My daguerreotype

prints

Daguerreotype response

The daguerreotype workshop at Project Basho was amazing. I have learned about daguerreotypes in history of photo, but I never imagined that I would get the opportunity to actually make one of my own. The process to make one was so precise, yet so tedious. When most of us learned that we polished our plates wrong, it was a sad discovery. But it was so excited to see the image develop after such a long day of prepping, polishing, and waiting. It was such an awarding experience. I hope I can do it again in the fall when he returns.

Still life with tree and two small, stuffed mammals, between 1840 and 1860

From: Daguerreotype collection (Library of Congress)

Lauren's daguerreotype paper

Well handling the daguerreotype you have to wear a facemask and gloves so that you are not harming the plate.  The surface of the plate is very sensitive if u touch it you can smudge it or scratch the surface of the plate. First you have to buffer the plate with a soft leather covered paddle, which is dusted with pigment.  Some of the chemicals involved in the process can be harmful to people.  You only have one chance to get a good exposure. If the image shows up on the mirror like surface it has a positive and negative quality. In the light the image looks like a negative and in the dark you can see the image clearly.  

Daguerrotype Response

I was really excited when I found out we had the opportunity to make Daguerreotypes because I've always admired their detail and unique image quality. When the day came, the amount of steps involved was very surprising. I tried to do everything exactly how we were told so I could create a successful image, I even consulted with Takashi about my polishing before moving on to the next step. After the plate was prepared, if we wanted to be in the image, we had to stay as still as possible for 2-3 minutes, which is harder than it sounds. Of course I was disappointed after very little showed up on my plate after we developed them, but it made my appreciation grow for the process and photographers who used it, especially those from the beginning of Photography's history. This is a great process that can have beautiful results and I will never forget this experience. Hopefully someday I can try again.

I found some daguerreotype landscapes

Marie-Charles-Isidore Choiselat (French, 1815–1858); Stanislas Ratel (French, 1824–1904) Daguerreotype

John Plumbe, United States Capital,  daguerreotype, c. 1846. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

What is thought to be the world's oldestcamera is to be sold by auction in Vienna on May 26. Dating back to 1839, the Daguerreotype, encased in a sliding wooden box frame, was made by Susse Freres of Paris.

The camera belongs to a US-based scholar and was inherited from his father, a technical photography professor at Munich University. The starting bid is $132,000, but the final price for the 168-year-old gadget is expected to be way past a million euros ($1,329,000).