Hidden in the back of a cozy fiber and knit shop — Salt Yarn Studio in Dennis, Massachusetts here on Cape Cod — is an unexpected second studio: one for making tintype portraits of local residents and visitors. The studio is in a large multi-purpose space, and the dark room is in a tiny semi-converted bathroom.  The owner and photographer, Julie Dow (who is also my neighbor), has taught herself the craft of making tintypes from the ground up.  I was able to interview her in December, and visit her studio to capture the process first hand. She had scheduled a three-generation shoot with a young mom, her baby, and her mother.  I got to experience each step of making a tintype portrait, including seeing an initial unsuccessful portrait with low exposure.  The second image was perfect … if perhaps not quite what the sitters had in mind.  You’ll have to read through to the end to see it!

Julie, tell us a little something about your background.

I grew up on the Cape and my grandmother taught me how to knit and sew.  I lived in Paris for several years studying fashion design. I then spent twelve years in the Boston area, designing sneakers for Converse, and moved back home to Cape Cod nine years ago to start a family with my partner Stone, and to pursue my dream of hosting a creative makers space, opening a fiber arts studio “Salt Yarn Studio” almost eight years ago.

Tell us how you got started on your photography journey.

Since day one at the yarn shop I’ve wanted to photograph the makers in the community. It quickly became clear that for me, the best way to honor the spirit of the creative subjects was to mirror it in the process.  It had to be tintypes, a historical handcrafted technique that results in a physical and mirrored archival image on metal. Each portrait is a tangible tribute to the makers in our community, literally with a thumbprint in the corner of each hand poured plate.  

That, combined with my interest in historical portraits, and the draw of large format cameras with their big brass lenses, meant there was no turning back.  But then came my second pregnancy (with twins), and the pandemic, and it wasn’t until about a year ago that I decided it was time to find my first large format camera.  My twins were just turning five, and were more independent, and I had a strong drive to capture images in an increasingly AI dominated world around me in an analog way.  I want to raise kids who loved tintypes, and to that end it has been a sort of therapy, peaceful protest, and mindfulness practice, as well as one of the biggest challenges I’ve undertaken.

Did you purchase the camera, or was it gifted to you?  Did it come to you in good shape or did you have to refurbish it?

First I found a 4×5 Linhof rail camera for short money, but of course it wasn’t light-tight and I needed to replace the bellows and also lens board and other components.  It was a good lesson, and the refurbishing project was ultimately successful (after lots of frustration), but I quickly realized for larger group shots in a smaller space I would soon need an 8×10, and I found really the perfect first studio camera for a steal on Craigslist, just off-Cape.  It was a hardly-used mid-century Burke and James, monorail style camera, heavy but with a great standard lens.  (Now I’m hunting for an antique field camera version with a 12-inch brass lens — if anyone out there has any leads on one I hope they’ll let me know.)

It took months before I could make my first picture — troubleshooting bellows, sorting out the darkroom and assembling all the right supplies, flash triggers, chemicals, lab equipment, all while bidding on eBay for old high-powered strobes and other equipment (studio shots need a minimum of 4800 watts for an instant exposure).

Did you take any classes on making tintype portraits or are you self-taught? 

After researching whatever resources I could find online, and unsuccessfully trying to find a local teacher or tintype community, I attended a one-day workshop up in Boston with the lovely folks at Evoke Tintype and have otherwise been patching it all together on Wednesdays at the Studio. (Balancing my mom- and shop-owner life really left just one day a week to pursue this passion.)  

What are the basic steps in creating a portrait? 

–Ahead of time, get a sense of what the sitter wants out of the experience

–Share tips for dressing for a tintype, since some colors or patterns don’t translate as well to the process

–On shoot day, make fresh developer and confirm light-tight dark room

–Light the shot 

–Pour collodion (daylight safe)

–Sensitize the plate in silver for three minutes and with safe light, load the plate in the holder

–Load the plate and expose instantly with the strobe

–Develop in the darkroom for fifteen seconds

–Fix the image (daylight safe)

–Rinse generously, let dry, and varnish

Do you find the process easy now that you’ve had some practice, or are there lots of things that might complicate a shoot like light, weather, or other factors? 

There are SO many variables, but they are slowly becoming more familiar to me.  Wet plate collodion and silver chemistry has a very low ISO — like 0-2 depending on collodion age and other factors — and is only sensitive to UV light, so light meters aren’t especially helpful.  There is lots of trial and error required — that’s why I was eager to have a studio strobe setting so I could isolate some of the variables.  I am patching together a traveling set-up (portable darkroom, pop-up lighting, etc.) and am eager to do more outdoor shoots but those are also weather sensitive, since chemicals change when too hot or cold.

Is it a costly art form, and are the supplies readily available?

If you’re resourceful and interested in DIY it thankfully can be done on a budget.  The plates can be cleaned and reused if you make mistakes. Fortunately there are a few options for chemical supplies and if you look after your silver bath it can last a long time.

Have you tried shooting outdoors? Doing landscapes or street scenes? 

Yes, I made some early outdoor attempts but haven’t had enough time yet.  It’s such a temperature and light sensitive medium so there’s lot to learn yet about outdoor tintype-making here in New England.  I’m hoping to get out more in the spring!   

Julie shared with me some words one of her studio visitors wrote about the process of making a tintype portrait:

“Being photographed by her wasn’t just about a picture.  It felt like a reflection of lineage, memory, and the way art and chemistry echo across time.  [It’s] a reminder that we’re always developing slowly, in layers until the image comes clear.”

Thank you so much, Julie, for sharing this amazing process with me and my fellow ViewFinders and readers.

To see more of Julie’s work, follow her on Instagram @capefolkcamera or www.saltyarnstudio.com/capefolk

–lucy