Ode to a Mackerel

Ode to a Mackerel is my ekphrastic interpretation of Pablo Neruda's Ode to a Large Tuna in the Market. In the tradition of Neruda, I brought the Mackerel into my studio not to elevate it or transform it but to celebrate its inherent beauty.

Tintypes or wet plate collodion photography was invented by Frederic Scott Archer in 1851 and quickly became the most prolific photographic process of its time. With chemistry more transportable and affordable photographers could leave the studio to take photos of the world and professional portraits became accessible to more people than ever before. Tintypes would be replaced in the 1890s by gelatin dry plates, but photographers dedicated to the craft have kept it alive. Now, even with the advent of digital photography, wet plate collodion is in a renaissance.

2023 • tintype diptych each 4.5 by 5 Inches
James O’Connell
(Santa Fe, NM)