We are Project Barbatype.
We photograph the men who parade through life proudly brandishing the glory of unabashedly grandiose facial hair. We seek out those who signal to the world that they fear neither judgment nor scorn of their follicular prowess. We render them immortal with our photographic alchemy, fixed for all time, so all generations will behold their majestic visage.
We photograph men who compete in the nation-wide circuit of Beard and Moustache competitions. We shoot using Tintype, a hand-made 19th century photo process that was prominent from 1850 to 1880, which coincides with the last great era of elaborate facial hair.
Project Barbatype is a collaborative effort of a dedicated group of individuals who have each committed their time, skills, money, and energy to get Project Barbatype started and keep it running.
Scott Hilton started photographing in high school. He has a BA in Art with a concentration in Photography from the University of Nevada, Reno, and an MFA in Creative Photography from California State University, Fullerton. He currently teaches photography as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Texas at Arlington. Scott began working with hand-made photo processes while in grad school, and settled into tintype in 2009. He freely admits it was nearly three years later until he really knew what he was doing.
Bryan Wing retired from competitive bearding in 2011, after receiving numerous "Honorable Mention" awards for his facial hair achievements. He earned an AA in Photography from Collin College in Plano, TX, and is currently pursuing a BA in Photography from Texas Woman's University.
Scott and Bryan met when Scott was teaching a darkroom photography class at Collin College in Plano, TX, and Bryan was the evening lab technician. Project Barbatype was born in a conversation when Scott mentioned his efforts at perfecting tintype portrait techniques, and Bryan mentioned his thought of doing a photo project on Beard and Moustache Competitors. A partnership was formed, and continues to roll on.
