As noted in Part I of this Pho·tog Friday series on Alex Timmermans, he is a photographer who currently uses one of the oldest methods of photography to create his images: the wet-plate collodion process. Recently, Timmermans' Story Telling series has "hit the stands" with numerous raving reviews. Timmermans' uncanny ability to merge the "old" and "new" worlds via his technique, use of props and unique looking models doesn't just apply to his Story Telling series but is also seen in his Nudes.
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| Timmermans, Alex, Ivory Standing Tree, 2013. |
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| Timmermans, Alex, Couch, 2013. |
In regards to the above photos, here's what Timmermans has to say on his blog post titled "Fantastic Shoot in Belgium" about the shoot:
"Last year I met Johan Verhulst. Johan is a talented Belgium photographer, specialized in large format nude photography. He was interested in wet plate photography so he visited my small studio and we had some interesting discussions about photography and of course we made some very nice plates together. At the end of the day he invited me to visit his home and do some nude wet plate. It took some time before we could settle an appointment as we needed some good weather. And we all know how long the winter season lasted this year... Last Tuesday we (Ferry and me) drove to Belgium and after 11/2 hours driving we arrived at Johan's place. Well, "a house and a garden" is an understatement. Johan and his family live in a more than 200 years old beautiful house pre owned by a famous brewer family. And the garden is actually a park. Filled with trees of more than 200 years old, a lake with white swans, a small antique bridge and much much more. You can imagine we had a fantastic day and also beautiful weather!" (Timmermans, web).
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| Timmermans, Alex, Sheryn, 2013. |
| One of my favorite nude
portraits by Timmermans was taken of a woman named Olga Kaminska from
Poland (seen above). Timmermans describes Kaminska as very "patient",
which as one can imagine is a "must" given the wet-plate collodion
process. The exposure time for this particular image was six seconds. With this particularly photograph, the viewer becomes entranced by the lines, shapes and shadows formed by Timmermans' light cast on his subject. Timmermans' "old world" content is evident in this photograph through his props: the frame of the mirror along with the subject's corset. 01. Timmermans, Alex. "Alex Timmermans | Alchemist." Alex Timmermans. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 June 2014. 02. Timmermans, Alex. "Fantastic Shoot in Belgium." Alex Timmermans Collodion Ambrotype Wet Plate Photography. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 June 2014. 03. Timmermans, Alex. "Recent Shoot with Olga Kaminska." Alex Timmermans Collodion Ambrotype Wet Plate Photography: Recent Shoot with Olga Kaminska. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 June 2014. |