Shutter to Think

Folks take sooo much for granted when it comes to modern-day still photography. All digital shutterbugs gotta do is frame their shot, release the shutter, and look at a screen to decide whether or not to retake. So easy and low-stress.

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• Mark Osterman
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But where’s the fun in that instant-gratification crap? Imagine working in photography during the 1800s, known today as alternative processes that feature maybe a 50 percent success rate. Plus, there’s all that death-potential stuff like breathing in harmful chemicals and hauling around backbreaking materials, which, to us, corresponds to a good time.

By these standards, Mark Osterman, a non-silver photo-process historian at the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, may be the most fun photo cat you’ll ever meet. In his "Artifacts of a Curious Mind" exhibit at Tilt Gallery, Osterman showcases mind-blowing, 1850s-era ambrotypes. It’s a process that’s not only a real bitch, but carries a constant risk of conflagrating. Cool.