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Transmissions from the past - Tintype Photography
Barely more than a toddler, the young Robert Shimmin used to stand on a stool in a darkroom to watch the magic his father performed with light, lenses, film, and chemicals. Later, as a young boy of 8 or 9, he and his pals performed their own version of Civil War reenactments. “I was Confederate for some reason—probably because I had grey fabric to use for my outfit,” Bob recalls. Photographic images of Civil War soldiers were among the first photos he looked at repeatedly. At the same time, his dad began instructing him in photographic technique and use of equipment.
Bob also found himself fascinated with a photographic portrait of his great-grandfather taken at a carnival—it was somehow magical in its appearance and unlike any of the other family pictures. He didn’t realize at the time that he was looking at a tintype photograph, but he was certainly intrigued. This confluence of experiences would eventually lead Bob to enrolling in a course in tintype photography, the acquisition of equipment, and an evolving passion and career for this antiquated but still relevant method of capturing images. Far from a snapshot style of picture-taking, tintype photography requires forethought and a degree of precision throughout the many steps required to produce a one-of-a-kind image.
“Every time I do this, it’s exciting,” Bob says. The process can be tedious at times, even difficult if the weather is nasty (wind and rain are challenging, if not ruinous). But seeing the image appear on a metal plate is nothing short of thrilling for Bob and any who may be fortunate enough to be present as the image forms. Recently, as he was trying to photograph the Kalamazoo Valley Museum for the Civil War photography exhibit, he had to explain the process at least a half-dozen times to passers-by. He enjoys that, but when a plate needs to be left in the silver bath for only 3 minutes, it leaves little time for explaining a twenty-minute process!
Visit the KVM’s exhibit, Remember Me: Civil War Portraits, to see a video of Bob explaining the process of tintype photography. You can also see up close what a tintype looks like and compare it to other contemporaneous techniques.
Bob also found himself fascinated with a photographic portrait of his great-grandfather taken at a carnival—it was somehow magical in its appearance and unlike any of the other family pictures. He didn’t realize at the time that he was looking at a tintype photograph, but he was certainly intrigued. This confluence of experiences would eventually lead Bob to enrolling in a course in tintype photography, the acquisition of equipment, and an evolving passion and career for this antiquated but still relevant method of capturing images. Far from a snapshot style of picture-taking, tintype photography requires forethought and a degree of precision throughout the many steps required to produce a one-of-a-kind image.
“Every time I do this, it’s exciting,” Bob says. The process can be tedious at times, even difficult if the weather is nasty (wind and rain are challenging, if not ruinous). But seeing the image appear on a metal plate is nothing short of thrilling for Bob and any who may be fortunate enough to be present as the image forms. Recently, as he was trying to photograph the Kalamazoo Valley Museum for the Civil War photography exhibit, he had to explain the process at least a half-dozen times to passers-by. He enjoys that, but when a plate needs to be left in the silver bath for only 3 minutes, it leaves little time for explaining a twenty-minute process!
Visit the KVM’s exhibit, Remember Me: Civil War Portraits, to see a video of Bob explaining the process of tintype photography. You can also see up close what a tintype looks like and compare it to other contemporaneous techniques.
TinType Photography | Bob Shimmin from Kalamazoo Valley Museum on Vimeo.