Stefan Sappert

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," S...

Stefan earned his photography diploma at the Prague university for artistic photography.
He soon developed his own and recognizable style of imagery, which is appreciated by everybody who loves the unique and exceptional.

(selected)
Liu Haisu Art Museum / Shanghai / China
Armel Soyer Gallery / Paris / France
Kaunas Photo / Zilinskas Art Gallery / Kaunas / Lithuania
L'Eclaireur / Paris / France
Freemason's Hall / London / UK
Museo Arte Reina Sofia / Madrid / Spain
Samsa G. Gallery / Munich / Germany
Galerie LUMINA / Vienna / Austria
Schaelpic Gallery / Cologne / Germany
Fotonoviembre / TEA Teneriffe / Spain
Interdisciplinary Festival Sztuki / Warsaw / Poland
Oskar Kokoschka Haus / Austria
Gallery M6 / Hamburg / Germany
Photoplace Gallery / Vermont / USA
Dissenters Gallery / London / UK
Galerie 4-8 / Bern / Switzerland