Alt Photography is a return to the malleable beauty of the chemical process. Embracing the nature of ephemeral image making, allows us to further the message of the photographs themselves. In our mission to create crisp “high-res” imagery we have lost the soft and ephemeral nature of photographs original perspective. The images speak like a story, embodying both reality and a fantastic memory.
The very first Photography book “Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions” was created by Anna Atkin’s in 1843. The feminine and natural perspective in Cyanotypes history still holds true today. I create Cyanotypes utilizing both a photogram process as well as handmade negatives. Snake skin, crystals, plants, hair-like thread, and venus icons push a story of the value of transformation.
The Tin Type or albumen print was invented in France in the 1850’s by Adolphe-Alexandre Martin. Typically used for portraits, it also was used to record the Civil war. A Tintype creates a positive exposure, solidifying the unexposed image rather then its negative reversal, like with classical photography. I utilize a digital camera to create a “positive” slide and expose the images in a darkroom. This allows me to capture a more contemporary perspective and associate it with mythos of photographic history.