Over the weekend, Jake introduced his inner geek to his passion for old school photography processes.  By treating the back glass of the iPhone with photo-sensitive chemicals, he effectively turned his phone into a piece of film and shot an image right onto the damn thing.  Is this The World’s Very First Wet Plate Collodion iPhone (TWVFWPCiP)?  As far as we (and Google) know, it is.  And you thought Instagram was vintage…

Jake’s full write-up and BTS after the break.

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.

After the camera and lighting were
placed, I went to the darkroom to prep the back. For the collodion
to adhere, the glass has to be perfectly clean. A mixture of Calcium Carbonate, water and alcohol is used as a cleaner.

With the glass clean, it was time to
pour the collodion.  The technique here determines how the final image will look.  The goal is to pour enough collodion onto the plate and flow it from corner to corner evenly.

After the collodion is on the plate, it has to be sensitized, shot, and developed before the collodion dries,
which is probably 10-15 minutes. Once sensitized, it
has to stay in the dark to be loaded in the holder. The holder is
then taken to the camera fitted with a lens that dates to 1872 (woah, camera nerd alert!) and the exposure is made. Back in the
darkroom, the plate is taken out and developed. Development times are fast, around 15 seconds (unlike film which takes minutes).  After development,
you can turn the lights back on. Here’s what I saw:

The exposure looked good, the collodion
stayed on the panel perfectly. Once the plate is placed in the
fixer, the image reverses and a warm-toned image is revealed.

The plate is washed, dried and then a
protective varnish is applied. After the varnish dried, I installed
the new back onto the phone.

And there it is.  My quest is over, for now.  Thank you for taking the time to read about the project. Email me with any questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you.  

Your nerdiest,

Jake