With the resurgence of Polaroid photography in the last decade, instant photography is everywhere. But rarely do photographers—even darkroom purists—throw back to the original instant photography: tintypes.
Tintypes, a wet plate collodion process, is a kind of photography that was used primarily in the mid-1800s. The process uses more than 20 chemicals (including cyanide!) and is extremely time-sensitive. In the span of about 15 minutes, an image on glass is coated, sensitized, exposed, developed, fixed and washed, creating an instant unique photograph.
Senior Photo Editor Sarah Coulter of Paramount Networks brought this vintage technique to the key art of the coming second season of Yellowstone, a western drama that looks into the clash between traditional values and the modern world starring Kevin Costner that premieres June 19.
Here, The Daily Beast brings a selection of haunting Yellowstone portraits from another era, and a behind-the-scenes look of how they’re made.