Editorial + Brand Work

Commissioned editorial work — portraits and stills made for a story, a feature or a campaign.

Wet plate gives an art director something no filter can: a real object with real physical texture, made in camera. It reads as genuinely hand-made rather than treated, which is why it survives a close-up and why it dates well.

I have made plates for film productions, apparel and leather brands, photographic labs, and editorial features. I work on location with a portable darkroom, or in the studio.

Brand work is the same argument in a different register. Craft, apparel, leather, spirits, tools — anything whose story involves being made by hand benefits from being photographed by hand, and a plate carries that claim without anyone having to make it in a caption.

Backstage Portraits at Music Festivals

I carry a wet plate darkroom backstage at music festivals and make portraits of the artists playing them. Kilby Block Party in Salt Lake City and Luck Reunion in Austin so far, and I am looking to add more. Nothing about it is convenient: the process needs a darkroom on site, an enormous amount of light, and an artist willing to sit still in the middle of a festival day. They make the time, which is the part I am most grateful for. Building the set is half the work and most of the pleasure — I collaborate with the artists on how they want to be seen, and the plate is made together rather than taken. Solo portraits and full-band plates, all on 5×7” metal, all made backstage between sets.

Every plate goes home with me afterwards to be scanned, varnished and finished properly, then the plate is shipped and the scans and process video delivered. Artists photographed so far include Emma Chamberlain, Tunde Adebimpe of TV on the Radio, Franz Lyons of Turnstile, Mike Kinsella of American Football, Ben Kweller, Wild Nothing, Hannah Cohen and ER Fightmaster.

Editorial Work

Commissioned portraits for features, covers and campaigns, made with stylists, hair and makeup, and whatever the concept needs. These are built rather than caught.

Environmental Portraits

Sitters photographed where they actually are — a workshop, a field, a front room — rather than against a backdrop. The location does half the work of the portrait, and wet plate makes the setting look as considered as the face. It means moving the darkroom to the location and working within a few minutes' walk of it, so these are planned rather than opportunistic.

Movie Poster + Film Props

Practical photographic props and promotional stills. Plates made for a production are period-accurate because they are made by the period process — useful when a prop has to survive a close-up.

Working with me

Get in touch early. Wet plate has real logistical constraints — light, water, ventilation, temperature — and the earlier I see the brief, the more I can do with it.

What to expect

  • Sessions run 1.5 to 3 hours depending on how many plates you want.

  • You watch the plate appear — the final stage of development happens in the studio, right in front of you. The darkroom itself stays closed: it is small, and the chemistry is not something to stand next to.

  • You go home with the actual plate: silver on blackened metal, one of a kind, with no negative.

  • Every plate is scanned, and the process is filmed. Digital files and video are available as an add-on.

  • Plates are varnished with a traditional lavender-and-sandarac varnish and are archival for well over a century.