Wet plates and silver salts: New podcast episode “The beginnings of photography”
"You can't hold a smile for more than ten seconds, then it becomes a grimace," says wet plate photographer Thilo Nass.
- Judith Hohmann
Thilo Nass uses photographic techniques from the nineteenth century. He is a portrait photographer in Hanover and specializes in collodion wet plate photography. We tried out what it feels like to pose frozen still in front of a plate camera. We were also shown the process: from preparing the wet plate to the finished image.
Success for everyone
Vacation photos, selfies with sights and pictures from the shopping list – Today, it is a matter of course for people to reach for the smartphone in their pocket when they want to preserve a motif. It hardly takes a second and the picture is in the box, or even two or three. This “box” is now as flat as a bar of chocolate and full of technology. It has never been easier to take photos with little prior knowledge.
Genuine manual work
In the early days of commercial photography, when one portrait studio after another sprouted up on the streets of big cities, pictures still had the status of an alchemical sensation. Photos were so special that a visit to the studio was something unique. Families even brought their deceased children with them to remember them. Despite all the special features, a photograph was more affordable and quicker than a portrait painter. A success story began.
(Image: Judy Hohmann)
Thilo Nass explains how time-consuming the process of producing an old picture is, and why it makes you look older and pithier than our modern eye is used to.
A new episode of CLICK BOOM FLASH, the podcast from c't Fotografie magazine, is published every second Sunday at 9am. You can find it in all major podcast directories. Listen now, with Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or in the podcast app of your choice.
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