Born and raised in Amarillo, Adam Baker graduated from the University of North Texas School of Fine arts in 2009, and spent the following decade as a commercial photographer in the Metroplex. In that capacity, he worked with clients including Joanna Gaines, Leon Bridges and Erykah Badu, as well as entities like the Dallas Cowboys and At Home.
But while shooting high-end photography in that world, he began seeking less flashy creative endeavors and, with one of his best friends from art school, taught himself the old craft of tintype photography. “The tintype was one of the first photography processes made,” he says, citing its origins in France in the middle of the 1800s. The tintype method made its way to the United States in time for the Civil War and Westward Expansion. It works by creating a direct positive of an image on a thin sheet of enamel-coated metal.
Baker fell in love with the gritty, haunting photos that resulted. After the pandemic brought him home to Amarillo in 2020, he began offering this hands-on photography style locally through Perry’s Tintypes, which makes regular popup appearances at From 6th Collective near Bushland and Hotel Turkey in Turkey, Texas, as well as for private events. “In a world of fast-paced digital images, the ability to slow down and capture an unedited photo is something that I love to be a part of,” he says. “I find that my portraits really help capture the essence of a person and the process offers an often-forgotten practice that trusts the unfolding of the art without the ability to edit the image.”
Adam Baker
Find his work on Instagram at
@perrys_tintype_studio and
@adam_baker_photography.
