Welcome to the forums, Quinn...

I'm a long time film shooter (now mostly digital) that has played some with alternative and "early" photo processes over the years. BTW, William Crawford's The Keepers of Light has been one of my favorite photo books since the it came out in the late 70's...

I enjoy seeing (and discussing) the contrast between to the two images Brian posted. I can't help but notice, though, that the ambrotype here IMO is a relatively poor result compared to what you have on your web site. Those images are phenominal and possess a quality that is amazingly close to the original period photos.

I agree that this process produces a rather haunting effect, but having seen much work done in this style, it comes as no surprise to me. Still, I find it a bit depressing after a while, which is why I can only look at so many Civil War era images.

But that's neither here nor there. My tastes simply runs more towards blue printing and gum printing, that's all.

One thing you can probably confirm is that the process becomes paramount when working this way. That is something I completely understand, and (again IMO) whether you can replicate this effect through digital means is a moot point.

Results aside, it's very much a question of HOW you create the image, and the digital methods will in no way be like the physical and tactile qualities of the wet plate technique.

Thanks for sharing a very different kind of image making!