The Photo Times: Who needs Instagram? Photographer steps back in time as she captures ...

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Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED:

19:32, 15 September 2013

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UPDATED:

13:05, 16 September 2013

These photographs may look like something you’d find in an old family scrapbook, but the surfers pictured are alive and well and probably out on the water as we speak.

They were captured on beaches all over the the U.S. and Australia for photographer Joni Sternbach’s on-going series‘SurfLand’.

To create the images, Ms Sternbach uses a large-format camera which produces tintypes – a style of photography popularized during the Civil War-era.

Throwback: The following photographs were taken using a large-format camera that produces tintype photos, a process made popular during the Civil War

Old-school: The pictures were taken by photographer Joni Sternbach as part of her on-going series

Old-school: The pictures were taken by photographer Joni Sternbach as part of her on-going series ‘SurfLand’

New spin: Ms Sternbach says her goal wasn

New spin: Ms Sternbach says her goal wasn’t to create nostalgic images, rather she wanted to use historic materials to make new images never seen before

On the scene: Ms Sternbach shooting a surfing subject in front of his board and car in Montauk, New York

Tools of the trade: Pictured on the left is the type of camera used to take the tintype photos. Development must be done on the scene using a portable dark room

The photos have a distinctly vintage vibe but Ms Sternbach says she wasn’t interested in recreating turn-of-the century pictures.

I was more interested in creating a new topic of conversation about how can we use the materials and information from the history of photography to make new and wonderful images that we haven’t seen before,’ she told Slate.

Ms Sternbach first started the series back in 2002 when she was shooting a different project in Montauk, New York.

Surf City, USA: Since 2002, Sternbach has traveled to beaches all over the U.S. and Australia to photograph surfers in their natural habitat

Wave riders: The series first started in 2002 when she was working on a different project in Montauk, New York and captured surfers rejoicing in the sun on the water

Blue crush: Ms Sternbach enjoys photographing surfers because they seem to make happiness a priority, which she finds rare among Americans

Her camera was facing out towards the water when the sun broke through the clouds and the surfers on the water erupted in joy.

‘At that moment I snapped the shutter, turned the film holder around and shot another frame,’ she said. ‘In less than 20 seconds on a seemingly average summer morning, I felt I had bonded with an entire group of people in the ocean.’

In 2006, she went back to Montauk to photograph more surfers, and since then has traveled to beaches all over the U.S. and Australia for the ongoing project.

Surfing state of mind: The series has had a profound affect on the photographer herself, and she says she has been infected with the surfer

Surfing state of mind: The series has had a profound affect on the photographer herself, and she says she has been infected with the surfer ‘state of mind’

Hang loose: Since she started the project. Ms Sternbach noticed that she wasn

Hang loose: Since she started the project. Ms Sternbach noticed that she wasn’t as frantic

Into the blue: While the project has been relaxing for Ms Sternbach, she says that producing the images is no easy task

One memorable experience was capturing surfers in Santa Barbara, California riding to the beach with their surfboards on the back of a horse.

She says she enjoys photographing surfers because they make being happy a priority, something that she believes most Americans don’t.

Working on the project has had a positive impact on her.

Beach cowboys: In 2006 she visited Santa Barbara, California and was able to photograph surfers traveling to the beach on horseback

Comparison: Ms Sternbach also took digital images of the surfing cowboys, which offers an interesting contrast

The Endless Summer: In order to create a tintype, film must be developed right on the spot, so she has to bring a portable dark room with her

Wiped out: Developing pictures on location is especially hard when photograhing surfers since the beaches are usually windy

Cowabunga: But she says that she enjoys creating the images and that they are a great alternative for people who want to experiment outside of digital

‘I feel like I’ve been infected with the surfer state of mind,’ she said. ‘I just feel like I take things more as they come. The time I spend sitting around doing what surfers do I don’t spend in this frantic way of working that I used to do. One of the biggest takeaways is that somehow making pictures of people has calmed me down.’

But it’s not all fun and games. Producing the tintypes involves more than just pointing and shooting.

Right after snapping the pictures she has to develop them on the spot using a portable dark room. And working on a windy beach only adds to the difficulty. Still, she finds the end-result rewarding and believes tintype photography is a great alternative for those who want to experiment outside of digital.

Ms Sternbach’s work will be on display starting September 23 at The Light Factory in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Longboarding: Ms Sternback says there has been an increase of interest in historic photographic processes like tintype