He spent S$150K to arrange S’pore’s solely tintype picture studio

Meet the one individual doing skilled wet-plate tintype images in Singapore

For Ryan Lee, a few of his fondest childhood reminiscences had been made at household picture studios—selecting backdrops, adjusting poses, and ready for prints to develop. However by the point he was about to get married, these old-school movie studios had all however vanished in Singapore.

Feeling disheartened, Ryan promised himself that he would carry that custom again. That promise took root when he stumbled upon a video of a photographer in San Francisco practising wet-plate tintype images: an antiquated Nineteenth-century course of that captures hauntingly stunning portraits on steel plates.

Impressed, Ryan left his job as a inventive director and poured about S$150,000 of his financial savings into opening Hip Xiong Photograph Studio at Geylang in Nov 2019. “I’ve been serving to others construct their model for many years, and determined that it was time to construct my very own model.” 

Sadly, the COVID-19 pandemic hit simply months after opening his studio, leaving Ryan to reside off his financial savings till Could 2020. Nonetheless, he refused to surrender and spent three months researching the medium additional, experimenting with chemical compounds, gentle, and timing till he perfected the method on his personal.

When the world slowly reopened, Ryan’s studio drew curious guests wanting to expertise the identical old-world appeal that impressed him within the first place.

I solely had one shot, right here’s how Ryan made it work

We reached out to Ryan to learn how he learnt the ropes and the method behind wet-plate images, however he initially remained coy about it. “I favor not to enter an excessive amount of element, I believe it’s higher for individuals to expertise it themselves!” 

And that’s exactly what I did: I booked a photoshoot for myself to see what it’s all about. 

Once I visited on a random Thursday morning, he warmly greeted me and led me upstairs to the second flooring, the place his studio and darkroom had been situated. He gave me a fast rundown on how the photoshoot can be carried out, and I sat down within the chair the place he helped me with my posing and positioning.

I opted for the 4×5-inch tintype and paid S$300 for one plate, which meant I had just one probability to get the proper shot. I don’t take into account myself essentially the most photogenic individual, so I felt nervous and self-conscious strolling into the studio. Regardless of that, Ryan took his time and patiently guided me, even chatting as he fine-tuned the lighting and focus, which helped me calm down because the 45-minute session went on.

Then got here the chemistry. In his darkroom stuffed with bottles, trays, and frames, Ryan ready every body by pouring a collodion resolution diluted with ether and alcohol onto a black aluminium plate. 

The plate was then positioned right into a canister of silver nitrate, the place the silver particles certain with bromides and iodides from the collodion to kind a movie of silver halides—a compound additionally present in black-and-white images.

“Primarily, we’re making our personal movie,” stated Ryan. 

The movie is seen as a cheesy, white colored emulsion that’s delicate to gentle and is loaded into the digicam. After a three-second countdown and a flash of blinding gentle, we had our shot.

Within the darkroom, Ryan poured a small quantity of developer over the plate, turning the silver halides into metallic silver to create a adverse picture. As soon as the adverse fashioned, he rinsed away the developer and poured on the fixer, dissolving the white emulsion to disclose the unique black plate and my portrait.

Whereas I might need moved barely from my authentic place, I used to be happy with the way it turned out. It wasn’t essentially the most polished image I’ve ever had, however its imperfections and the hassle behind it made the S$300 effectively value it.

Studying a misplaced craft and passing it down

Not everyone seems to be satisfied that paying a whole lot for one or two frames is justified. Ryan countered this by saying that his pricing displays each the fee and the worth of the expertise.

“It’s a steal!” Ryan exclaimed. “It’s a really distinctive type of images in comparison with a typical skilled shoot that may value hundreds; my tintype classes are extra about providing a significant, one-of-a-kind expertise for many who favor a single, lasting image slightly than a whole lot of photographs.”

He defined that the supplies and month-to-month rental account for roughly 40% to 50% of his prices, and that he costs for the time, care, and alternative prices behind every shoot. Nevertheless, reaching the outcomes he needed took constant rounds of trial and error—a behavior he has maintained for the final 5 years since he began. 

Like a science experiment, each shot is determined by a number of variables, from chemical focus and humidity to temperature and even what color clothes the topic wears. “I can let you know what sort of lights and lenses I take advantage of, however you gained’t get the identical outcome,” added Ryan. “I’m at all times making small enhancements; the look of my earlier plates may be very completely different from those I do now.”

Because the craft was uncommon when he first began, Ryan typically requested questions on-line, however obtained no replies. So he taught himself and have become extra self-reliant.”I learnt extra via making my very own errors. If individuals spoonfed me the solutions, I might not have gotten up to now in the present day.”

To the 44-year-old, time works in another way when he’s within the darkroom. Whereas the method appears to be like and sounds tedious to many, Ryan finds it pleasant to the purpose the place he may spend hours discovering the proper mixture of chemical compounds and timing there with out realising.

“I had a finish purpose in thoughts and had a imaginative and prescient how I would like my work to be, it was very satisfying that each little change that I make within the course of brings me a step nearer to what I needed to attain.”

As the one individual doing wet-plate tintype images in Singapore, Ryan now makes use of his studio as a platform to reintroduce locals and vacationers to the craft. He conducts workshops the place individuals could make their very own tintype portraits, having refined the method to make it accessible to anybody curious sufficient to attempt.

A type of workshops even led to a particular alternative. A participant from American magnificence model Kiehl’s attended a session and famous that wet-plate images started in 1851: the identical 12 months the model was based. 

That coincidence led Kiehl’s to host its anniversary celebration on the bottom flooring of Hip Xiong Photograph Studio in 2021.

Beginning once more after a mini hiatus in 2024

All appeared to go effectively for the enterprise, which was why I used to be stunned to be taught that Hip Xiong Photograph Studio stopped working in 2024, 4 years after its inception. Ryan revealed that he determined to not renew the lease of his studio in November 2023, as he spent 80% of his time within the darkroom on the second flooring, leaving the bottom flooring underutilised.

He had additionally been on the lookout for a smaller, cheaper location that higher suited his wants. “I had this impression that irrespective of the place I’m, if individuals really need my service, they’ll come to me,” he stated. “So the situation didn’t actually matter.” The pet store subsequent door additionally needed to develop and supplied to take over the area. So, Ryan let it go.

However he didn’t cease practising. He started doing home calls, providing moist plate images providers on to shoppers’ houses. It allowed him to succeed in individuals who couldn’t go to his studio, nevertheless it was exhausting work—the setup and transport of chemical compounds and tools had been back-breaking, and he needed to cost increased costs to make every journey worthwhile.

As rental costs climbed, Ryan contemplated giving up wet-plate images altogether. However then his former property agent known as, providing him the prospect to reclaim his previous area on the finish of 2024. He agreed with out hesitation.

Nevertheless, restarting from scratch proved difficult. Many post-pandemic prospects had been unfamiliar with wet-plate images, and provide chain disruptions added one other layer of frustration past his management.

Regardless of these hurdles, Ryan’s focus has by no means been on revenue. Preserving wet-plate tintype images and sharing it with like-minded individuals has at all times been his precedence. 

“I felt that if I needed one thing so badly, perhaps somebody with the identical mindset would need the identical factor.” 

• Be taught extra about Hip Xiong Photograph Studio right here.
• Learn extra tales we’ve written on Singaporean companies right here.

Featured Picture Credit score: Hip Xiong Photograph Studio