Departing from a traditional career of photography,  John Coffer left his modern lifestyle behind in 1976.  His re-discovery of the lost art of wet plate collodion Tintype photography and the subsequent 6 years of experimenting with materials and chemicals and researching archives, paralleled his personal journey.  With his horse and wagon, he journeyed through 36 states before settling in Dundee, NY.

Besides his professional career as a Tintype artist, Coffer is also a writer and teacher promoting wet plate collodion photography.  Moreover, besides constant experimentation with cameras, exposures and materials, John Coffer is credited with producing the first Mammoth Plate (20 x 20) tintype and inventing  a Tintype movie.