Iggybug is a mad scientist and experimental photographer from Sacramento, California. Iggybug taught himself how to develop film and make silver gelatin prints between graduate school classes. He shoots with a variety of inexpensive film cameras mostly sourced from thrift stores, and uses an ice fishing tent in his garage as a darkroom.
Iggybug works with the wet plate collodion, cyanotype (with hand-applied 24k gold leaf), and lumen alternative processes.
Iggybug's work has been selected for inclusion in two juried exhibitions: the 2019 Texas Photographic Society contemporary artist print program, and the 2024 (s)Light of Hand alternative process competition produced by The Photographer's Eye creative collective in Escondido, California. In 2025, his work was featured at the E Street Gallery in Sacramento in the "Erotica by Proxy" show (curated by the Veqtor).
Iggybug is unashamedly kinky and proud to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community. Official photographer for LeatherPrideSac 2025 and 2026. Find me on Fetlife as @Iggybug.
Process Description: Wet Plate Tintypes
The wet plate collodion photographic process for producing ambrotypes (on glass) and tintypes (on sheets of metal) was invented by Frederic Scott Archer in 1848. The wet plate collodion process became commercially successful and eclipsed the daguerreotype process to become the most popular photographic process of the 19th century until it was superseded by more modern techniques and materials.
Wet plate photography is, as the name suggests, wet: the plate must be coated with collodion, sensitized in a silver nitrate bath, exposed in camera for anywhere from five to thirty seconds, and developed before it dries out. The resulting imagery is haunting, and the final result is a tintype that proudly carries the unique imperfections that are the hallmarks of a 100% analog hand process.
After thoroughly drying, each tintype is hand-varnished with shellac to protect the extraordinarily fragile image-bearing collodion layer. Varnished tintypes are archival and may be handled safely. Iggybug's tintypes are produced using a 19th century collodion recipe on 8x10" black aluminum plates.
Process Description: Gilded Cyanotypes
The cyanotype printing process was invented in 1842 and was commonly used to print blueprints throughout the 20th century. Unlike most analog photographic processes, which commonly use silver nitrate for light sensitivity, the cyanotype process uses certain light-sensitive forms of iron. To make a cyanotype print, Iggybug mixes solutions of ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide and then hand coats this solution onto a high-quality paper. The coated paper is now light-sensitive and is ready to be used to make a cyanotype print after it dries. After the cyanotype print has been exposed and developed, Iggybug painstakingly hand-applies 24k gold leaf to certain portions of the print to heighten its visual interest and to add a layer of majesty or quasi-religious intensity to the finished print. Iggybug's cyanotypes are printed on Arches Aquarelle Hot Press 100% cotton rag watercolor paper. They are archival and will last a lifetime with proper care.
Process Description: Psychedelic Analog Photography
Iggybug uses an assortment of antique and toy 35mm film cameras and techniques including double exposures, intentional film damage, mirror prisms, false-color recombination, and special-effects film to produce psychedelic nudes.
Process Description: Lumen Printing
Lumen printing is an experimental camera-free form of photography that involves making long contact exposures of "negatives" onto printing paper. Weird things happen to printing paper when it's catastrophically overexposed and gets wet, which is invariably what happens when one's negatives are real-world items.