Balkowitsch

North Dakotan Shane Balkowitsch’s quest to take 1000 Native American wet-plates portraits in the present day is one step closer with this second volume. In this series of wet-plate collodion book of portraits of Northern Plains Native Americans, the photographer/author continues with his distinctive and unique presentation that is the only one to have ever been instigated or created for this particular group of Native Americans. The technique he uses, wet-plate collodion and the eye of the author align to present a masterful, unique, and respectful array that is sumptuous and compelling. Here the subjects are presented in their native garb, giving he subjects the opportunity explore their self-image, in a safe space where who they are how they see themselves are certain to be respected and admired.

Wet-plate collodion is one of the earliest forms of photography. A wet-plate photographer makes a film based on a piece of glass or metal using collodion, submerges it in a silver nitrate solution to make it light sensitive, and then exposes the photograph usually in an old style wood bellows camera box and antique brass lens from the 1800’s. The end result is a one-of-a-kind, archival object of art that will last many lifetimes.

Shane and his Native American sitters have collaborated in the creation of a piece of contemporary history using classical methodology. The legacy he has created is indeed, who they were, what they were like, and what they did. There is nothing like it in the library of Native American portraiture in the modern era. The photographer’s effort is to show that his subjects are still here--with their culture, dignity, and traditions.

Shane Balkowitsch is a self-taught large format photographer. As one of the fewer than 1,000 wet-plate collodion artists practicing around the world, Balkowitsch carries on the tradition of the Victorian photographic method, dating back to the 19th century. Based in Bismarck, North Dakota, Balkowitsch established the first natural light wet-plate studio constructed in the entire country in over 100 years, the Nostalgic Glass Wet-plate Studio. His works are held in prestigious institutions, including the State Historical Society of North Dakota, Smithsonian and Library of Congress.

North Dakotan Shane Balkowitsch’s first personal camera was not an Instamatic Kodak or a point-and-shoot Nikon, but rather a large format wet-plate camera. As a self-taught ＂image-maker＂ and one of the fewer than 1,000 wet-plate collodion artists practicing around the world, Balkowitsch has fully devoted himself to mastering the obsolete photographic technology since 2012. Approaching the historically embedded technique from a contemporary perspective, Balkowitsch’s process transforms the limitations of the medium―its labor and time-sensitive nature―into opportunities for creative explorations. He lives in Bismarck, North Dakota.