Billy Mills 1964 10,000 Metre Olympic Gold Medalist in Wet Plate Collodion
"Unity Through Diversity" with William "Billy" Mervin Mills, Oglala Sioux, captured for the first time in the historic wet plate collodion process of silver on glass. Billy is the 1964 Gold Medal Winner of the 10,000 metres in Tokyo, Japan. He broke the Olympic Record with a time of 28:24.4! These plates were taken as part of my series "Northern Plains Native Americans: A Modern Wet Plate Perspective".
Carl Zeiss Tessar 300mm lens, f4.5, 7 seconds of exposure, 8x10" black glass ambrotype, natural light through Northern facing windows and skylights at Nostalgic Glass Wet Plate Studio, Bismarck, North Dakota taken on 3-24-2024.
Michael Spears from Dances with Wolves Captured in Wet Plate Collodion
Michael Adam Spears "Buffalo Spider", Teton Secangu / Lakota, captured for the first time in the historic wet plate collodion process of silver on glass for the series “Northern Plains Native Americans: A Modern Wet Plate Perspective”. Michael played the young boy "Otter" in the movie "Dances with Wolves" in 1990 when he was 12. One plate is going to the archive at the State Historical Society of North Dakota as part of the series. The 2nd plate is going to the State Historical Society of South Dakota where his tribe resided and the 3rd plate is going to the Academy of Motion Picture and Arts (The Oscars) in Los Angeles.
Carl Zeiss Tessar 300mm lens, f4.5, 9 seconds of exposure, 8x10" black glass ambrotype, natural light through Northern facing windows and skylights at Nostalgic Glass Wet Plate Studio, Bismarck, North Dakota, taken on 2-2-2024.
Michael also wrote a song and sang it for the visitors of the studio, Michael Spears Singing Original Song
Josh Duhamel in Wet Plate Collodion by Shane Balkowitsch at the Taube Museum of Art
"The North Dakotan" with Josh Duhamel captured for the first time in the historic wet plate collodion process of silver on glass. Josh is very proud of being from North Dakota and it was an honor to finally be able to immortalize his likeness in the process I hold so dear. This shoot was six years in the making and the plate with him staring at the lens is going to the State Historical Society of North Dakota to document his legacy in our state.
I want to thank my good friend Ryan Stander for his assistance today behind the scenes. I am grateful to the Taube Museum of Art for their generous hospitality. This would not have been possible without Sara Coleman at North Dakota Tourism who helped me arrange this shoot.
The frontal plate was donated to the State Historical Society of North Dakota and the plate "The North Dakotan" of Josh in the window was gifted to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (The Oscars) in Los Angeles.
Carl Zeiss Tessar 300mm lens, f4.5, 8 seconds of exposure, 8x10" black glass ambrotype, continuous light and natural light at the Taube Museum of Art in Minot, Plate 4878, taken on 11-20-2023 by Shane Balkowitsch, Nostalgic Glass Wet Plate Studio, Bismarck, North Dakota.
Shailene Woodley in Wet Plate Collodion by Shane Balkowitsch
Shailene Woodley captured for the first time in the historic wet plate collodion process of pure silver on glass. I am honored that she trusted my camera and lens today.
Carl Zeiss Tessar 300mm lens, f4.5, 9 seconds of exposure, 8x10 black glass ambrotype, natural light through Northern facing windows and skylights at Nostalgic Glass Wet Plate Studio, Bismarck, North Dakota, Plate 4847 taken on 10-15-2023.
I want to thank my dear friend Don Jay Twobears for making this happen.
Digital Photos by Chad Nodland, the official digital photographer to Nostalgic Glass Wet Plate Studio
"Phantasm Skull" Wet Plate Collodion Collaboration with Jeffrey Sklan
"Phantasm Skull" with Shelbe Neubauer and Taylor Lafournaise, captured in the historic wet plate collodion process of pure silver on glass. Composition, props and styling by my propmaster Laine Pope and her sister Laura. Jeffrey Sklan from Los Angeles flew in for the weekend and was our special guest for this collaboration.
Capturing ”Phantasm Skull” in wet plate was no easy task. Taylor and Shelbe sat still for so long they could barely walk afterwards. My team came together and we were all paid in smiles, laughter and hugs. The difficulty and pain of the creating these images washes away once the plate appears.
Thank you Chad Nodland, the official digital photographer to Nostalgic Glass for documenting these moments for us all.
Inspired by the work of Olga Beliaeva (below).
Carl Zeiss Tessar 300mm lens, f4.5, 8 seconds of exposure, 8x10" black glass ambrotype, natural light through Northern facing windows and skylights at Nostalgic Glass Wet Plate Studio, Bismarck, North Dakota, Plate 4738 taken on 7-28-2023.
Chad Nodland's Digital take on "Phantasm Skull"