Amber Ascher is an artist working with 19th-century photographic processes to create one-of-a-kind pieces that exist outside of time. Her work centers on wet plate collodion: a slow, hands-on method that invites stillness, presence, and imperfection. She’s drawn to this medium not only for its aesthetic richness but because it mirrors the way she moves through the world: sensitive and intentional - attuned to what lies beneath the surface.

As an adult-diagnosed neurodivergent woman, Ascher approaches her art and work as a form of unmasking, consciously reconnecting with her truest self, and creating space for others to do the same. She believes every portrait is a quiet collaboration built on trust; her sessions are shaped by care and curiosity, and respect for authenticity - what is real.

Immersed in the historic roots of wetplate photography, Amber studied traditional techniques under John Coffer in the summer of 2023 on his farm in Dundee, NY. Back home, she built a darkroom in her basement and has been practicing and sharing her love for shooting wet plate since then in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and around the Midwest.  

Photo used with permission by Milwaukee-based artist Emily Dalske.