Tintypes and Ambrotypes
I’m Martin Sotelano, and I create tintypes and ambrotypes: unique, hand-crafted photographs on metal or glass, made with the same care and technique as in the 1800s. There’s a special beauty in this process, which has found new life as people seek something more lasting than today’s fleeting snapshots.
Tintypes and ambrotypes are one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted photographs that you can actually hold in your hands. Their rich, imperfect beauty harks back to the 19th-century wet plate collodion process, giving each image a sense of history and intimacy. People are drawn to tintypes for the artistry involved and the way these images seem built to last for generations.
You might be asking yourself: What exactly is a tintype? It is a photograph captured on a sheet of metal, rather than paper. The ambrotype uses glass instead.
Both are created using the wet plate collodion process, invented in 1851. It needs careful chemistry, precise timing, and a traditional large-format camera.
Compared to modern photography, the wet plate collodion process is slow, expensive, and a bit complicated.
However, there’s a magic to it that digital cameras just can’t match. Making a wet plate photograph is a hands-on experience full of wonder.
