Charleston TinTypist

07/23/2026

I love Fort Clinch! (The event is a federal garrison weekend) I will bring my little cart and smaller darkroom, so that means I won’t be able to do the largest size plates (whole plate size). Please keep that in mind, if you plan on reserving online. 🙂
Fall isn’t too far off! What events are you going to?
I’ll post the link with more information about THIS one in the first comment!

07/21/2026

Looks like I’ll be at Ft Clinch (Amelia Island) the first weekend in September for their Union Garrison. Btw, if you want to come out just to get a tintype made, you can, and it is not a problem, I promise! There are public restrooms where you can change clothes, if you need to. I will add it to my booking site later tonight.
I was also invited to a second event but that’s still a “maybe” (it’s in December—we’ll see).
That’ll be ONE event per month Sep-Oct-Nov-and maybe Dec.
That’s good…I don’t want to do more than that. Last year was excessive in the fall months - my own fault for over-extending myself and doing back to back events for 6(?) weeks straight. I won’t be repeating that this year. I don’t know what I was thinking.
TBH, I’m really enjoying not working weekends right now. It’s so relaxing. 😃

07/08/2026

What was it like going to the beach back in the 1860s? Did people actually swim? Well, finding a genuine photo of an American beachgoer from the 1860s is super rare.
A huge reason for the lack of photos of beach goers from that time period was probably early Victorian modesty. Following the fashion rules of the day meant women swam in shorter dresses with full pants underneath and shoes. To prevent the surf from causing “scandalous” wardrobe malfunctions, women apparently even sewed small weights into their hems to keep their dresses from floating up.
On top of wardrobe challenges, early photography wasn’t easy. Trying to carry a heavy wooden camera or pushing a portable darkroom on a cart in the sand must’ve been exhausting. Only a few bothered!
I posted a photo below of a group of men on a beach in 1863 in England. Likely a photographer was commissioned to come out and make the photo for the bathing club. Clearly they are more sc****ly dressed than the ladies, as they were likely on a segregated beach without any women around, but they did pose wearing their top hats. 🤣
By the late 1800s, things got easier for photographers. The dry-plate process was invented, and more roving beach photographers started setting up shop and making images on the beaches. As modesty rules slowly began to loosen, people wanted to pose in their bathing suits and a photo at the beach became a common vacation souvenir!

07/01/2026

This is where I plan to be making tintype portraits for the rest of 2026 and into 2027!😀✌🏻
Just sharing as a “photo” because Facebook is not sharing my events as I add them here. Maybe 11 people end up seeing them. Several people commented after my last event that they didn’t even know about it. Well, gosh. I do try to post in advance so I’m starting months and months in advance this time👍🏻
I’ll post my website link below in the comments, which has all the information about my new pricing and how to book online. Unfortunately I am not able to hold appointment slots without prepayment.
More questions? Please send me an email to:
[email protected]

[I don’t use Facebook messenger because it is A-nnoy-ing and totally unreliable. 🙄]
Thanks, and looking forward to cooler months ahead and lots of fun!

07/01/2026

Whenever I mix up a fresh batch of chemicals before an event, I try to make a “test plate” at home to make sure everything is working. I noticed I tend to use skulls, figurines and decor items from my home, which for some strange reason people have commented in the past and called them “creepy”…😛💀

06/30/2026

06/25/2026

I tend to research subjects that interest me and that’s why my posts are random. One day it’s fashion, the next historic cameras. Well, the other day I was wondering about street photography and came across a few street scenes that I hadn’t seen before.
I love the outlines of transparent people who moved too quickly to appear solid on the street.
The last picture, I just thought the group picture was cool. I saw three different views taken in front of that same building but I can’t tell if they just called out to others to “come get your picture with us!” or if they were taken on other days or of various departments in the building. Interesting.
What kind of things in historic pictures pique your interest or curiosity?
Descriptions and source links are on each image.

06/17/2026

As the warmer weather arrives here in the South, it’s the perfect time to look at mid-1800s historic images of sheer gowns😍
I’ve always admired this style (I occasionally see beautiful replicas at living history events). In fact, almost a decade ago, I made a tintype for a client who was wearing a stunning black sheer dress that left me completely envious!
A few things I’ve learned since: Sheer dresses were fashionably worn by women of all ages.
They were perfectly “proper” as they were lined or worn over underpinnings and not considered scandalous -they were a practical solution in hot climates.
As I’ve posted before, the wet-plate collodion process is highly UV-sensitive, meaning it translates colors differently than the modern eye expects. Warmer tones like reds and yellows register as very dark shades.
While it’s easy to assume a dark dress in a historic portrait is black, it may actually have been a bright primary color like red or yellow. [Though, personally,
as someone who loves wearing black clothes, I do admit a wardrobe of black sheers would be pretty cool!🖤🖤]
To any textile experts - Was black a common color for sheer fabrics in the mid-19th century, or is it simply the collodion process playing tricks? I’m always eager to learn more from others’ expertise!

06/12/2026

Behind the Scenes (Dark-box):
Ever wonder what I’m doing when I disappear under that heavy black cloth at an event? No, I’m not hiding from the crowd (okay, maybe just for a quick breather! 🤣)…I’m actually running a fast-paced race against time inside my "dark-box." Because wetplate photography requires the plate to stay wet from start to finish, my darkroom has to travel with me. While many modern friends in the craft use ice-fishing tents or grow tents, I built a more historically styled wooden box with a painted yellow interior, which bounces the safe red light from the window perfectly and keeps things period-correct.
Right now, I alternate between two extremes. I have a large-sized box that is terribly heavy to haul but gives me plenty of room, and a tiny converted leather suitcase that turns me into a contortionist just to get work done in there! My dream is to build a hybrid box that is roomy but folds flat for easy travel. My biggest wish? A built-in drain hose, just like the historic sketch below. Since I rinse plates with water all day, I am constantly dumping trays of water. A drain hose would instantly upgrade me from "sweating over sloshing trays" to "efficient and significantly less messy!"
What happens in the box? There’s no secrets, (many people do this process), but the chemistry IS pure magic. I pour a collodion base onto the plate, then submerge it in silver nitrate to make it light-sensitive after a few minutes, and carefully shield it from white light using a special plate-holder to carry it safely to the camera. After taking your picture, I rush back to the dark-box before it dries to deftly glide developer across the plate in one smooth wave. This is the trickiest part, IMHO. Temperature affects how the developer flows over the plate and how fast the picture appears, which can cause total havoc on hot summer days! The exact second the image appears, I stop the reaction with water. At this stage, it looks like a ghost-like negative, but finally safe to bring out into the daylight. This is my absolute favorite part because I get to pour the fixer on right in front of you. It instantly transforms that negative into a positive as if by magic! While many people think this step is called “developing,” it is actually called “fixing.”
Once the plate is washed again and dried, I finish the process by applying a protective varnish (I do that step at home). This seals the surface from the air so the silver doesn't darken over time, ensuring your portrait lasts for generations.
It is incredible to think that this is the exact same way photographers made tintypes back in the mid 1800s. A few recipes and techniques have evolved, and it’s fun to read the historic manuals to see how they used to do things, but the heart of the craft remains beautifully unchanged.
If you’re new to my page, come say hi at my next event…I would love to show you the process in person! 😀
My event schedule is on my website (check my bio)👋

06/11/2026

Photographer George Houghton and brother Don Houghton’s photography shack
- The faded looking image entitled “‘Camp Griffin 1861’ shows Union soldiers and men, probably photographers including G.H. or Don Houghton, in front of shed labeled ‘Picture Gallery’ and tent at Camp Griffin, Langley, Virginia.”
Salted paper print
Source is the LOC (link in comments)
The second, clearer image of the camp is from the H H Bennett Studio website when an exhibit of Houghton’s was on display (link in comments).

The 3rd image, a scene of men in front of a tent, is from the Brattleboro Historical Society FB post. Entitled “Civil War 1861 Virginia Camp, Houghton's Photograph Tent.” George Houghton, photographer and Larkin Mead, illustrator were traveling with the Vermont 4th Regiment as they embarked on the Peninsula Campaign early in the war. Mead drew images of the war for "Harper's Weekly" while Houghton took photos of soldiers so they could send them back home…This is a photo, left to right, with Larkin Mead on the far left, George Houghton next to him, Houghton's brother next and then a soldier on the far right.”
(Link in comments).

The 4th picture is of photographer George H. Houghton and his son, Fred.
“George H. Houghton was born in Putney, Vermont in 1824. He began working as a carpenter and, in 1846, married Emma Ward.
By the time of the 1850 census they had one child, three year old Fred, and lived in Rockingham.
Around 1854 Houghton began working for John L. Lovell in the Cutler Block on Brattleboro's Main Street. Lovell had operated a daguerreotype studio in town since 1852.
Dageurreotypes are images that are created on silver-plated copper and are developed with a mercury solution. Lovell owned this local business from 1852 to 1856, when he sold the studio to Caleb Howe.
Houghton used these skills to become a photographer during the Civil War. He travelled with Vt. troops as they served in Virginia and also photographed soldiers as they mustered in and out of the military here in town...”
(Source was a post from a FB post by the Brattleboro Historical Society- link is in the comments).
Brief Bio of photographer George Houghton:
“When George H. Houghton was born on 11 May 1826, in Putney, Windham, Vermont, United States, his father, Henry Hamilton Houghton, was 44 and his mother, Sally Perry, was 37 (together they had a total of 17 children)
George married Emma Rockwood Ward on 20 July 1846, in Guilford, Windham, Vermont, United States. They were the parents of at least 1 son and 1 daughter. In 1866, his occupation is listed as owner, photography studio in Brattleboro, Windham, Vermont, United States. He died on 7 July 1870, in Wisconsin, United States, at the age of 44.”
His older brother in the pictures was named Don Alonzo Houghton (1809-1884)
Source: Family Source
Link in comments.
And finally, for further reading there’s a very cool book about the photographer George H. Houghton with many of his photos entitled “A Very Fine Appearance” 2010 by Donald Harvey Wickman and the Vermont Historical Society (Link in comments)