Scully & Osterman

Scully & Osterman is a studio and commercial brand established in 1991 in Rochester, New York, by Mark Osterman and France Scully Osterman. The practice is dedicated to historic and alternative photography, with a particular focus on wet and dry plate collodion processes. Through primary research and practical application, the Ostermans became recognized as historians and modern masters of these techniques, and their work is widely credited with driving the contemporary revival of collodion photography. They were early leaders in exhibiting and publishing their work as artists in the early 1990s, and they openly shared their knowledge through lectures, publications, workshops, and tutorials. The brand's authority in the field is reflected in its reach among photograph conservators, collectors, museum curators, and advanced collodion photographers, who turn to the Ostermans for collodion-related questions. Their images and writings have appeared in numerous books and periodicals, including Workshop Stories (2021), Don't Press Print: De/Re-Constructing the Collodion Process (Royal Photographic Society, 2021), New Dimensions in Photo Processes (Laura Blacklow, 2017), Salted Paper Printing (Christina Z. Anderson, 2017), Photographic Possibilities (Robert Hirsch, third and fourth editions), Das Kollodium (Peter Michels, 2015), Alternative Photographic Processes (Brady Wilks, 2015), Photography Beyond Technique (Tom Persinger, 2014), Dans L'Atelier Du Photographe (Anne Cartier-Bresson, 2012), Reconstructions (Klaus B. Staubermann, National Museums Scotland, 2011), Le Vocabulaire Technique de la Photographie (Anne Cartier-Bresson, 2008), The Darkroom Cookbook (Steve Anchell, third edition, 2008), and The New Focal Encyclopedia of Photography (4th edition). Beyond still photography, Scully & Osterman has pursued the manufacture of motion picture film. In the basement of their Rochester home, they make real 35mm film using vintage equipment, an operation described as the world's smallest film factory. It is presented as the only film-making operation on Earth where making the photographic emulsion, coating the stock, and slitting and perforating 35mm motion picture film can be witnessed by photography and motion picture enthusiasts. Their efforts are the subject of a documentary project, "A Film about Making Film," chronicled by Emmy award-winning cinematographer Gerardo Puglia, which follows their struggle to make real 1920s-era motion picture film with vintage equipment. The studio operates as a private, owner-run enterprise. Its website, collodion.org, serves as a hub for its documentary news, workshops, and information about the Ostermans' work. The brand remains active in preserving and teaching historic photographic processes while pursuing new research into early cinematic film production.

Scully & Osterman was established in 1991 in Rochester, New York, by Mark Osterman and France Scully Osterman. From the outset, the studio pursued extensive primary research and practical application in historic and alternative photography, with a specialization in wet and dry plate collodion processes. In the early 1990s, the Ostermans were leaders in exhibiting and publishing their work as artists, and they openly shared their knowledge through lectures, publications, workshops, and tutorials. Their influence is credited with directly driving the current artistic revival of collodion photography. Over the following decades, the studio built a reputation as a trusted authority. Photograph conservators, collectors, museum curators, and the most advanced collodion photographers turn to the Ostermans when they have collodion-related questions. Their images and writings have been published in a wide range of books and periodicals, including Workshop Stories (2021), Don't Press Print: De/Re-Constructing the Collodion Process (Royal Photographic Society, 2021), New Dimensions in Photo Processes (Laura Blacklow, 2017), Salted Paper Printing (Christina Z. Anderson, 2017), Photographic Possibilities (Robert Hirsch, third and fourth editions), Das Kollodium (Peter Michels, 2015), Alternative Photographic Processes (Brady Wilks, 2015), Photography Beyond Technique (Tom Persinger, 2014), Dans L'Atelier Du Photographe (Anne Cartier-Bresson, 2012), Reconstructions (Klaus B. Staubermann, National Museums Scotland, 2011), Le Vocabulaire Technique de la Photographie (Anne Cartier-Bresson, 2008), The Darkroom Cookbook (Steve Anchell, third edition, 2008), and The New Focal Encyclopedia of Photography (4th edition). In more recent years, the Ostermans expanded their practice into motion picture film. In the basement of their Rochester home, they make real 35mm film using vintage equipment, an operation described as the world's smallest film factory. It is presented as the only film-making operation on Earth where making the photographic emulsion, coating the stock, and slitting and perforating 35mm motion picture film can be witnessed by photography and motion picture enthusiasts. Their efforts are the subject of a documentary project, "A Film about Making Film," chronicled by Emmy award-winning cinematographer Gerardo Puglia. The project follows their struggle to make real 1920s-era motion picture film with vintage equipment and seeks funding for travel expenses and fees for Puglia and sound engineer Jack Mehlbaum to visit Leica in Wetzlar, Germany, among other locations. The documentary is presented as a rare opportunity to tell a story never shown before, because modern film companies such as Eastman Kodak and Ilford Ltd make films sensitive to all colors and carry out operations in total darkness, whereas the Ostermans' efforts are visually open to the viewer.

• 2021

  Publication of Workshop Stories and Don't Press Print: De/Re-Constructing the Collodion Process (Royal Photographic Society), featuring S&O images and writings.

• 2017

  Publication of New Dimensions in Photo Processes by Laura Blacklow and Salted Paper Printing by Christina Z. Anderson, featuring S&O images and writings.

• 2015

  Publication of Das Kollodium by Peter Michels and Alternative Photographic Processes by Brady Wilks, featuring S&O images and writings.

• 2014

  Publication of Photography Beyond Technique by Tom Persinger, featuring S&O images and writings.

• 2012

  Publication of Dans L'Atelier Du Photographe by Anne Cartier-Bresson, featuring S&O images and writings.

• 2011

  Publication of Reconstructions by Klaus B. Staubermann, National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh, featuring S&O images and writings.

• 2008

  Publication of Le Vocabulaire Technique de la Photographie by Anne Cartier-Bresson and The Darkroom Cookbook (third edition) by Steve Anchell, featuring S&O images and writings.

• 1991

  Scully & Osterman established in Rochester, New York, by Mark Osterman and France Scully Osterman.

• 1990

  The Ostermans were leaders in exhibiting and publishing their work as artists in the early 1990s.

• Documentary project 'A Film about Making Film' announced, chronicling the Ostermans' 35mm film-making with vintage equipment.

Historian and modern master of historic photography, particularly wet and dry plate collodion; authority for conservators, collectors, curators, and advanced practitioners; pioneer of the contemporary collodion revival.

• Wet plate collodion photography

  Historic photographic process using collodion on glass or metal plates, a specialty of the studio.

• Dry plate collodion photography

  Historic photographic process using dry collodion plates, another specialty of the studio.

• Handmade 35mm motion picture film

  Real 35mm film made with vintage equipment in the Ostermans' Rochester basement, including emulsion making, coating, slitting, and perforating.

• Workshops and tutorials

  Educational offerings on historic and alternative photographic processes.

1. 1Scully & Osterman Studiocollodion.org
2. 2Scully & Osterman — Scully & Osterman Studiocollodion.org
3. 3A Film about Making Film — Scully & Osterman Studiocollodion.org
4. 4Scully & Ostermanwikidata.org