Shane Balkowitsch - Nostalgic Glass Wet Plate Studio

06/16/2026

Moving day tomorrow to the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library!

06/16/2026

Fort Buford treated me like a rock star yesterday. People told me they traveled from all over to see my demonstration.

06/16/2026

"Field Officer Quarters" at Fort Buford captured in the historic wet plate collodion process of silver on glass. This is the location where Sitting Bull handed over his rifle to Major Brotherton on July 20th, 1881. It was a sad day for the Lakota people.

Carl Zeiss Tessar 210mm lens, f11, 7x7 black glass ambrotype, 2 seconds of exposure, Plate 5718 taken on 6-15-2026.

06/15/2026

On location at Fort Buford for the State Historical Society of North Dakota!

06/14/2026

Craig Dunn, captured for the first time in the historic wet plate collodion process of silver on glass. Craig knew my father from years ago. A commissioned portrait.

Carl Zeiss Tessar 250mm lens, f4.5, 8 seconds of exposure, 8x10” black glass ambrotype, natural light through Northern facing windows and skylights at Nostalgic Glass Wet Plate Studio, Bismarck, North Dakota, Plate #5716 taken on 6-12-2026.

06/13/2026

Wichasa Ohitika "Brave Man", Standing Rock Sioux, captured for the first time in the historic wet plate collodion process of silver on glass for the series "Northern Plains Native Americans: A Modern Wet Plate Perspective".

Carl Zeiss Tessar 250mm lens, f4.5, 8 seconds of exposure, 8x10” black glass ambrotype, natural light through Northern facing windows and skylights at Nostalgic Glass Wet Plate Studio, Bismarck, North Dakota, Plate #5714 taken on 6-12-2026.

06/09/2026

Finalized the framing for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. Five of my large framed prints and an original framed glass plate are going into their permanent collection. The framed prints will hang in the cafeteria. History preserved.

06/08/2026

For three years I have been attempting to capture lightning in wet plate. I have made many attempts. I have now teamed up with storm chaser Shane Ornelas for this season. He is an expert at understanding timing and getting a camera on the storm cell.

There are many historic dry plate examples and even some Daguerreotypes. I even found a dry plate photo from the late 1800’s from North Dakota.

The challenge is having a sensitized plate ready in a very narrow period of time. North Dakota winds bring rain quickly after the lightning and it is game over by then. With other processes you can leave the plate in the camera for hours, if lightning strikes you will capture it. With wet plate I only have about 5 minutes.

Wish me luck this season, I am dedicated to getting this shot in my lifetime. If anyone knows of a wet plate of lightning from the past please share. It will p**s me off but also push me to get this done.

06/02/2026

Deb Haaland’s first book comes out next week. The cover portrait was shot by my very good friend Victoria Lyubchenko at Nostalgic Glass.

05/28/2026

Excited to be giving a demonstration at Fort Buford next month.

WILLISTON, ND - Fort Buford State Historic Site near Williston will host a 160th Anniversary Celebration marking the establishment of Fort Buford. Enjoy a full day of immersive, hands-on experiences Monday, June 15, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Explore the sights, sounds, and skills of life on the northern Pl...