Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Ghosts on Glass: Daniel Carrillo

Portrait by Dan Carrillo
I met Daniel Carrillo through Facebook.  I started seeing these AMAZING photos pop up on my friends pages and later on found out that Daniel did the work.  A few emails later we arranged a studio visit.  His photographs are taken using a collodion process, it's like watching magic!  He gave me a quick tutorial on how it's done and I got to see him prepare a few plates.  It involves coating a piece of glass with collodion emulsion, the act of doing so reminds me of coating a pan with butter.

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Daniel standing in front of his camera.  All of his equipment is vintage from around the 1900's-1920's... with ad hoc parts that he makes himself.  I was very impressed with his guerilla carpentry skills and resourcefulness.  It's truly inspiring!  His future plan is to outfit a van with this camera and a portable darkroom.  He really wants to mobilize his operation and shoot outdoor/public spaces.  I can see those amazing images already!

Here are a few more Carrillo portraits:
Natasha
Cable
Erin
Nola

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Guy in Dan's studio.

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We had a great visit.  Daniel was kind enough to squeeze in a family portrait for me.  He does take commissions on photo sessions.  I highly recommend it!

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