Courtney Has a Camera

There is something magical about watching an image appear on metal before your eyes. Tintype photography-a 19th century process-captured my heart for it’s imperfection, history and hands on artistry behind every plate. In this post, I’m sharing how I discovered the process and was able to take a class, what the process feels like, and how I was able to build my own portable darkroom.

What is Tintype Photography?

Also known as wet plate collodion process, Tintype photography is an artful, vintage way of making a photograph on metal. It requires the artist to pour and float a light sensitive emulsion (collodion) onto a thin sheet of tin or aluminum. Then, in a light safe space, sensitize the the plate in a bath of silver nitrate, expose an image, develop and fix the image all within minutes on location. The term “wet plate” signals that all the materials used to create the image must remain wet for the final product to appear and retain integrity. This means that in hot, dry conditions, the photographer must move quickly and confidently. The camera is quite simple, it is an empty wooden box with no moving parts. There are only bellows, a lens and ground glass back to compose and focus your image. You are responsible for gauging ISO and “shutter speed”, and your hand, a cap, or blanket are some types of shutters used. There are two steps that require a light safe space, and anyone doing Tintype photography Must have an onsite darkroom, as images need to be developed within minutes of exposure.

Taking a Tintype Photography Class

Growing up near Yosemite and in a family that was heavily interested in photography and the history of California, I was often exposed to the hauntingly beautiful of historical portraits of tribal leaders, explorers and cowboys. The images were simple, eerie and mystifying. Always wanting to learn and gain new experiences, I started to research the gear required and the process, and it seemed so overwhelming to start. After some major life changes and feeling a bit down and lost, I got a message from my friend and fellow photographer. He and his husband had paid for me to attend a wet plate photography class in San Francisco at the Harvey Milk Photo Center.

I was speechless, grateful and so excited. Together the three of us took the class and I stayed in their plant filled studio apartment in the city. It was a wonderful class lead by Alex Barnes, and after the course I purchased a 150 year old camera on Ebay. After a few modifications made by a Tintype photographer and camera builder in Antelope Valley, I was ready to go. I purchased tin and all my chemicals from Bostick and Sullivan but I was stumped on how to make a darkroom.

A Quick Look at my Tintype work

Before getting into the darkroom build, I wanted to share some plates that I am especially proud of.

Building My Own Tintype Darkroom

This is a safe space right? My VERY first dark room, was a small cardboard box with a black trash bag duct taped around it. It was inconvenient, sweaty and unsafe. I looked at so many different builds, but I didn’t have any one to help or knowledge of tools. It had to be light and small enough for me to manage alone. It needed to be portable and able to break down, as I was living in a 200sq foot cabin with a black lab and 10 year old boy at the time. I finally came up with a plan, and headed to my local True Value home store in Oakhurst. I was able to build a darkroom that I could break down and put together in 5 min, fit in the trunk of my car, or on my teeny tiny dining table. I think all the materials in total came to $80. This build was lightweight and the tools required were provided by an adorable old man in the True Value parking lot. I literally started a conversation with this guy waiting to get some PVC pipe cut in the service center, and he offered to help me complete the build on the bed of his truck in the parking lot. Bless you True Value angel! 

Materials List

• Rubber Maid storage tote- the size will depend on you silver tank, plate book/holder, and trays for developing and washing. The biggest plate size I made was 5×7 and I think my tote was 30 gallons. Your tote MUST be black!
• Light tight fabric-also must be black. Heavy and thick black cloth, enough to completely cover the dark room and you, with excess to bunch under and around to make a fully light tight space.
• Zip ties-8 (the zipties stay in places as a brace for the PVC pipe. They are loose enough to remove the pipe for travel, but tight enough to support the pipe and fabric.
• PVC Pipe- I used 6 lengths of PVC pipe to make the foundation that held the black fabric up. Length will depend on your height and plans for placement. Also you need 4 elbow joints.
• A saw to cut out one panel width (between the corners!)
• a drill to drill 12 holes for the zipties. Each corner gets two holes on the top and bottom of the tote.
• Headlamp-most headlamps have a red light. Super easy and affordable solution to this need, You have to be able to see what your doing . But you HAVE to have red light, or you will ruin your plate.
• Clamps-a nice addition to secure your fabric from the outside to the pipe or box.

If you love something, let it go

 I took the class in February of 2020, purchased a camera that same month. Shortly after Covid happened. Some people got into plants, sourdough….I got into wet plate. In 2025 I game my camera to a very talented wet plate photographer and mentor, Conrad Young. Juggling a full time job, school, a teenager and a disability proved to be too challenging for me to keep up this art. It is actually a pretty physical art, and for me it became too much. Wet plate photography is expensive, frustrating, time consuming, has a big learning curve, and can even be dangerous. But when you put a plate in fix, and it turns out right-there is not another feeling like it. It is absolute magic. Even getting film scans straight out of camera that are perfect, doesn’t come close.

I will always look back on my wet plate journey fondly. I am grateful to have had the experience of making photographs that truly felt like magic, and challenging myself to do things that seemed unattainable. I tried to hold on but really had to look at my attachment to the process and what I was getting from it. Eventually I decided I needed to let go, and let my camera be loved and appreciated by someone who could give her the attention she deserved. Perhaps one day I will try medium format cameras, but in the mean time, 35mm film is a happy medium, pun intended! Shooting film still gives me the experience of authenticity (I don’t edit my scans) and taking a shot and moving on, being more present and less controlling than I find myself being with digital.

Taking a class is a great way to become acquainted with wet plate photography without the initial cost of chemistry and a camera, or the logistics of a darkroom. I highly encourage you to visit or attend a class at the Harvey Milk Photo Center, they offer so many great memberships to equipment and resources, even without taking a class.