HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHIC PROCESSES

Daguerreotype (1839 - 1860s)

Calotype or Talbotype (1840 - 1860s)

Ambrotype (1851 - 1870s)

Wet Plate Silver Gelatin (1851 - 1880s)

Ferrotype/Tintype (1852 - 1940s)

Albumen Print (1850 - 1920s)

Cabinet Cards (1860 - 1890s)

Cyanotypes (1880 – 1920s)

Opaltypes (1880 – 1920s)

Dry Plate (1880 - Present)

Silver Gelatin Print (1880 - Present)

Digital File (1975 - Present)

Inkjet Print (1984 - Present)

Wajdaotype (2015 - Present)

There's a new trend in photography: Families commissioning special family portraits again.

What began as a simple idea by one Colorado photographer in a small town, to make legacy portraits of local elderly citizens in his portrait studio, has turned into a hot photographic trend — people turning to film and alternative process photographers who use medium and large format cameras, and inviting them into their homes or going to their studios for portraits that are printed, framed and displayed, similar to how passing cabinet cards was popular in the 1860s-1890s.

To commission a legacy family portrait is a special gift to honor and show the value of their loving relationships. It's been used to make unique portraits of celebrities at the Sundance Film Festival and for magazine feature stories and now families are embracing this masterpiece of photographic art. Prices range from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars for this handmade portrait of your family.

Daguerreotype from 1850.

Calotype from 1850.

Tintype from 1870.

Cyanotype from 1870.

Cabinet Card from 1896.

Silver Gelatin Print from 1936.

Inkjet Print from 1984.

Phone Picture from 2007.

Ferrotype from 2015.

Wet Plate Portrait from 2019.

Ferrotype from 2020.

Wajdaotype from 2016.

What began as The Wise Photo Project has transcended photographing only senior family members to having all of our familiy included in these portraits which can only be made by purveyors of these vintage cameras.

What are they? They're called Wajdaotypes, named for Kenneth Wajda (right), the Colorado photographer who pioneered the portraits using traditional cameras and photographic processes. You can commission a special portrait for your family and gift them to family members and friends. It's a way of saying "I want to see you, have your picture right here with me, living with me in my home all the time." Not just any picture, a photograph made with a traditional darkroom process—a work of art.

Wajdaotype from 2020

It's certainly not a digital snap or any ordinary computer picture but a legacy portrait made by a film, wet or dry plate photographer working with vintage cameras from the 1800s to 1900s. From small Hasselblads and Rolleiflexes that were the mainstay of the 1950s fashion industry to large wooden 4x5 and 8x10 cameras with their rich-character brass lenses. Since it's not just another snapshot, it cannot be offered by just any photographer. It's a style of vintage process photography made by highly-skilled photographer artists, masters at light and camera, that truly makes your family photographs into works of art.

We have a collective of photographers working in film, wet and dry plate mediums available to make your Wajdaotype either at home or in studio. Color or black and white is available. You can get recommendations for a photographer in your area to photograph your family by contacting us at info@wajdaotype.com

Wajdaotype from 2017

Wajdaotype from 2020

Wajdaotype from 2017

Wajdaotype from 2015

Wajdaotype from 2017

Wajdaotype from 2017

Wajdaotype from 2017

Wajdaotype from 2017

Copyright 2021, Kenneth Wajda, All Rights Reserved