Rising Stars: Meet Blake Wylie

Today we’d like to introduce you to Blake Wylie.

Hi Blake, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
Photography is not my day job, but it is my passion. I shot film many years ago just before the advent of digital photography. It was when you could just drop-off your rolls of film at any Wal-Mart or Target.

Digital really started taking off, and over time, I was just less and less interested in adopting with the masses. I tried, and I went through some digital movements, but once filters started becoming the norm, I pretty much dropped out. My Canon DSLR sat idle.

I have always had an interest in history, and I was looking for ways to revive an old camera that belonged to a relative. There was no film for it, but it led me down the rabbit hole of photography history, and I found that the art of tintype photography was actually something that could be practiced today. Dangerous chemicals and hard to do… sign me up. That led me down the path to where I am today.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The tintype process 12 years ago was not as easy as it was today. It has had a bit of a revival over the last five years. From buying a book from John Coffer, baking my own tin plates, mixing my collodion, measuring chemicals in my makeshift darkroom, it was not an easy road.

My first darkroom was black plastic hanging down from the ceiling in my basement. Chemical mishaps, just trying to get exposures right, etc. However, with time, the more you do it, the better you can get at it.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My day job is in Information Technology. My passions outside of work are either older technologies (typewriters) or older art forms (tintype photography). I have been in technology for over 20 years now. This is my escape… my creative outlet. I shoot portraits about once a month out of our home studio in Franklin.

Contact Info:

• Email: blake@blakewylie.com
• Website: www.blakewylie.com
• Instagram: blakew