In the fabulous world of ambrotypes

We do not cease to rejoice at the number of creative and talented people among our readers, and we are happy to continue to introduce them to you. This amazing photo project is made in the technique of the 19th century and therefore is so unlike "ordinary" modern photography. And its author, photographer Evgeny Savin, talks about the project.

In addition to photography, I am engaged in teaching activities at the station of young technicians of the city of Zheleznodorozhny in the Moscow region. I give photography lessons to children and adults.

Due to the specifics of my activity, I shoot different stories. And I want to share with you a rather unusual photo project, which I called "Taking pictures while playing."

From a technical point of view, these photographs were made using a wet-collodion process invented by Englishman Frederick Scott Archer back in 1851. With the help of old photographic equipment and chemical reactions, an ambrotype is obtained, translated into Russian from ancient Greek — "immortal imprint". It looks like a positive image on glass obtained with the help of silver nitrate.

In the age of digital technology, it may seem strange to turn to such an ancient method, but the tactile sensations as a result of completely manual work on the image turned out to be closer to my inner state. And I am grateful to the inventor for these transformations with silver.

How did I come to this? Spontaneously. I didn't think that I would be drawn into the game for a long time. As models for the plots, children's toys in the form of animals are used, which my students supply me with.

I think that the project will not end there. There will be more photos. How much? Don't know. What for? This is probably how I express my thoughts and feelings, through my hands to my head or vice versa.