Tin Types

For the last couple of years, Mr. Andrew and myself have gotten ourselves immortalized in art. We’ve had a 3D laser printed portrait, charcoal drawings done at the Old Weston Flea, caricatures by Stay Home Club’s Olivia Mew and cartoonist Steve Manale.

This year, we had our portrait taken at The Tintype Studio. Also known as a Ferrotype, this photographic process dates back to 1854 and uses a wet-plate collodion process to make an image on a metal surface.

The effect is quite haunting. I had imagined that the sitter would have to stay very still, but the actual photo uses a strong flash (think of a cartoon where the photographer hides under a cloth and lights off a big trowel of magnesium powder).