Ambrotype photo on iPhone back glass

Jake Potts made an ambrotype photo, using a wet plate collodion process, on the back glass of his iPhone. Fantastic. From Potts's blog:

A few weeks ago, my inner tech geek and camera nerd merged and a new project was created. I wanted to try to create a truly one-of-a-kind iPhone. With well over 100 million of the things sold, it wasn't going to be the easiest task. So I approached it the only way I knew how to make a one-of-a-kind photograph: the ambrotype.

Knowing the iPhone was made of glass, I don't know why it didn't hit me a lot sooner. To make an ambrotype, a piece of glass is coated with salted collodion, sensitized, placed into a camera and exposed like a piece of film. Then back in the darkroom, the glass plate is developed, fixed and washed. This process was invented in 1851 and has recently been embraced again by many artists and photographers for its unique aesthetic and hand-made quality.

I searched the internet and found a replacement back panel for the iPhone without all the Apple branding. Once it arrived, I made a custom holder that would let me use the back panel in the camera where it would take the place of film. With everything I needed in hand, it was time to head to the studio.

"Say Hello to iPlate" (Thanks, Randall de Rijk!)

• [jandrese]

  That’s really cool, but did he put a texture over the camera’s glass?  Isn’t that going to ruin the camera?  

  • [David Pescovitz]

    I think that is just masking over the glass during the process to protect the lens.

  • [EH]

    Looks like surgical tape.

• [Conan Librarian]

  “I searched the internet and found a replacement back panel for the iPhone without all the Apple branding.”

  But then how will people know you belong to Apple? Without the logo to brand you, everyone will end up dazed and confused. Wandering the streets, drooling and looking for guidance and acceptance. This sets a very dangerous precedent, and could lead to the collapse of society as we know it!

• [Hubert Figuière]

  This is photography as an art form !

  • [blueelm]

    Photography *is* an art form, but I agree that this is damned cool.

• [zotlerg]

  I’m not sure about the subject matter on this photo. A  knock-kneed woman standing on some freshly cut flowers? Really?
  I would have preferred a skull and cross-bones, or guns, or a burning motorbike!
  Yeah!!!

  OK, OK, I’ll get my coat…   : )

  • [the_engineer]

    The burning motorbike would have required some better ventilation & fire supression systems in the studio i’m guessing.

  • [Godfree]

    I’m with you. Someone get that poor woman a chair before she falls over and hurts herself.

• [Jake von Slatt]

  I did a similar project recently. One key difference is I removed the glass from a replacement back and put the image on the _inside_. I don’t have Pat’s mad skillz so I used a toner transfer method that made decent faux daguerreotypes, quite nice full color transfers, and beautiful two-tone with a metallic paint backing.

  Details here:  
  http://steampunkworkshop.com/custom-glass-iphone-back

  • [Noctilucent Studios]

     Those are beautiful! I particularly like the Waterhouse one. As far as subject matter goes, I think this would be the obvious choice!

    http://files.petapixel.com/assets/uploads/2010/10/boulevard.jpg

• [lavardera]

  I wonder if he could have put this to the inside of the glass so it would be more durable. Not with black glass, obviously, you would have to have a clear glass, and some kind of back coating over the photographic emulsion to finish it off..

  • [Jake von Slatt]

    See comment  above, it’s actually pretty easy.