Everyone has their own idea of beauty and I happen to be one of those that find beauty in the flaws. There are many practitioners of the process that strive for the perfect plate. I can understand that. The beauty in the flaws are that it makes each image that much more unique. Each of the images I am displaying is graced with numerous flaws that those practice in this art will identify immediately but I feel they are wonderful images in their own right. They are also just a few of the images from the workshop. I hope you enjoy looking and maybe gain a new appreciation of the old ways if it didn’t exist before. As always all comments are appreciated.

Sincerely,

Keith

Hi All,

Everything is still wonderful here. Today we added albumin paper production and collodian negative making and intensification to our photo arsenals. I can’t believe how much I am enjoying this. I have always enjoyed learning and this proves to me that I still do. Being immersed in an environment where everyone shares a common interest and goal is a wonderful experience. All our work is still at the camp while I am here in my hotel room so I can’t show you anything other than this photo of one of John’s resident chickens with a vintage view camera behind her.

Sincerely,

Keith

Hi All,

Here are some images from the first shooting day at Camp Tintype. I am having a blast. Some people love Disney World and I love this. It is like learning photography all over again (but with more toxic chemicals). Please take a look at the images. I will have more tomorrow. We will be learning to make albumin prints from scratch and more developing techniques. I can’t wait.

Keith

Hi All,

As I mentioned in a past post I am going to learn to make ambrotypes, ferrotypes and albumin prints. For those who don’t know, these are some of the oldest photo processes there are. You can’t get much farther from digital. While I do enjoy digital and it’s capabilities I sometimes miss the craftsmanship that the darkroom has to offer. The image coming up in the developer is a moment all photographers who know their way around a darkroom remember well. It is hard to imagine that there are so many photographers these days that have never developed film or prints on there own. That is why I have come to Dundee, NY to learn from John Coffer. John is considered to be one of the foremost masters of the wet plate process. He has taught many of the better practitioners of the art today. One thing that sets his teaching apart is that it occurs out of doors. Most classes that I researched were short demonstrations in modern darkrooms. That is fine if everything you photograph is located near your darkroom. What do you do if you want to photograph something outside? Edward S. Curtis traveled the west documenting the indian tribes using this process. The photographs you have seen from the American Civil War were photographed this way. It has a look that is so beautiful and unique that it can’t be duplicated any other way. I have seen attempts and they fall far short. I hope this peaks your interest enough to check the process out and to look up some of the work of the old masters of the art. I will post more soon. It is going to be a fun three days. I hope you’ll check back.

Sincerely,

Keith