Following on from the series of articles by John Hurlock, I have added some by another Vetern Daguerreotypist, Ken Nelson. “Mercury and the Daguerreotypist: A Modern Assessment” gives a comprehensive view of working with Mercury today.

Also you may have noticed the parade of flags of to the left on the page. I have noticed that the web traffic for this site comes from around the world so in an effort to facilitate this I have installed a translator. From using Google translate myself I know these can be a bit loose at times but its the best practical solution, short of having sister websites in other countries.

At age 20 Savana Jones has many years of Daguerreotypy ahead of her, but is off to a very good start. Hailing from Salt Lake City, her self portraits make our latest addition to the Galleries section. Savana uses the becquerel process, gilding her plates also. Judging by these and her inventive and sublime other photography on her blog, she is a Daguerreotypist to keep eye on.

“He is one of the few men in history to change the course of art and technology. And the only one without a museum”

Its the museum that will be (hopefully) and those that attended the recent Daguerreian Society symposium will have heard the Mayor Jean-Pierre Spillbauer of Bry-sur-Marne talk of the Daguerre related projects taking place there. These were outlined in a brochure given out at the symposium and excerpts from it are reproduced here to spread the word.

“The Daguerre Mansion is located in the heart of the town. Along with Daguerre’s family vault and the monument in the town center, there are also many of his works of art, from Paintings to Daguerreotypes, in the city hall.”

The restoration project of Daguerre’s last remaining Diorama (installed in the Church at Bry) can be viewed online at Daguerre-bry.com

Musée Gruérien in Switzerland is exhibiting Daguerreotypes by Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey, who travelled extensively in Europe and the Near East between 1841 and 1850, producing almost a thousand daguerreotypes on the way.

The Musée recently rediscovered and preserved a collection of 61 daguerreotypes by this talented pioneer showing views of Basel, the Jura, Bern and its highlands, Vevey, the Tête-Noire passage in the Valais region, the Mont-Dore ruins in Auvergne and the Mer-de-Glace in Chamonix.

SILVER MIRRORS highlights these works, together with 17 of Girault de Prangey’s images of Paris and the East Mediterranean – Athens, Istanbul, Izmir, Lebanon, Jerusalem and Cairo (National Library of France). These daguerreotypes are among the earliest surviving one and a publication accompanies the exhibit.

Exhibit: 30 novembre 2008 – 29 mars 2009
Musée gruérien
WEBSITE LINK
Rue de la Condémine 25
1630 Bulle
T. ++41 (0)26 916 10 10

In recent months we slowly have been adding to the material available through the Resources and Galleries sections of the website;

Galleries Section–
New Galleries showing Contemporary Cases and Passe Partout
Cameras by maker Ty Guillory
Additional content on the existing vintage equipment galleries.

Resources Section–

Articles by Contemporary Daguerreian John Hurlock on the finer points of mastering the process,
New sub-section on Daguerreotype Conservation,
Additional vintage manuals,
New section on video resources available on the internet about the Daguerreotype process,
New section on blogs related to Daguerreotypes

Ken Nelson has taught many the art of the Daguerreotype and at the recent symposium in DC he was on the scene again with beautiful plates in hand. In his own words:

I first read the word “daguerreotype” in an article by James Ambrecht in the June, 1973 issue of Camera 35 magazine. Following on that, I’ve been making daguerreotypes since 1976. I’m largely self-taught, but owe a great debt to Irving Pobboravsky for the advancement of my skill. I taught the Daguerreotype as part of the Historic Process Workshops at the International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House between 1994 and 1999. Lately, I owe a debt for the advancement of my skill to a particular student of mine, Mike Robinson of Toronto, Canada. My students are often now my teachers.

After a nine-year hiatus since 1999, I have returned to the Daguerreotype with a renewed love. The process is being kind to me, allowing me to pick up better than where I left off. In the mean time my vision has evolved and we’ll see where that takes me, but I still see the exquisite Daguerreotype as my preferred way.

Now in the galleries section of this site: Alyssa Salomon. Having studied under Bob Shlaer she has been award a Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Professional Fellowship, from her website:
“Technically, I employ a broad array of nineteenth century photographic methods in homage to that age of primary scientific discovery and system building. I rely on the unfamiliar views afforded by these arcane technologies to attract the eye and to engage recollection.”

Opening this weekend in Chicago is an exhibition featuring a work by Daguerreotypist Sean Culver.
On until December 20th the exhibit at the Around the Coyote Gallery has a kinetic sculpture with Daguerreotypes. More of Sean’s work can now be seen in galleries section of this site.

_______________________
Around the Coyote Gallery
1935 1/2 W. North Avenue
Chicago, IL 60622
773 342 6777
www.aroundthecoyote.org

OPENING RECEPTION:
Saturday, November 15, from 6pm-10pm

see also
www.seanculver.com

A convergence of contemporary Daguerreotypists, veteran and newcomer, occurred this last week in Washington D.C.. Held at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery which displayed a collection gifted by Larry West, the Daguerreian Society Symposium hosted a trade fair of Vintage and contemporary Daguerreotypes and a day of presentations by Photo historians. If those that attended have more images to add, please email them in, as it will be of interest to those who could not attend.