Sarah's Dag. paper

Prior to my experience at project basho, I had several opportunities to both see and work with existing 19th century photos. I was always amazed at the quality and beauty of the images, but didn't give much thought to the process of creating them. My afternoon at project basho really opened my eyes to the patience and skill it must have taken to produce a good daguerreotype. Although I think all the students participating that afternoon left with a greater appreciation of the process, I think my prior work with old photos gave me a unique insight. It was exciting to be making the photograph, instead of just looking at them. I felt a real connection to the photos I had worked so closely with, and a greater understanding of the stress and uncertainty that came with creating a daguerreotype. It took quite a while to prepare the plate and expose my image, and the development had us working closely with dangerous chemicals and flame. After all this, my image didn't come out, which was the most important lesson of all. Although I had done all the steps right, my exposure time was off and my image was ruined. If anything gave me a greater appreciation of the old processes it was that.