ENTERTAINMENT

THE ARTIST'S TOUCH: Winning image embraced challenges of tintype

Tony Simmons
The News Herald

PANAMA CITY BEACH — In the image, a man and his son rest in a concrete bowl, isolated by the gray expanse and the curves of their environment.

"Skate Break" is a tintype print by Panama City Beach-based photographer Andrew Wardlow. It received the Best of Show award in this year's F/Stop photography competition at the Panama City Center for the Arts, as well as first place in the Traditional category. Wardlow also received an honorable mention in the Traditional category for a tintype titled "Young Buck."

"Skate Break," a tintype print by Andrew Wardlow, won Best of Show in the recent F/Stop photography contest at the Panama City Center for the Arts.

"The man is Nikia Crumby. We grew up skateboarding together," Wardlow said. "I call him Nick. And that's his son, Gabriel."

The location was the Two Rivers Skate Park in Nashville, Tennessee, where Wardlow traveled in 2019 to photograph some old friends and practice creating tintypes on-location.

A tintype is actually a thin slice of aluminum coated in light-reactive chemicals. Inserted into the rear of a large camera and protected by a fabric hood, the sheet is then exposed to the image projected through the lens. A chemical bath in a darkroom excites the elements on the metal sheet to bring out the image.

"I wanted to see how the process went, doing them on location for days at a time," Wardlow said. "Usually, for a tintype it's better to do it when the sun is out because of the light spectrum the chemicals need. It was overcast, and I had my portable darkroom set up, but it's a problem if the chemicals get wet."

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Wardlow said the process has taught him to "embrace the challenge."

"I had in my head that it would look cool, because of the curves and surfaces" of the skatepark bowls, he said. "It took a while to figure out the perfect composition. I've been doing this for 20 years now, and I've trained myself to see compositions even when I'm not looking for them."

Andrew Wardlow received the Best of Show award for his photograph in the recent F/Stop competition at the Center for the Arts in Panama City.

The F/Stop exhibition is open through Sept. 26 at the Center, 19 E. Fourth St. in Panama City. Admission is free. The Light Room, at 306 Harrison Ave. in Panama City, will feature a wide selection of Wardlow's tintypes in an exhibit opening in November.

"Everybody's always interested" when they see him setting up the big accordion-style camera used to shoot tintypes, he said. While he shot and developed this particular image, a Japanese tourist who happened along documented his work for a travel vlog.

"It brings people together," he added.

Wardlow grew up in Tennessee and earned an art/photography degree from the University of North Alabama. He has been a professional photographer for more than 20 years, garnering numerous awards for photojournalism as well as his more artistic compositions. As the former chief photographer at The News Herald, he documented everything from presidential visits and kids on Spring Break to natural disasters.

He became interested in the art of the tintype.

Tintypes were popular during the 19th century and were used to record images of Civil War battlefields. However, they were most often created in a formal studio where the subjects could comfortably sit or stand, as it takes a long, steady exposure to capture the image.

Wardlow took most of a year just acquiring a camera, lenses and chemicals, then constructing a darkroom in his home before he could begin learning the process. He then traveled to take classes and participate in workshops, shooting practice plates with friends or taking images of still-life subjects. 

“It’s authentic,” he said in a 2017 interview. “It’s not overly processed or Photoshopped or put through an Instagram filter. It’s one shot. You either get it or you don’t get it."

"Young Buck," a tintype by Andrew Wardlow, received an honorable mention in the recent F/Stop photography competition.

Wardlow's other image in the F/Stop show came about after his brother-in-law discovered the carcass of a deer while on a walk in the woods. The skull of "Young Buck" is a stark contrast to the father-son photo.

"I had to figure out how to hang it in my studio for it to appear like it's floating," Wardlow said, explaining that a simple straight-ahead snapshot of the skull wasn't enough for him. "I don't want people to waste time if they're looking at my stuff. There's a lot to look at, and I want to be sure mine is worth their time."

An avid surfer, explorer and gardener, Wardlow specializes in beach portraits, wedding and commercial photography. You can find out more at AndrewWardlow.com.