Music | Butterfly by Floetry
I've always tried to keep things simple, especially when going thru a learning process. I've been shooting Wet Plates for about three and half years now, and though I know I've gotten better, I still have so much to learn, understand why some things happen sometimes and other not...
A month ago, I thought it would be interesting to make smaller plates, mostly so I could sell my art at a more affordable price. Also, plates that were smaller in stature I thought would be easier to part with.
So now I make things a little more complicated by introducing a smaller format, with other new things to learn and figure out. I still get the same joy out of shooting the plates thru the Rolleiflex. The plates, petite, but still with a lot of presence. I've been happy the more I shoot and figure out a smooth workflow.
What I really love is that the quantity of my materials go a long way! With most people, bigger and bigger their pieces go, I've been happy shooting 4 x 5 and now 2.5 x 2.5. I screwed up 2 plates, for a total of 10 for yesterdays session. Looking at the bottle of collodion, it appeared like the same quantity was in the little bottle.
I just varnished the 8 plates this morning and admiring my little gems. Besides the still lifes I shoot with this smaller format, I'm not sure what I will do with my portraits and nudes.
The only issue now that I have is the desire to shoot both 4 x 5 and the smaller square format. Kind of the same dilemma when I started shooting wet plates in the beginning. I felt the need to shoot both digital and the plates... I've learned of course I don't need to, but I think this one will be a bit harder to commit to...
