PORTRAITURE

These images are contemporary Daguerrotypes created by Keliy AndersonStaley. I like that the subjects are looking directly at the camera, the rustic look of the daguerreotype process and the short depth of eld which makes only the closest face details appear in sharp focus.

Keliy, Anderson-Staley, Helen, 2009.

I am thinking about doing d a g u er r eo ty p e sty le photo g r a ph s of peo ple I m e et at s c h o o l. I ca nt a ct u a lly do the daguerreotype process as I don't have the resources so I am going to replicate the style using an iPhone app called Hipstamatic. It has a daguerreotype style filter that I will experiment with.

The fact that they are daguerreotypes makes the images seem like they could be antique except the people are wearing modern clothes etc. Are they time travellers? The use of an old techniques adds mystery to the images and suggests the sitters must have had to sit staring out at the camera for a long time, lending a contemplative air the images.

For my project I plan to use the studio at s ch oo l and use the plain white background and po s si b ly one studio light . I will photograph my s u bj ects lo o k i n g directly at the camera and take a few pics of ea c h perso n because the App has a few differ ent fo cu s patterns that come up randomly.

http://burnaway.org/qa-jennifer-schwartz-talksshop-on-wet-plate-and-mirrors/

Keliy Anderson-Staley, Jeremy, 2010.