Working across New Zealand and Sydney, Australia, Tintype Central creates commissioned wet plate collodion portraits using a 19th-century photographic process that predates film photography. Each image is hand-crafted on glass or aluminium, producing a one-of-a- kind original that combines artistry, craftsmanship and permanence in a way that modern photography cannot replicate.
THE PROCESS
Using equipment and techniques developed during the 1850’s, each photographic plate is meticulously coated and sensitised in the darkroom, then exposed and developed while still wet. Once fixed, washed and dried, it is hand finished with a protective varnish that preserves and protects the image for generations.
A wet plate portrait sitting is unlike any modern photographic experience. Clients have the rare opportunity to witness, in real time, the alchemy of the process as the image appears on the plate - a captivating and remarkable transformation that has remained largely unchanged for more than 170 years. At the conclusion of the sitting you will leave with a unique, handcrafted portrait and a complimentary digital file of your image.
HAVE DARKROOM WILL TRAVEL
In Aotearoa, our mobile darkroom is a 1950's bondwood caravan that has been specifically designed for shooting wet plate portraits and landscapes on location. We are primarily based in Te Aroha, though you’ll also find us touring the country, capturing portraits and landscapes along the way.
THE PHOTOGRAPHER
Adrian Cook is an award-winning portrait and documentary artist working between New Zealand and Australia.
He works with the historic wet plate collodion process, drawn to its materiality, precision and permanence. His practice explores the unique aesthetic and expressive qualities of the medium, creating singular, hand-crafted images that exist as one-of-a-kind physical objects rather then reproductions.
Working between the studio and a mobile darkroom, each image is produced using processes and techniques largely unchanged since the early 19th century, embracing both the discipline and unpredictability of the medium.
Cook’s portraits are held as commissioned works and collectible objects, created for private clients and cultural figures across the region.
For an overview of Adrian's commercial work please visit www.adriancookphotography.com