ajilee

In class today we took a look into Daguerreotypes and how they were made waaaaaaaaay back when. The image of a person, landscape, or even someones dog was formed on the surface of the silver plate that looks like a mirror. It can easily be rubbed off with the fingers and will oxidize in the air, so from the outset daguerreotypes were mounted in sealed cases or frames with a glass cover. Some have been well taken care of and have that old-school appearance to them. Some however, through the years, have corroded, leaving scratches and marking of all sorts on the old photo plates.

Heres a couple daguerreotypes I found on google that are in pretty good condition.




Now a more beat up one.


For our next assignment, we have been asked to create our own digital daguerreotype using some basic techniques in Photoshop. I decided to use an image Brad and I took of the Hawthorne Bridge in downtown Portland. I took the original image, added some different textures to give it that old, beat up feeling and viola!

Here is the original image:


Here is my digital daguerreotype:


Pretty effin awesome, if I may say so. I'm going to make a couple more, then decide which I like best to submit for my first critique!