In a grassy patch of green bordered by the historic City Hall on one side and the more modern American Legion Hall on the other, two white canvas tents were set up over the weekend. One tent enclosed …
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Nineteen-year-old Lincoln Wallace was one of many festival attendees who posed for several seconds as a sensitized wet tin plate was exposed. Everyone agreed that Wallace was the ideal subject as he sat, dignified, while people buzzed about him preparing to take his photo. Wallace, who wore a vest, tie and overcoat, said he dresses in 1800s garb every day. “Since seventh grade,” his mom said. Wallace said he likes the aesthetics of the era. “People love it,” he said of how peers respond to his wardrobe choice. Photo by Katie Kowalski
The tintype image of Lincoln Wallace is washed in water, at right, to remove the chemicals. At left, Jason Bledsoe shows off the portrait, which must still finish developing. Each finalized tintype photo goes into a handmade leather-bound case. Those who didn’t get a chance to get their photo taken at the Victorian festival can look forward to the Steampunk Festival, June 8-10, at which Bledsoe will have his portable darkroom and photo tent set up. Photos by Katie Kowalski
Jason Bledsoe uses a camera built in 1905. “It still has it’s original leather bellows which is nothing short of amazing,” he said. “I love educating folks about how photography was done during the mid 1800’s. They get to see, feel and smell what early photography was like.” Photos by Katie Kowalski
In a grassy patch of green bordered by the historic City Hall on one side and the more modern American Legion Hall on the other, two white canvas tents were set up over the weekend. One tent enclosed a Victorian-inspired sitting room with a Persian rug, brocade curtains and a maroon velvet chair that every now and then supported a well-dressed lady or gentleman.
The other tent bustled with a small group of people clad in late 1890s attire, chatting with passers-by, fidgeting with a wooden camera atop a tripod, and running to the tent opposite to help the men and women there strike their best, most formal pose.
When everything was ready, photographer Jason Bledsoe would appear from an enclosed portable darkroom with a wet tin plate that he’d place in the camera.
The tintype booth was part of the Victorian Heritage Festival, which took place March 24-25 in downtown Port Townsend.
For each photo, a plate is coated with salted collodion and then immersed in a bath of silver nitrate. The sensitized plate goes into the camera wet, and must be exposed, developed and fixed before the plate dries out.
Bledsoe, who has always had a passion for the process of historical big-camera photography, aims to keep the process as true to the original as possible for an authentic mid- to late-1800s experience and product.
“I make everything from scratch, starting with the japanning of tin for the plates,” he said. “I mix all my own chemistry and have recently begun making traditional leather-bound cases to house those images. This gives me total control.”
