Pirates and Alternative Photography

New London Art Stroll (Aug 2023)

It was a fine August day when my friend Amy invited us to see her art/reiki studio in the Dewart Building in downtown New London during the New London Arts Stroll.  Amy told us that it was not only an open studios for local artists, but also a Pirate Festival.  As artists ourselves, we could not pass up this opportunity to dress up in costume and meet and mingle with other artists. So naturally, we dressed like pirates for the entire day. 

If you look closely, we have recycled key pieces from our Renaissance Faire outfits. Pahl is wearing the same shirt he paired with a blue over shirt and the same leather boots he wore in previous costumes, as well as the over the chest sword holder. He also wore what he considers a relatively cheap waistcoat and added embellishments with a waist tie, eyepatch, ostrich feather in a felt tri-corner hat, and a skull cap (which you can't see). And yes, that is his natural hair, let loose and free-flowing. 

It took me a little bit longer to figure out my outfit. I recycled the purple peasant blouse that I wore from my courtesan style Renaissance faire costume, but I hemmed and hawed at the correct skirt and other accessories. I had purchased this hi-low high waisted skirt with skirt pickups about 3 years ago as a sort of fun costume piece that could go with a lot of different styles. Paired with fishnets and sharp looking coven boots from Strangecvlt, it still reads a little bit like lady of the night from the bottom up. To make the pirate theme more obvious, I put on a beaded and jeweled necklace, a black choker with a metal bird skull, long fingerless gloves with lace up ribbons on the side, and a bandana over my head. The finishing touch was the harness. It might not have been something a real pirate wore but it did add an edgy look.

I also wore bold makeup with my eyes and lips. Looking at us as pirates side by side, I saw two scary/serious looking people that I did not want to mess with. 

We basically visited every open studio in the Dewart Building, even the artists who were not on the featured list. Just as we were about to finish our tour, we stumbled upon John Morgan's studio. He works in the alternative photographic process known as wet plate collodion. In this process, a photographer sensitizes a glass plate, puts it in a ginormous camera with a huge lens which produces a negative on the plate when exposed to light, and has to immediately develop the negative within 10-15 minutes to ensure the image is not lost or compromised.

​I know a thing or two about alternative photography...I took it twice when I was in undergrad and wrote an entire unit on how to make digital negatives, mix chemicals, sensitize paper and other materials as well as focusing specifically on portraiture for my art education secondary preparation course.  I have worked in black and white film 35 mm as well as 120mm with single lens reflex as well as twin lens reflex, and the chemical processes of cyanotype, salt print, van dyke brown and gum bichromate. I have unfortunately developed a very strong sensitivity to working with almost all of these chemicals, and while I appreciate the amount of work and luck required to produce this sort of imagery, I can sadly no longer be the creator...but it turns out that I can be the subject. 

John had large lights set up with some nice looking old chairs and plants around us. He told us that we had to hold our pose for at least 15-20 seconds and to lean into the light, even though it was going to be very bright and temporarily blinding. It's a miracle that our faces are in focus while our bodies are out of focus using his suggestions. One thing that makes this type of photography special is that anything that is blue will appear almost white. I have dark blue eyes, but between the super bright lights and the nature of exposing chemicals on a glass negative in this style of photography, they are so light they are piercing. I also was glad that my lipstick held up through lunch and that my eye makeup didn't slide off my face. It made features of my face stand out that I don't usually notice. The soft texture of Pahl's hair against the hard stern look on his face also give him a completely different looking countenance than his usual knight in shining armor or regal aristocrat. 

So my advice to you dear reader is to attend any open studio available to you in your local area, and make sure you dress up in a particular style or costume. You never know when you'll make a new friend...or become a muse.