By
Ameema Ahmed

Matthew Stella spent 12 years as a tattoo artist before diving full time into photography — specifically, tintype photography. When a friend asked him to showcase his skills at a tattoo convention, Stella learned the tintype process in just a few weeks. “He literally turned one of our bathrooms into a makeshift darkroom and had friends over every night for, like, a week or two to model and try to figure out the process,” says Stella’s business (and life) partner, Katie Zamjahn. 

Stella’s tintype work was captivating enough to draw crowds at the convention and encouraged him to start making tintype photos as a business. “It’s one of the things I’ve ventured into that really started to take off,” Stella says. “So, I didn’t want to lose the momentum.”

After operating out of shared spaces for a while, Stella and Zamjahn (pictured) now own Silver and Cedar, a photography studio in Phoenix that specializes in tintype photo sessions. According to Stella, tintype is one of the oldest known forms of photography. It consists of pouring a chemical on a piece of metal to turn it into film, then using a view camera to expose that film and reveal the photo.

“All the camera equipment I use is from the 1800s or from the 1950s and ’60s,” Stella says. “Any old Civil War photo you’ve seen was shot the same way I’m shooting today.”

Stella says he bought his first vintage camera at Tempe Camera, but since then, he’s been able to acquire many more as a result of friends giving him old cameras they had lying around or turning him on to places where he could find them. “The cameras I use are all large-format cameras,” he says. “There’s really not too many people who work on them, so getting all these used cameras, I had to work on a lot of them myself and figure out how they work and how they break down.”

Silver and Cedar offers tintype and digital portrait shoots, as well as workshops on how to shoot in the tintype style. Photography sessions take 45 to 90 minutes, depending on the package. Most of them involve the subject (or subjects) posing for a few seconds as the image is captured. The photos then are developed on-site and can be taken home right away. 

Stella says the element of surprise involved in tintype photography is what inspires him to keep making his art. “Every single time I shoot a photo, I don’t know what it’s going to look like,” he says. “When you’re seeing the image for the first time, so am I. So, when a client says, ‘Wow,’ I’m saying, ‘Wow,’ too.”

In addition to the photo studio, Silver and Cedar houses a leather goods shop run by Zamjahn under the brand Broke-In Hearted Leather. Shortly after moving into their studio space, Zamjahn started “messing around” with Stella’s leather goods equipment and
discovered she loved it. She now creates wallets, handbags, keychains and other accessories with engravings inspired by Western rock ’n’ roll and local creatives. “With Matt having been in the tattoo industry for so long, we have a lot of buddies who are tattoo artists,” she says. “I collaborate with local tattoo artists who do work for me that I then laser-engrave into the leather.”

Stella and Zamjahn describe their studio and shop spaces as “dark and moody” and providing a view into their creative minds. In the studio, Stella says, you’ll see a wall of prints when you enter, setting the tone for the session. Zamjahn’s shop doubles as a workshop, so customers can see her creating products as they’re shopping and can see the process in action.

Broke-In Hearted Leather goods can be purchased on-site at the Phoenix location or ordered online. Stella’s tintype prints can be purchased on the website, where customers can also book their photography or workshop sessions.

Business Information

Silver and Cedar
10637 N. Cave Creek Road
Phoenix, AZ
United States