Just a distant memory.
I wanted to create something in the style of an old photographic process so I chose the daguerreotype. The first commercially successful process created by….guess who…yes Daguerre in Paris in 1839. The original process used a copper plate which was sensitised, exposed and then fixed to the plate. It created a mirror like effect with the image appearing to move from negative to positive as you tilted it. The daguerreotype was also placed in a hand-held case. They were small and delicate. If you ever see a real one, they are truly magnificent!
So using what I knew and had seen at the MOMA SF, I took a portrait of an officer at fleet week. I needed to create a transparent feel so I printed onto acetate paper (used on projectors as slides). This paper is clear and only printed out the blacks so the next stage could deliver the final effect. From this I scalped the image to size and then stuck this onto a mirror to create my very own daguerreotype.
I’m very pleased with the result.
