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News — Canadian

Wet Plate Social in Toronto

Dale Wilson ambrotype Canada Canadian collodion historical photo processes Horst Herget Toronto wet plate Wet Plate Social wetplate

Wet Plate Social in Toronto

  I am just receiving news that fellow Canadian wet plate image maker, Horst Herget, will be resurrecting his “Wet Plate Social” for first timers to old timers. He was just getting the monthly event up and running when COVID public safety protocols closed the doors. If you are in The Big Smoke (Toronto) on Monday, 18 October, do yourself a favour and drop in to Horst’s Daylight Studio between 7:00 – 9:00pm. Otherwise, mark your calendar for the Third Monday of each month for this recurring event. Double vaccinated (COVID-19) attendees only and RSVP Horst at  tintype@horstherget.com. Updates and...

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Real Photographers Make Negatives

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Real Photographers Make Negatives

One of the fun components of working with collodion based image making is the many variations it provides. By reading 19th century literature it is easy to determine that photographers made negatives, all other practitioners were called tintypists, daguerreotypists and ambrotypists. This is why some contemporary collodion based photographers will sometimes say, with tongue in cheek and intended humour: Real photographers make negatives. Hobbit's Garden, Salted Silver Print   Is it more challenging to make a negative?  Most definitely. Are the rewards greater? That depends. Enjoyment comes in many different forms – I enjoy the opportunity to try the many different printing techniques...

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HALIFAX the CRADLE: Photography Introduced to British North America

Dale Wilson Canada Canadian Dartmouth Heritage Museum Dr Golding Bird Evergreen House Halifax historical photo processes Nova Scotia photography The Colonial Pearl The Rooms at Evergreen William Valentine

HALIFAX the CRADLE: Photography Introduced to British North America

Halifax can lay claim to being the cradle of photography in current day Canada.

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Valentine's Day

Dale Wilson Canada Canadian dale wilson Dartmouth Heritage Museum Evergreen House The Rooms at Evergreen William Valentine

Valentine's Day

William Valentine and the first permanent photo studio in British North America William Valentine, the youngest son to parents Joseph and Ann Valentine, was born in 1798 and baptized on 8 April 1798 in St Nicholas’ Church, Whitehaven, England. He arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1818 with brushes and paint in hand to begin a career as an artist. William Valentine - self portrait His career struggled until the 1830’s, and by 1836 he was back in England to further develop his skills. Evidence shows he was quite familiar with the Royal Society and was known to have made...

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Closing the Circle

Dale Wilson Canada Canadian collodion dale wilson Dartmouth Heritage Museum Evergreen House Halifax Regional Municipality historical photo processes Program Support Building The Rooms at Evergreen tintype wetplate

Closing the Circle

Some wise soul once said something along the lines of satisfaction comes to those who wait. Regardless of such lore, this past Friday was a most satisfying and enjoyable culmination of more than five years in the making. Brutus, aka Century 7 studio camera, made his appearance at Dartmouth Heritage Museum in October 2016. Following some refurbishment, including new bellows, he stood as Lord of the Manor representing little more than a piece of furniture for a variety of reasons. Brutus needed a home so people could start making images with him.   Figure 1: October 2016 and Brutus is...

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