09 Apr
DARKROOM BUILD, OTHER

Building a Dream Darkroom: New Zebra “factory” is Finally Taking Shape!

The past few weeks have been intense here at Zebra HQ—and I’m finally excited to share some real, visible progress on our new darkroom build!We’ve officially moved beyond the invisible grind—the kind of hard work that doesn’t look like much when you walk by but is absolutely essential (you know the kind: digging, prepping, measuring, scratching your head over measurements again). Now we’re into the satisfying part: walls going up, spaces taking shape, and a glimpse of what the final darkroom will actually look like.

Continue reading

02 Apr
DARKROOM BUILD, OTHER

A New Era Begins: Introducing the Zebra Dry Plate Coating Machine

For the past six years, every Zebra Dry Plate you’ve held in your hands has been poured, coated, and crafted by my own two. This was never just about making photographic materials—it was about resurrecting a process. A history. A soul. I’ve often said that Dry Plate photography is more than technique—it’s a dialogue between light and time, chemistry and craft. And for those six years, I’ve done everything I could to keep that conversation alive by hand-coating thousands upon thousands of plates in our small workshop. Today,...

Continue reading

11 Mar
DARKROOM BUILD, OTHER

Building the Future: Progress on the New Zebra Darkroom

As many of you know, our journey in expanding Zebra Dry Plate has been an exciting one. From the humble beginnings of a shipping container darkroom to now building a dedicated workspace under a 200-year-old hayrack, every step has been fueled by passion, hard work, and the unwavering support of our incredible community. Progress Update Since our last update, we have made significant advancements in constructing the new Zebra Darkroom / Workshop space. This project is an exciting blend of old...

Continue reading

27 Jan
DARKROOM BUILD, OTHER

A New Chapter for Zebra Workshop: Our 30m² Darkroom Expansion

Back in 2020, I started the Zebra Dry Plate business from a small shipping container. What started as a passion for reviving the art of dry plate photography has grown into a thriving community of creators and a production operation that now reaches enthusiasts worldwide. Over the years, as demand and creativity have soared, so has the need for space—and it’s clear we’ve outgrown our current setup. Every corner of our workspace is currently packed, especially with the excitement of fulfilling our latest Kickstarter pledges. It’s been an amazing journey,...

Continue reading

Sabbatier-effect-Step-by-Step-Tutorial
27 Oct
AUTOCHROME, DARKROOM CHEMISTRY, EMULSION, OTHER

Sabattier Effect – Detailed Step by Step Tutorial

In this tutorial I would like to explain and talk about a very interesting darkroom phenomenon that I came across recently and it absolutely stunned me with its beauty. But let's start at the beginning... A few days ago while scrolling through Facebook I was shocked by a direct positive Zebra Dry Plate that was shared by one of my customers. I had to ask him how he did it and he responded that he had no intention of making a positive but it was all just an accident. He told me how he made...

Continue reading

How to make Silver Gelatine emulsion
28 Apr
AUTOCHROME, DARKROOM CHEMISTRY, EMULSION, OTHER

Basic Silver Gelatine Emulsion

Introduction There’s something deeply rewarding about making your own photographic materials by hand. In this tutorial, I’ll take you through the entire process of creating a basic silver gelatin emulsion completely from scratch. Whether you're a curious beginner or a seasoned alternative process enthusiast, this guide will walk you step by step through everything—from the tools and materials you need to the tips and tricks I’ve picked up over years of experimentation. Together, we’ll demystify the process and unlock a piece of photographic history that still has so much to offer.

Continue reading

Reuse-scrap-dry-plates-large-format-film
24 Apr
DARKROOM CHEMISTRY, EMULSION, OTHER

Reuse scrap Dry Plates & Large Format Film

If you shoot analog on a regular basis you know how much film gets wasted due to experimenting, failed exposures and so on. In a very short time you are left with a stack of unusable film. I have the exact same problem with dry plates and because nature already has enough weist on its shoulders I would like to show you how dry plates or even modern film can be recoated and reused. Types of base / support ? Emulsion can be coated on different...

Continue reading

17 Mar
AUTOCHROME, DARKROOM CHEMISTRY, OTHER, PRINTING PROCESSES, Uncategorized

Salt print – Detailed Step by Step Walkthrough

Introduction I love working with alternative printing processes because they require only a few ingredients and are perfect for those interested in learning the fundamental principles of recording light. One of the earliest alternative printing techniques for transforming negatives into positive prints was salt printing, a process pioneered in the mid-1830s by Henry Fox Talbot. Talbot’s method involved soaking plain writing paper in a weak solution of ordinary table salt, followed by a strong silver solution. This treatment rendered the paper light-sensitive, allowing it to darken upon exposure to sunlight. Once fixed with a...

Continue reading

Kodak-d-19-original-recipe
03 Mar
DARKROOM CHEMISTRY, OTHER, PRINTING PROCESSES

Making Kodak D-19 from scratch with Original Recipe

In this week's Blog I am showing you how to make Kodak D-19 Developer from scratch including all the steps and recipes. Developing film at home is always a special pleasure if you have the right equipment. Kodak D-19 is really hard to get these days specially now during the lockdown when everything has to be bought online. I always like to make my own stuff as you learn so much along the way. Kodak D-19 is actually made out of only a few ingredients and it's not hard to make so let's start. Kodak...

Continue reading

Reverse-developing-dry-plates-to-positive-foma-emulsion
01 Feb
AUTOCHROME, DARKROOM CHEMISTRY, EMULSION, EQUIPMENT, OTHER

Reverse Developing Glass Dry Plates To Direct Positive

Introduction After being quite busy in the last few months doing exams and practical work for the acadAfter months of being buried in academy work—exams, practicals, the whole lot—I finally have some breathing room. And you know what that means: time to dive back into the darkroom and explore. One technique I’ve long wanted to revisit is reverse developing dry plates into direct positives—a magical process where the final image appears directly on glass, ready to be admired without printing. My earlier Autochrome research demanded similar...

Continue reading