Antique wedding photography from Jody Ake
Sponsors: Photographers
By
on December 19, 2008
17 Responses
New York wedding photographer Jody Ake takes antique wedding portraits unlike any I've ever seen.
Jody uses an old-school camera process called wet collodion, which involves coating a glass plate with hand-mixed goo and then exposing the plate while it's is still wet. The resulting "ambrotype" is a negative image on glass that's then backed with black velvet. BLACK VELVET, PEOPLE!
Jody explains, "When people come in for their portrait they soon realize that this is not a normal photo shoot. I use a huge studio view camera that's about 100 years old. I have to prepare each glass plate right before I expose it and I have to develop it immediately." Jody's clients receive their one-of-a-kind ambrotypes to keep.
To see more of Jody's antique wedding portraits and get the scoop on a discounts for offbeat brides, keep reading...
Jody's been using the wet collodian process for 11 years has been featured in books like Photography's Antiquarian Avant-Garde: The New Wave in Old Processes and The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes.
Naturally, Jody also does more contemporary wedding photography too ... and he's offering a 10% discount to clients who mention they found him on Offbeat Bride! So go get inspired, and if you're in New York and want antique wedding portraits that will blow your mind ... get in touch with Jody!
About Ariel Meadow Stallings
Author of Offbeat Bride: Creative Alternatives for Independent Brides, Ariel acts as the publisher of all the Offbeat Empire websites. She lives, loves, and dorks out hard in Seattle, WA.
Cassandra said
That is unbelievably cool!
Chris S. said
Those are stunning.
amber aka akaisha said
this is officially the coolest thing i've ever seen.
Katie said
Oh wow! Fantastic! I've dabbled in alternative/old processes myself, but these are the cream of the crop! Incredible!
Sam said
These are incredible!
Goddess Leonie I Creative Goddess said
Holy DINGERBERGER those are cool.
Natalie said
WANT!
missbhavens said
F'in amazing! Oh man…and in NYC? I think my wedding budget just changed.
Mr. Billey said
Holy Respect Batman! I'm totally Blown away!! I bow to thee, Jody!!
Pat said
Fantastic pictures, thank you for sharing them.
Bev said
Jody's photography is exactly what I dream of for my engagement photos. I hate those tacky & sappy ones… ugh
lucy said
i am looking for a photographer do you recommend jody? if so do you have her info and is she in ny?
thanks!
Denise said
I love the sepia tone! I remember in college spending hours in the photo lab working on sepia prints..the smell was awful..like sulfur..Thank God those days are gone!cough!
Love this blog too!
Kai said
How incredible! I can't get over how beautiful that woman is in the first photo. Very striking.
Kim Dye said
*SWOON*
Suzanne The Party Girl said
Wow! I LOVE this photo process! Thank you so much for posting Jody's info! Oh, and your site ROCKS. I particularly like the swear words.
Suzanne
Jody Ake said
UPDATE! Jody Ake Photography has moved to Portland Oregon!!!!