An A–Z of Tintypes
U is for Utensils :: Tinto 1848 // D-Type Film // No flashThe Tintype, still my favourite HipstaPak from the Hipstamatic app, comes with the Tinto 1848 lens and two films: the C- and D-Type Plates, in colour and black and white respectively.
Based on the old Tintype cameras of the mid nineteenth century, the lens cleverly uses iPhone technology to focus on the eyes of a subject and blurs the edges of the frame. The films feature the ragged frames of original tintypes, dirt, dust, scratches and general grunginess – what’s not to love? Who needs the super-sharp clarity of digital cameras, revealing every pore and flaw?
D is for Dishes :: Tinto 1848 // D-Type Film // No flashI decided to put together an alphabetic collection and searched through my archives for my favourite photos. There were a great many contenders for most letters; a few that I loved far above the rest (U, D, R and T); and a couple that needed a little focused attention (pardon the pun). J and X were difficult. I had to shoot J specifically for this set, and hit upon jewellery as a very likely subject.
R is for Refraction :: Tinto 1848 // C-Type Film // No flashOf my favourites, the utensils I shot last Christmas at my sister’s house, and the stack of dishes and cutlery in the laundry trough I came upon serendipitously one day in the communal laundry in my block of apartments. R and T were both shot the same day last summer: the refracted light caught my eye in Flinders Lane, and not far away in Federation Square I caught the boy in the striped tee pausing in the threshold of the temporary sculpture Ballroom, by Patrick Dougherty.
T is for Threshold :: Tinto 1848 // C-Type Film // No flashX was interesting. I really hate those lame ‘x’ words in any A–Z list, especially words that abbreviate the prefix ‘ex’, such as ‘x-treme’. I could do better than that, I decided, and heaved open the OED (the Oxford English Dictionary).
X is for Xeriscape :: Tinto 1848 // C-Type Film // No flashAdmittedly the words filed under ‘x’ are not easy subjects, but when I came upon the word ‘xeriscape’ I knew I had it. A xeriscape is a landscape of succulents and cacti, both types of plants that I love, and I just happen to live next door to Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens. There is a cactus garden there that I often wander through. I love the utter stillness of it, especially in wild weather when all the other trees around are tossing violently in the wind, and not a breath stirs amongst the prehistoric-looking cacti.
As for the collection, there are some likely suspects, and some not so likely. Click here to look through.