Contemporary Vintage Photography

"My plates are horribly flawed, but of course it's the flaws I like.” —Sally Mann

Against the tide of perfection and eye-popping colors made possible by digital photography, many contemporary photographers have looked to the aesthetics of the past, embracing everything from the soft warmth of a sepia-toned print to the darkroom mishaps and light-spots that used to result from clunky analogue cameras. Artists in this vein employ outdated, labor-intensive techniques, digitally introduce fading, or manually produce the wear-and-tear of vintage photographs—all by way of eschewing the crystal clarity and crisp lighting of much of today's photography.