Photographs by a modern-day photographer using vintage techniques and processes can be viewed in “Thomas John Shillea: Camera Work 1977-2016,” through Dec. 9, Ronald K. De Long Gallery, Penn State Lehigh Valley, 2809 Saucon Valley Road, Center Valley, Upper Saucon Township.

Shillea was introduced to the Platinotype process that became his life’s passion at the Rochester Institute of Technology, while working on a Master of Fine Arts degree in photography. Shillea was intrigued by the extensive range of reddish browns, gray tones and velvety blacks of Alfred Stieglitz’s work at the George Eastman House. He became an intense student of the obsolete technology that was commercially introduced in 1873.

The process involves Shillea mixing his own photochemical compounds to develop the images taken by one of his vintage cameras. Three of Shillea’s view cameras are on display at the gallery. Each camera was designed to hold a ground-glass plate for focusing and composing the image, which would be replaced with a film negative or plate mounted in a holder. The hand-mixed developing solution would be brushed on platinum paper, then dried before being exposed to ultraviolet light.

The photographs of nudes, portraits and still-lifes at the PSU gallery start with Shillea’s work from 1977. He shot these with his replica of an antique model 4x5-inch view camera. The print is the same size as the negative, as it would have been in the early years of photography. Each frame holds two prints, like his “Two Portraits No. 2” (platinum prints). One photograph is of a female nude reflected in the round mirror of an antique dresser. The other is of an interior wall where a painting of a well-dressed woman is displayed.

In “Artist in a Floating World” (platinum print and pigment print; 1978-2016) Shillea juxtaposes the image he shot with his 8x10-inch view camera with a ukiyo-e print of a Japanese Kabuki theater actor for an “east meets west” theme. His self-portrait from 1978 was taken with a Krona Kodak Model classic field-studio camera circa 1930s. The work was created by the artist this year.

Shillea explains, “The Kabuki image was overprinted via an archival inkjet printer on top of my platinum print self-portrait.” According to Shillea, “The term ‘ukiyo-e’ translates as ‘picture[s] of the floating world.’”

Says Shillea, “My extensive studies over the past 40-plus years of ancient Greek and Roman art and mythology and the Italian Renaissance have had a profound influence on my personal artwork.”

With “Mars and Venus” (platinum print; 2014), the artist makes a combination print with two negatives. The male model represents “Mars” while the female model represents “Venus.” Shillea then colored in the female model’s jewelry with color pencil. He calls this process “overtones,” creating visual pieces akin to audio sounds in music.

“Recent trips to Italy allowed me to make even stronger connections with the art of Renaissance Humanism, and hence the world of sacred and profane imagery, or as the Italians refer to, ‘fra secolo e devoto,’ between the secular and devout, and my own artwork,” Shillea says.

“Vandalized Christ” (platinum print with gold leaf; 2014) depicts a vintage print of a suffering Jesus wearing a crown of thorns under a pane of broken glass. The image has a gold-leaf halo and there is gold leaf randomly applied on the glass shards.

An 11x14-inch Universal Model view camera circa 1930s was used by Shillea in creating “Binjinga No. 1” (platinum print and hand colored; 2015) of a young, light-haired woman wearing a kimono. Multi-color Japanese calligraphy is rendered onto the black background.

Shillea continues to work in and teach the Platinotype process. He sustained a concussion when struck by an outdoor café umbrella pole in September. Shillea expects to return to Northampton Community College where he is director of art programs, once he is fully recovered.

Ronald K. De Long Gallery gallery hours: 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday - Thursday, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Saturday, and some evening hours. Information: lehighvalley.psu.edu/gallery, 610-285-5078