Johnny Depp - SIGNED ORIGINAL - Limited Edition of 1 Photograph

Johnny Depp, Alice Cooper, Rod Stewart, James Blunt, Sting or David Duchovny. They all come to Stefan Sappert for a photo. His pictures have something mystical, they appear powerful and everlasting. As if they came from a world where time has no meaning. For this unique effect, the 37-year-old uses a special technique: he photographs with silver on black glass. Each portrait is one of a kind, no negatives, no prints. To capture his motifs, Stefan uses a large, wooden bellows camera from 1860. "I was bored of digital photography and wanted to slow down the work", Stefan says. "This process gives me time to focus on the persons and let them be part of the whole experience." Stefan creates his pictures using the collodion wet plate process, invented in 1851. For this purpose, he applies a layer of collodion to the black glass. The sweet-smelling adhesive serves as a primer for a silver nitrate solution that makes the plate photosensitive. In his job Stefan is half an artist, half a travelling alchemist. He mixes the chemicals for his glass plates on his own, often directly at the location of the photo shoot. "Each plate has to be prepared right before the shoot and needs to be developed immediately afterwards," Stefan explains. "That’s why I always bring a mobile photo lab in a converted suitcase. Photography with silver and glass is something special for him: "The photos appear like paintings. They not only show people, but also seem to cast a glance into their souls."