Wet Plate Portrait Sessions: Arts In The Ville

To celebrate the return of Arts in the Ville, photographer Adrian Cook brings his mobile darkroom (a 1950's Bond-wood caravan) to the Helensville Museum to craft timeless portraits using the wet plate collodion process.

Using equipment and techniques developed in the 1850s, photographic plates are individually coated and sensitised in the darkroom before being exposed and developed while wet. Once fixed, washed and dried they are then coated in a gum sandarac varnish that preserves and protects them for generations.

Participating in a tintype session and seeing the alchemic process as images appear on the plate is captivating; an experience that few people now have the opportunity to witness. At the end of the session, you will have a unique and original hand-made portrait and a complimentary digital file of your image.

Sessions last 45 minutes and are limited to 2 people per plate. Plates will be posted to clients once varnished & cured, a week or so after their session.

To learn more about the wet plate collodion process lease visit www.tintypecentral.com