About Me:
I was born and raised in Budapest, Hungary. My father was an artistic photographer who gave me a Russian film camera when I was 8 years old. I have been behind the camera ever since. After a career in geology I decided to follow my calling and to spend the rest of my life doing what I always loved to do: I became a professional photographer. Besides enjoying making art that my clients appreciate, I also love connecting with people, hearing their stories, and create beautiful images of them and their families that reflect their personality.
As an artist, my personal goal is to spread love on this planet. My projects are documentary works using the tintype technique. I photograph refugees, who have monumental stories to tell, and women with head covers, who carry their faith while enduring discrimination and sometimes hatred from society. My hope is that whoever looks at my images, will see beauty and dignity in these people, rather than strangeness and threat.
What is tintype, or the wet plate collodion process?
The wet plate collodion process was developed in the 1860s and predates film photography. The process uses light-sensitive chemistry spread on aluminum or glass plate. The sensitized plate is inserted into a large format camera (most of the time the one with bellowes and brass lens), exposed, and then developed immediately in a dark room. People get to see their portraits come to life during development and fixing. Then the plate is dried and varnished, which may take a couple of days. A session normally takes 1-1.5 hours.