A word about myself..

I once worked with a painter who was often asked, "How long did it take you to paint this picture?" to which he would often reply, "my whole life." I always loved that response because it is so true! I and my work are the product of everything I have done, every decision I have made from the beginning until right now.

I studied fine art, painting and printmaking, and applied those skills as a fine art studio manager for Edward Bordett for 5 years, creating detailed limited edition hand printed serigraphs. After that, I spent nearly 10 years working in a traditional film darkroom hand making fiber based prints and fell in love with that process. I began working as a full time photographer in 2005, completely digital, but always with love for the darkroom.

In 2013 I made the decision to focus back on film as a way of expression, for me this time. Out of that quickly grew an interest in the historical aspect of my craft. As a history buff, I was naturally drawn to photography's beginnings, that's when I found wet plate collodion. I was quickly and completely hypnotized by the character of the tintype images, the precision of the process, and the skill it took to create these magical heirloom objects. I made it my goal to learn as much as possible, to study and practice this craft until I was satisfied that I was doing it right.

The summer of 2013 found me at the farm of master wet plate photographer John Coffer, where I attempted to learn as much as possible in several days of instruction and training. In the time since then, I have learned a lot by trial and error as you might expect. This is a learning journey, and I hope I am improving my work all the time.

Hello, my name is Jeff East, and I am a wet plate collodion artist specializing in natural light tintype photography in Southwest Virginia, serving Roanoke, Lynchburg, and the Smith Mountain Lake area.