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September 15 & 16

Book Portrait Session
September 15 & 16 at Plough Gallery

RIVER CITY TINTYPE

Rudy Salgado of River City Tintype in Louisville, Kentucky will be at Plough Gallery using a mobile darkroom to create tintypes.
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Tintype:  About the Process
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Introduced by sculptor Frederick Scott Archer in 1851, wet plate collodion photography was a primary documentation tool during the US Civil War, then a celebrated trade by itinerant photographers through the early 1900s. Part alchemy, part labor of love, wet plate collodion photography involves coating a metal or glass plate with light-sensitive chemistry to create an image.

Tintype exposures are very slow compared to modern camera photography, so preparation and processing take time. After a 1-3 second exposure with sunlight, the image comes alive in pure silver highlights and black shadows, forever fixed on the plate. Each plate is a unique vision of its subject, and a product of many variables, chemical formulas, and techniques. Lovely in their imperfections, the metallic surface and high level of detail in tintypes could never be duplicated with a digital process or filter!
​ 
The 19th-century tintype process used thinly-hammered iron as a substrate, but present-day tintypes use sheets of enameled aluminum, which will last for generations when properly cared for! I can't wait to share this historical process with you, and am sure we'll both learn something from one another. 

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About Me (Rudy Salgado)

Born and raised in southern California, I received an MFA in Printmaking with a minor in Ceramics at the University of Iowa, and a BFA in Printmaking from California State University, Chico. In 2012, I moved to Louisville, KY with my partner and fellow artist Susanna Crum to start the city's first shared printmaking workspace, Calliope Arts.

I've always loved the complex techniques related to printmaking and ceramics, and find lots of overlap with the intensive processes and craft of wet plate collodion photography. The history of the tintype process is particularly interesting to me, as a tintypist often saw themselves more as artists or traveling showmen rather than fine art photographers - particularly because they made unique images instead of mass-produced editions. Though I use many of the same materials as they did in the 1850s, being a tintype artist in the 21st century is especially exciting because of social media platforms and forums - I'm able to contribute to conversations with an international community of tintype artists.

I've had the pleasure of working as an artist and educator with some of the region's very best arts organizations, including as a Visual Arts faculty member at Kentucky's Governor's School for the Arts (2017-18), Louisville Visual Art Academy (2013-19), and St Francis School, where I was Artist-in-Residence (2019-20). I've also had the opportunity to show my artwork and travel around the world, including recent artist residencies at Kunstnarhuset Messen, Alvik, Norway; Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA; Edinburgh Printmakers, Edinburgh, Scotland; and Mildred's Lane, a 94-acre installation and research space in Beach Lake, PA created by J Morgan Puett and Mark Dion. 

To learn more about my personal work, visit my artist website at  www.rodolfosalgadojr.com.


Frequently Asked Questions

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  • How long does the Tintype process take? 
The initial setup for a pose is around 10 minutes, which includes assessing lighting and exposure. Once this is set up, it takes around 10 minutes to make each plate. It takes 3-5 minutes to develop a plate, 1 minute to fix the plate. 
  • Will I be able to decide the pose? 
Yes! You can bring props, outfits, and reference images to help communicate your desired photograph. We'll start the session with a consultation about what kind of look you'd like for your photo(s), its overall feeling, and composition. We aim for you to leave feeling satisfied and excited about the end result. 
  • When will I​ get my completed image? 
After the process of making an image, the plate is then rinsed in water for 30 minutes. You can kiss your plate so long (for now) and we'll arrange pickup (free of charge) or mailing (available for $5) before you leave the session. I will apply a wax to the surface of your photograph to protect the silver from tarnishing, and it will be ready to pickup after 24 hours. 
  • What should I wear? 
The wet plate process is both photographic and expressive, with a special sensitivity to color. Tintype interprets colors and values differently than traditional black-and-white film. Bright blue appears as bright white or grey, and even tattoos may disappear on one's skin. Reds, greens, and some yellows appear dark. Props, patterns, hats, and textures are especially fun for tintype, so please consider this as you plan your outfit! Keep in mind that text will appear as a mirror-image in the final photograph. Some eyeglasses appear as sunglasses in this process, so I recommend you remove your glasses just prior to the photograph. 
  • Can I get a photograph of my child or pet? 
​​​For natural/outdoor lighting without studio lights: It is difficult for young children and infants to be perfectly still throughout the exposure. I'm happy to include your child in a portrait, but be forewarned that they will appear just like children in antique photographs - blurry!

Book Portrait Session
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Plough Gallery   216 8th Street West   Tifton, GA 31794   (229) 396-4200
Correspondence:  P.O. BOX 520 Tifton, GA 31793-0520
Gallery Hours
Monday - Saturday:  10 AM - 6 PM
Sunday: Closed


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  • HOME
  • EVENTS
    • CALENDAR
    • Confluence
  • Shop
  • Artists
  • Public Art
    • Day & Night Sculpture
    • Fence of Creatures
  • ABOUT
    • About Plough
    • Contact Us
    • FAQ
    • Archives >
      • Square the Circle
      • Interplay
      • Not A Time Of Curves
      • Antonio Bond
      • Seth Gould
      • Her Declarations
      • Tea Ceremony
      • In Season
      • Grounds & Roots
      • Bloody Knuckles & Small Paychecks
      • Underworldly
      • Midden
      • Personal S P A C E
      • Theme & Variations
      • This Is She
      • River City Tintype
      • /bliNG!/
      • Beautiful Strangers
      • Beautiful Strangers Slideshow
      • WRAP(t)
      • Comfort In Small Doses
      • TRISKELION
      • Tracing Forward
      • Lightbox
      • Postcards from Nowhere
      • Lauren Peterson Exhibit
      • Mother Maker
      • Photo Walk
      • Exhibit Posters Archive