Photographer Creates Tintype Images on Discarded Cans

 

Arizona-based photographer David Emitt Adams uses a 19th century process known as wet-plate collodion to create tintype images on the surface of discarded tin cans found on the desert floor. The result is an object that has history as an artifact and an image that ties it to its location. David says of his work, "The deserts of the West also have special significance in the history of photography. I have explored this landscape with an awareness of the photographers who have come before me, and this awareness has led me to pay close attention to the traces left behind by others."