Wet Plate Collodion - 2 Plates

Music | Hal's Blues by World Saxophone Quartet


Adriana 4x5 Tintype


Ivy 4x5 Tintype

No Negatives in this World...

Music | La Davina by Maria Callas

Last Saturday, early morning and early evening, I got the opportunity to work with the 4x5 Chamonix shooting both film and a new, then discontinued and soon to be revived product from Ilford / Harmon that is a paper that renders positive images direct. You shoot it like chromes, process it like it is a black and white print.

Paul Cunningham offered up some sheets for us to shoot while I was able to get 2 fantastic models, Fayren and Juliana. Françoise Weeks also got in on the collaboration by creating a head piece for the evening shoot.

The weather here has been extremely hot. Besides catching nice light, the 7 a.m. call time was perfect. The temperature lingered in the mid 60's and was very comfortable. The textured wall was a nice contrast to the very soft light we were working thru. Both Paul and I were able to shoot thru a good number of both of the Direct Positive Paper and film sheets while I also shot a few frames of digital.

Though there was another 10 hours to go for the evening shoot, I didn't have the opportunity to process any of the media. Paul did and got some of the paper prints processed, which left me chomping at the bit to get to mine...

The evening shoot was a challenge for me. I couldn't find the angles, it was a bit windy and I felt lost. I shoot digital when I am stuck to hopefully open a door. I got some great images, but didn't feed me for the 4x5. I ended up doing a 180 and went to another direction. Turns out to be a keeper that I am happy with...


Fayren with Françoise Weeks' Orchid Head Piece



Juliana

Grain

Music | Come Here Boy by Imogen Heap

Real grain.
Not noise.
How beautiful it is...
The wonders of nature.

Light
Chemical reaction
Chemical structure
Grain



an image

The Beginning...

Music | Gold by Chet Faker

So begins the movement to shoot, process and print large format film. I have been lucky enough to have been benefactored close to 250 sheets of 4x5 and 100 sheets of 8x10. It has been awhile since I have processed sheet film, so I am very excited to start doing so. Of course I also have to shoot and even more excited about that.

I have a solo show scheduled, but not for over 17 months. I am hoping to have my technique of shooting, processing and the absolute new to me printing via Platinum Palladium refined enough to have a showing. Lots to eff up, lots to learn. The time frame will make things interesting!

Cyanotype II

Music | Piano Sonata No. 14 In C Minor by Ludwig Van Beethoven

I made more Cyanotypes, but this time with 4x5 negs. I also bleached and toned with black tea for the 1st time. I've all ready made plenty of mistakes, worst of all making a print while the paper was a bit damp, which transferred spots on my neg that I don't think will come up. Ruined... I have since purchased a hair dryer to ensure my coated paper is totally dry when making more prints.

I know I need to take a class and get my technique sorted out, but I am learning a good amount on my own. I will need to figure out things like neg density in order to get the best print. As it stands, I am not sure how to make a good print great. I know in time I will get there. I am happy with my lack luster efforts and my better ones. It is all about the process of learning...


Amanda, 4x5 Cyanotype bleached and toned with black tea...

The Portrait

Music | Les Nuit by Nightmares on Wax

Just yesterday, I took some photos of a woman I never met before. Ironically, I was initially interested in photographing her maybe 4 or 5 years ago, but never got the opportunity. She had recently seen a photograph I did of a friend of hers and I think vaguely remembered my name. A few weeks later, I got my opportunity.

I posted several images online, a few from our session in fact. I selectively pick and choose, edit and decide which of them go up, and often move on. However, one interesting comment on one of her photos struck a cord with me. It said she looked worried, or stressed.


As a photographer, that mostly photographs people, I was somewhat taken aback by the comment. Low and behold, Tara, my subject in my image of her suddenly took on a different appearance. She does in fact look a bit worried. Her eyes... her hands... I often shoot for beauty, not in the traditional sense, but in ways that the images are pleasant to look at in the sense there is no conflict. I'm starting to think that I don't look at my own photographs for what they are as opposed to how I think I want them to look.

What is more interesting is that I posted another image of her, that reads somewhat the same as the first...


Maybe not so worried, but melancholy. Not all of the images I shot that day brings that same conclusion, but I did select these images to post and they both have a sadness to them.

By no means do I not like either of those images any less, but like them even more. My choices are emotional more than anything else. Portraits are supposed to be enlightening, and apparently not only to the viewer, but sometimes to the artist himself...

15 cm f:3 Petzval

Music | Sour Times by Portishead

Over the weekend, besides hanging those fantastic large format prints with Susan de Witt, that afternoon I got to work with one of my favorite models, Aiméelisa. Specifically, I wanted to test the gifted Petzval that I received a few weeks earlier.


2014-12-07 Aiméelisa
As you might imagine, I am ecstatic about having this lens! I love the characteristics of this little giant! Without much foreshortening, the shallow depth - the butter like and immediate fall off, contrast... all lovingly distinct. One of the things I wasn't too sure about was the somewhat short focal length that I usually do not like to shoot with. I much rather prefer a longer lens, not only giving me some distance from my subject, but elongating and not distorting - objects appear closer than they are, quality. That is the beauty of this lens. I'm shooting maybe 3 feet away from Aiméelisa, but there is no wide angle effect happening here. Given that this image was shot with a paper negative, I'm more than sure I will be happy with this Petzval's sharpness. The eyes are deadly!

I'm looking forward to working more with this one. I think I can work more intimately with my subjects, but still keep that shallow depth I crave. I love that speed kills!

Petzval

Music | In a Sentimental Mood (1964) by John Coltrane

I have the best of friends... Just at the beginning of my foray into large format photography, I met a guy named Chris during a gathering of large format shooters. They would meet once a month, show prints, talk photography... I was the odd man out as I didn't shoot much large format, but really wanted to. I'm not sure if he knew it or not at the time, but Chris was on his way out. He had intimated in so many words that he just wasn't getting what he wanted out of the various analogue processes he had immersed himself in. During one of our gatherings, I decided to bring prints I had made digitally just to show my work. I printed them ~11x14. I remember Chris was especially interested as they were digitally produced, and I'd like to think, very high quality. He took an interest with the way I produced them, equipment including cameras, lenses, printer and even paper.

Fast forward a few months, Chris got me going with film processing equipment and an unopened box of 4x5 film. I think he recognized poor starving artist and he empathized! It meant quite a lot as I was able to shoot and learn more about the little 4x5 camera I had at the time as well as learn technique in processing the larger film.

Years have gone by, at least 7. Chris has moved on living the dream of Paris and photography. He is a master of the digital photography realm and I can tell he has found his outlet, his joy, to be able to let out his expressions of his art.

About a month ago, I got a message from Chris about a lense he came across in Paris. Not knowing a lot about it, but the price being right he just bought it. Turns out it is a 15 cm f:3 Petzval lense  that he was thinking about adapting to one of his digital cameras.

Well, the project stalled and the message Chris sent was to ask whether or not I wanted the lense. A Petzval that I knew at least would fit on my camera was all I needed to know to say yes! I received it a few days ago, quickly made a fitting lense board for it and mounted it on the Chamonix 4x5. I am hopefully going to be able to test it soon, but the view I'm getting out of the ground glass is bright with a wonderful depth fall off. Maybe a new signature look... I am quite excited!!!


Chamonix 4x5 with no name Petzval 15 cm f:3 lense

Tension of the Truth

Music | Rround Midnight by Bill Evans

I sometimes feel time flies by and I miss so much. This shoot was the first time ever I shot large format colour neg. I've been around the block several times over shooting film, especially back in the day... I don't know why, but the intimidation factor for this medium affected me more than I would have thought. Black and white has always been about interpretation, but colour... Colour puts it all out there on the table.

My thoughts after scanning 3 of the 4 sheets I shot over the weekend is that I mostly feel inept. Looking at the colour neg, I had no idea how to read it - not even exposure... Putting the neg on the scanning bed and going thru the software, I was at a lost. It also didn't help that the 1st 2 negatives I tried scanning, I didn't like after getting a totally exaggerated off colour.


The 3rd piece of film was the charm. First, I went for skin tones and background colour, for at least those 2 I had in my mind a somewhat close point of a reference. As I started working the scan, I had a sudden jump to the past why I thought back then, digital is the way to go! I remember back in the late 90's struggling with my film in the scanner, and mostly the dust issues! But this experience, even though scanning is a digital form, scanning this piece of film felt good. I worked for this shot. I harbored lots of doubt and mixed emotions for this image. This to me is what separates digital and analogue. It isn't about quality, round edges and blah blah blah for those who love to argue which is superior... It is the process going in and the actual moments of creating the image that gives me emotional vivacity.

So the thing about shooting colour film that was somewhat intimidating to me is that I knew it held truth. Many things have been revealed to me after going thru this process. Some negative (notice the pun) and some positive. I will deal with both the next time I do this again, along with every other frame I take. The learning process is what matters most...

Riding the Gamut...

Music | Lets Get Lost by Tina Dico

So within a peroid of a week, I managed to shoot my usual 4x5 plates, but also 8x10 and 2.5x2.5 inch plates as well. I was going to help out a friend for a test shoot at his studio and I knew he has a large camera stand that would accommodate my Century 4A studio 8x10. I figured out I hadn't shot with that camera in close to 25 years. The problem being I don't have a stand or tripod big enough to carry such a massive camera. Brandon's stand was built for an a 11x14 camera, so there was no problem with holding mine. He was kind enough for me to get off a plate, just for me to know there were no light leaks in the bellows and any other problem that possibly could have cropped up. I can tell I'm going to have a good time shooting with that camera in time.

Dara and I had gone gallery hopping a few weekends ago and at one of them, I saw some small pieces, 2x2 printed objects in nice little frames selling for under $100. They were nice intimate pieces and would go well having several at a time to hang. One of the problems I have with my larger 4x5 and eventual 8x10 plates is that I think they are worth a certain a amount of money, but too much for most people to want to purchase. I really thought having small plates to sell under $100 would be a great idea.

My first go around was to try and use a Holga camera. It was a breeze to set up for 2.5 inch square plates. I did a test run and thought it would be a very good candidate. However, one of the things I didn't like was that the lens is wide angle and focus distance wasn't very good. All of the objects I was thinking of shooting would look too small on the plate. My next thought was the Rolleiflex. This camera has a longer focal length lens and would accommodate close up filters. I asked a friend of mine, Dennis Purdy, a Rolleiflex expert if I could borrow a filter and described my intention. He not only gave me the filter I needed, he also gave me the ultimate solution for me to shoot these objects with the Rolleiflex camera. Back when roll film was relatively new, a lot of photographers weren't confident that the film could be held flat as well as plates. So Rolleiflex made a plate adapter back that also used a ground glass that only utilized the shooting lens of the twin lens reflex design. I would have no parallax issues and would see exactly what I would get on plate. I will be testing this setup tomorrow to see if I can make the wet plates with it. I'm really excited about the possibilities!

Ratio of sizes...


8x10 of Brandon


4x5 of Cain


2.5 inch square of a Fan

G.G.

Music | In the Waiting Line by Zero 7

It has been a difficult 2 weeks to get sitters to come to the North Light Studio, aka the dining room, side yard and now the living room. I got blown off 3 times during that time, but did manage to get 4 portraits in. It is important that I keep working at getting better and figure out the things that will make me a better photographer/wet plate collodionist.

Today was a great afternoon. I got my long time muse, G.G. to come and sit for me. As usual, we had a great shoot, pushing some boundaries. Even though we've known each other and have worked together for close to 10 years, it is great that we haven't stayed stagnant and able to move forward.

Lately, I've limited my shooting to 2 to 4 plates per session. So long as I know I have one piece that I am happy with, I shut it down. Today, we started out with a great shot, but we kept going, working and building to an end result we both wanted to achieve. In order to get there, we knew it was a building process. I ended up shooting a total of 7 plates in 3 1/2 hours. By far, that has also been the longest session I've worked through and it was really satisfying. Of the 7 plates, I am happy with 5.

Saddened and Amazed at the Fact Time can Travel so Damned Quickly...

Music | Mad World by Alex Parks

There are some people who are always kids, children in the minds eye. Kids of friends, friends of your kids... Suddenly a decade goes by and in a matter of seconds, you realize you've just gone thru a time warp.

Cole is a prime example of how time travel is possible. I can only remember vague recollections of her playing violin and seeing a 10 year old stopping by her Mom's café with her older brother.

Fast Forward...

55

Music | Everloving by Moby

While working with a new model, I got the chance to shoot some Polaroid Type 55 film that Tom Moratto sent me. Of course that film has been gone since 2008, but if you can manage to find it, you can buy a box of 20 sheets for upwards of $200. Tom had sold all of his 4x5 equipment and gave me the sheets he had left.

I loved going thru the motions of loading that film, delicately sliding it into the holder and even more gently, pulling up the cover to enable exposure to the film. Memories of using that film to check composition, lighting ratios and the general look of your scene brought on a great nostolgia. Besides enjoying the moment, I felt history sliding thru the rollers of the holder as it meshed chemicals to film to process the instant photo...

Nej Rose

It is no wonder I love Wet Plate... the closest procedure to get that instant photo again...

Your Way or the Highway...

Music | Minor Seventh Heaven by Oscar Pettiford



Strobed and shot on location at a rental studio of Pam and Nick.


I have to remember that I don't have this beast under control like I do otherwise. Wet Plate Collodion demands respect, or it will spit you out and stomp all over you. It took me several plates to get into the groove and I just have to remember to take deep breathes and relax, just like I ask my subjects.

Shooting several hundred photos during a digital shoot makes the process easy. Time, effort and costs are minimal and with so many to choose from, there is bound to be a few nice selections. This day, we shot 9 exposures during our time together. It wasn't until the 3rd plate that I started to feel comfortable. This was the 4th plate and I think it was the plate of the afternoon.

There is no resting on one's laurels when shooting wet plates. Not for me at least. The only laurels I have is my past work, and only the good stuff I show. I do love that each time I go out and shoot, I have to be in that mode, that groove to be able to produce. It takes effort and thought. It forces me to work! In the end, if I meet my end of the bargain, I'll get nice plate.

Getting Schooled...

Music | Koyal by Nitin Sawhney

Really disappointed, like last year, Portland's summer seems to be getting another late start. Because the studio is outdoors, I have hardly gotten anything done for the first part of 2011. However, seems like we are getting a bit more consistent on the non rainy days and temps hovering more in the 60º+ range.

Other good news is that the other day, I was able to shoot my first 8x10 plate. As soon as it is varnished, I'll have to post it. I've been collaborating with Brandon Fernandez recently who also has an out door studio with a massive 8x10 studio camera. We ended up doing some quick tests of each other, so I also have a nice new plate portrait of myself, which I'll also post.

Yesterday, both Brandon and I got schooled with regards to some studio lighting. We were able to find out that his 4800 Speedotron studio pack has enough juice to properly expose a plate, with beautiful results! He also has a very affordable cfl light bank that enables exposures of 4 seconds at f:5.6 with a nice range of flexibility as well. This opens up huge possibilities regarding the ability to creating Wet Plate Collodion Plates. No longer are we limited to shooting in optimal conditions outside during specific times of the day, we can shoot in the studio at midnight if we wanted!


Ayme


Brandon

Tri X

Music | Who is He and What is He to You by Bill Withers

Every time I process a roll of film, I"m reminded how magical photography really is...

Reaping the Fruits of My Labor...

Music | The Fire by Imogen Heap

I've survived the waiting game. Later in that evening, I processed my negs, put each one on the scanner to get a quick overview, good or bad and move on... I didn't do too bad this time. I'm only more excited and passioned to move forward.



I feel more of a purest than not when it comes to my photography. I'm surprised that I am not too disheartened about the fact that I scan my images and print them on my ink jet printer. Yes, I very much do miss being in the darkroom and printing on Agfa Portriga and Ilford Gallerie papers. However, I'm not fighting the fact I no longer have my enlarger and the space to have a darkroom. If I had the chance to have one, I'm not sure I'd take it. Am I less of a purest?

re Learning Patience...

Music | Numb by Sia Furler

Finally, shot more 4x5 last week and processed the film just now... So I'm in the familiar place of having so much anticipation to see what I got, but I still don't read negatives very well... I mean, I do have a properly exposed neg, looks quite good in fact. But I can't really say until I either make a positive of it, or scan it so I can see it on the Positive side. Problem is, the film is still wet and like watching paint dry, film is no less harsh.

I do like this old familiar feeling. I remember having to wait at least a week when I would drop film off at Walgreens to have my film developed and printed. Just after receiving that envelope with the 3.5x5 inch prints, I'd quickly go over them and declare good or bad, moving quickly on to the next.

Turn around times got shorter as time moved on and now we only have to wait just to get back to the computer... But with that efficiency and the immediacy, the sense of anticipation is gone. Here I am now biding my time by writing of the experience because I know I can't do anything until the film is completely dry...

I'm finding this is a special time, maybe when time starts to move slower than faster, so I won't feel so compelled to think my life is running right by me. I need more of this...

Thing That was Missing, You didn't Know You Missed...

Music | Pieces of the Past by The Vandermark 5


Ironically almost 2 years to the day, I was introduced to a photographic technique called Wet Plate Collodion. With the exhibit called Resurrection at the 23Sandy Gallery which I have thought to be one of the most important shows I've ever seen, I was romantically introduced to this 150+ year old technique.

Yesterday, May 1st was Wet Plate Collodion Day, to celebrate the life of Frederick Scott Archer, the creator of the Wet Plate process. Around the world, the few photographers who still practice this technique was encouraged to shoot plates and post them to the Wet Plate Collidion Day website. What better occasion to try and jump start my entry into this most mesmerizing process than this. As soon as I learned of the Wet Plate Day, I contacted my informal mentor, Ray Bidegain who has become a master of this process himself. He had agreed to let me come to the studio and shoot off a few plates as I learned on the run.

I haven't felt like a kid in a long time. I love to be in a situation where things are new, I'm interested in the subject at hand and I know practically zero. Suddenly you realize you have something in your head you haven't used in a long time. Synapses suddenly start popping, your eyes widen, and you feel more alive than you can last remember.

Coating and going thru the process of sensitizing the plate is critical. Timing is everything. On my first go around, nothing could have gone better.



Jen, my model and could easily become my muse was wonderful to work with. With minimal words, and some simple gestures, she fell into place during our pre shoot rehearsals. When it was time to shoot, because time is so critical, only minor adjustments needed were necessary before the actual shot was made.





So, two years and one day since my introduction to the Wet Plate Process brings me to where I am right now. Though I did photograph Ray here about a 21 months ago here, it is this last session where I feel I can take more of the credit to getting to where I am. I'm looking forward to moving forward!

Thanks Ray, Jen...

Fruit...

Music | The Answer is You by Phyllis Hyman

The fruits of my labor from the other day. These set of images were a very nice surprise as I shot them over last summer and had no clue as to what exactly where on those pieces of film.

Timothy is a very articulate, expressive poet who I've known for a few years now. The first time I saw him perform I wanted to be able to photograph him. Years have passed, but I think it was worth the wait. I shot both 4x5 film and digitally, both reaping great images.

The new decade is promissing! I'm happy at what I'm seeing and optimistic for the future. I think I'll be on my way with images as strong as this one.