Hi! I just wanted to say thank you to all who commented on my last post. It was really interesting reading all your thoughts and ideas. I am finding inspiration in many forms right now but a lot of it comes from Tumblr :)
As I have been at work all weekend, I have not really had time to go out to shoot, so here is a re-blog from last year when I was in NYC. Taken on the High Line.
I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend x
Nighttime view of the Woolworth Building, New York City c. 1913
Ghosts of the Past - Decayed Daguerreotypes from the Matthew Brady Studio, 1844-1860
Daguerreotype portraits were made by the model posing (often with head fixed in place with a clamp to keep it still the few minutes required) before an exposed light-sensitive silvered copper plate, which was then developed by mercury fumes and fixed with salts. This fixing however was far from permanent – like the people they captured the images too were subject to change and decay. They were extremely sensitive to scratches, dust, hair, etc, and particularly the rubbing of the glass cover if the glue holding it in place deteriorated. As well as rubbing, the glass itself can also deteriorate and bubbles of solvent explode upon the image. The daguerreotypes below are from the studio of Matthew Brady, one of the most celebrated 19th century American photographers, best known for his portraits of celebrities and his documentation of the American Civil War which earned him the title of “father of photojournalism”. The Library of Congress received the majority of the Brady daguerreotypes as a gift from the Army War College in 1920.
(via defenestrationrights)
