Wet Plate Photographer Shane Balkowitsch Recreates the Hidden Mother Technique with Modern Portrait
Shane Balkowitsch, a photographer specializing in wet plate collodion, has produced a modern interpretation of the "Hidden Mother" photograph, a method originating in 1839 that involves hiding the mother to ensure a child remains still during lengthy exposures. Operating from his Nostalgic Glass Wet Plate Studio in Bismarck, North Dakota, he utilized an Alessandro Gibellini 8×10 camera to capture an 8-second exposure of his friend Dana's baby, Mazie. Titled "Mazie's Hidden Mother," this silver-on-glass ambrotype is dated 9-21-2026 and is cataloged as Plate #5804. Balkowitsch, who adheres to the wet plate technique developed by Frederick Scott Archer in 1851, does not possess a digital camera and has original plates displayed in 117 museums, including the Smithsonian.
Key facts
- The Hidden Mother photography genre dates to 1839 and the daguerreotype, continuing into the 1920s.
- Wet plate collodion photographer Shane Balkowitsch created a modern Hidden Mother portrait of infant Mazie with her mother Dana shrouded and father Chris present.
- The exposure lasted 8 seconds; Mazie kicked her legs with 2 seconds remaining, causing visible movement on the plate.
- Balkowitsch used an Alessandro Gibellini 8×10 large format camera with a Carl Zeiss Tessar 250mm lens at f/4.5, wide open.
- The final image, "Mazie's Hidden Mother," dated 9-21-2026 and numbered Plate #5804, is a silver-on-glass ambrotype expected to last 1,000 years.
- Historical headbraces or posing stands stabilized adult sitters; original examples now sell for upwards of $10,000 at auction.
- Linda Fregni Nagler published "The Hidden Mother" in 2013, featuring over 1,000 such photographs; it sells for $1,976 on Amazon.
- Balkowitsch is a professor of photography at Bismarck State College and has original plates in 117 museums, including the Smithsonian, Library of Congress, The Pitt Rivers Museum at the University of Oxford, and the Royal Photographic Society.
Entities
Artists
- Shane Balkowitsch
- Frederick Scott Archer
- Linda Fregni Nagler
- Dana
- Chris
- Mazie
- W. Vincent Kelly
- A.H. Wheeler
Institutions
- Nostalgic Glass Wet Plate Studio
- Bismarck State College
- Smithsonian
- Library of Congress
- The Pitt Rivers Museum at the University of Oxford
- Royal Photographic Society
- State Library Victoria
- PetaPixel
- Amazon
Locations
- Bismarck
- North Dakota
- United States
- United Kingdom
- Oxford
- Victoria
- Australia