October 26th 1996: Tintypes and Turmoil I just recently went on a photo hunting expidition and was unsuccessful at finding my own photographs, but I was able to locate a "new" one entirely divorced from my exploits. I enjoy Tintypes and Daguerreotypes. Tintyping and Dagureotyping were processes where the photographic negative and print were not only one in the same, but also printed on metal. In fact, Daguerreotyping (the first successful photographic process in the U.S.) is not only rare to find, but also one of the most beautiful photographic processes to date. While being beautiful, Daguerreotypes were also very dangerous for the photographer. They are made from a polished copper plate that is sensitized with light sensitive material. The exposure is made, and then it is developed using murcury vapors. As you can imagine, the life expectancy of early photographers wasn't very long. Later (but not too later) the tintype process came along. It was still dangerous to the photographer, but murcury was out of the picture. Even so, photography was dangerous profession. There's something I like about the element of danger associated with photography. Not with the chemicals (though that's still a problem) but with necessity of investigation, introspection, and discussion. To photograph it to put yourself at risk, not only physically, but spiritually. The nature of photography and it's process of exploration lends itself well to this kind of internal strife. In taking the photograph, it has the ability to respond and take also. It takes your peace of mind and causes the photographer to question his ideals. The photo lives. It is not a static representation of reality, but a glimpse into truth. It asks us only to look.