Cicada photogram
Leesvillle Dam	Chicago Skyline	“The Bean”

I’ve admired the daguerreotype process for quite some time now, though the idea to “take the plunge” was always a bit out of the question.  The plates and equipment tend to be fairly expensive, and working with the chemicals involved can be daunting.  After reading about making daguerreotypes on glass, as well as the vague idea that iodine tincture could be used instead of iodine, I figured I’d bite the bullet and see how far I could get.  Somewhat to my disbelief, with some silvered glass set on a soy sauce dish full of tincture, I was able to see the plate go through 1st and 2nd cycle colors!

First success

I won’t pretend that I don’t have a lot more to learn, but I’ve come a long way in the last year, and wanted to share what I’ve learned with others interested in daguerreotypes.  I hope that this guide helps make it it easier for people to “get their hands dirty” with the process, and start making daguerreotypes for themselves.  The guide can be found here and as a link on the resources page.  As always, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me if you have any questions, concerns or comments.  Enjoy!

A recent becquerel process demonstration in Spain by the artists Simone Choulle of Taller de Daguerrotipo, using a reproduction Voigtlander cannon camera.

To those in the NYC area this weekend and requiring instruction, our partner organisation for the ImageObject exhibit, the Center for Alternative Photography, is having a becquerel workshop by Jason Greenberg Motamedi

A artist gallery for a French/Spanish collective of artists has been added to the site. They have been making well executed 8×10 inch becquerel daguerreotypes that show there is power in numbers;
“We are french photographers and also profesor of photography in Paris during 15 years ( Helene teached photography in several schools in Paris : Speos, Les Gobelins and Le Cube).
We came to dag because one day we asked ourselves :”Can we make dags nowadays?” It was in 2009 and fortunally we found the Bry Sur Marne Exhibition where we met Marc Kereun and participed to his workshop. We began first with Mercury but in a flat it is not safe, so we begin to practice Becquerel. We posted in your forum and Bailun contacted us directly and gave us some good tricks for bdag. Now we live and work in Spain.
Simone Choulle ( for Helene Vedrenne and Nina Zaragoza)”

As the seasons change it is coming round to that time of year again when opportunities abound for Daguerreian instruction in north America.

First up is Rob McElroy’s “Modern Daguerreian Methods: A daguerreotype workshop with Rob McElroy”.
The workshop is at his studio/gallery in Buffalo, NY on May 26-28, 2011, where he will be sharing his “trouble-free method of producing a perfectly-polished daguerreotype plate without the need for tedious hand buffing”. Participants will learn and perform all the necessary steps themselves, finishing with their very own mercury-developed daguerreotype, archivally housed in a custom frame.

Rob’s large state-of-the-art darkroom/laboratory, along with his studio — equipped with electronic-flash units powerful enough to expose daguerreotype plates, will make for a convenient and exciting learning environment. Also there is a half-day trip to George Eastman House planned, where participants will get a private viewing of some of the world’s finest daguerreotypes along with the vintage equipment used to produce them. Rob is also seeking permission to use an unoccupied 1890s photographer’s studio nearby which still has its huge original curved-glass skylight windows.

Later in summer Jerry Spagnoli has two workshops, one in Pittsburgh and another in Sante Fe. In Pittsburgh the workshop will investigate the process introduced by M.E. Bequerrel in 1840 and in Sante Fe the workshop will cover the alternative to “live” exposures: contact printing from a positive transparency. This method can produce an image indistinguishable from an in-camera plate—but with the greater control over the film positive, superior results can be achieved.

Info about upcoming events such as these can be seen on our events page.

Takashai Arai took on a unusual new years resolution this year, which has seen him make one exposure per day on 6 x 6cm plates. With the recent tragedies in Japan he has now taken on a additional project towards charity to raise funds for the victims of the Touhoku district. He is offering portrait sittings with the proceeds (excluding the cost of materials) being sent to the Japanese Red Cross Society. For more info contact info@TakashiArai.com.