Wet Plate - Men's Day 1

Continuing on with the Wet Plate Portrait Project, "Faces". I had two great guys come over from Fusion Models.

This is Caleb from Fusion Models.  I looked at Caleb's book.  I saw the potential for him to be stronger, more visceral in his images.  I told him I wanted to project strength.  That he did!  I wouldn't want to run across this guy at night. :)  He did an amazing job.

8"x10" Black Glass Ambrotype

8"x10" Black Glass Ambrotype

We did all of these 5x7's to get the lighting just right and ended with the 8x10's above.

5"x7" on Black Aluminum

5"x7" on Black Aluminum

5"x7" on Black Aluminum

5"x7" on Black Aluminum

This is Marc @ Fusion Models.  I had shot him a few years ago, so it was nice to see how he had grown in experience.

5"x7" on Black Aluminum

These last two were my favorites.  He's got such a great direct connection with the camera in the first, and the second reminds me of one of the gangsters in the movie, "Far and Away" .

8"x10" Black Glass Ambrotype

8"x10" Black Glass Ambrotype

It was a fantastic day all around.  The chemistry wasn't giving me any trouble and the guys were awesome.  I'm looking forward to some more shoots that go this well.

Behind the Scenes - Wet Plate

Ok, I've become a little obsessed.  I guess when you go off into something new, it starts off small, but ends up becoming more than thought it would be when you started.  It's frustrating, messy, complicated, fairly expensive, but OH, SO enjoyable when it works out well.  I didn't realize how much I missed the darkroom and getting my hands dirty until I found wet plate.   The process is wonderful.  It slows you down and makes you think about exactly what you want to do.  There is no rushing into anything.   My friend Rico Elvina was kind enough to come by one of my shoots and take a few photos to show what goes into making tintypes, ambrotypes, and glass plate negatives the way they did in the late 1800's. Since then, I've been a little busy getting all of the tools I needed to shoot wet plate.  You have to be 1/2 alchemist and 1/2 photographer.  There's a lot of chemistry that goes into just preparing to shoot.  Some of it is quite hazardous.  Wear your safety goggles at all times making the chemistry. :)

A little video of me showing all of the chemistry needed in the process.  I was mixing up a new batch of developer and collodion this day...shot on my iphone.

IMG 2976 from James Weber on Vimeo.

Ok, the music is a little dramatic, but I had to set the tone for the scene...haha. ;)

Preparing the plate with Collodion...

In the image above and below, I'm pouring collodion on the glass plate and am pooling the excess into my little patron bottle.  This creates the base upon which the silver nitrate can attach to the plate and make it light sensitive.  Patron bottles are the best thing to use as they are really strong and have a nice wide mouth...and you have an excuse to buy them full...hahaha.  The box next to me is called a, "Dark Box".  It's where you load the sensitized plates and develop them.

Showing my model, Anna the process.  I Loved the coat she was wearing.  It's very, "Game of Thrones". :)

While I'm waiting for the silver nitrate to take hold(3 minutes in the tank for ambrotypes), I get the subject in focus.

To focus, you push and pull the back plate until the image is in focus where you like.

The image is upside down and flipped horizontally as well.  Type reads backwards in the final image.

Above:  I've got a headlamp on with a red filter on it for use in the dark box.  Collodion is not sensitive to red light, so it's the only light you can use to see what you're doing in the dark.

Me with my Anthony Imperial Climax 8x10 camera.  The lens is made by Voightlander and is circa 1875.

The light I use is extremely bright.  It sounds like a gun going off when the light fires.  You have to use a LOT of light in wet plate, as collodion is about 1 ISO, or needs 8 times more light than a normal camera at 100 ISO.

Ok, my apologies in advance.  :)  It's not the most flattering photo I've ever taken...lol.  This is me inside the, "Dark Box" developing the plate.  This has to be done in a dark room or dark box.  The good thing about the dark box is that you can put it in the  back of an SUV and take this show on the road...

Now the fun part...fixing the image and seeing it for the first time.

To see the image, you have to put a glass plate negative or ambrotype in front of something black.  The tank behind the image is the Potassium Cyanide Fixer.  Really dangerous stuff.  You have to be careful not to ingest it.  It's poisonous.  Respect the chemistry at all times...

Here are some of the plates I shot of Anna that day...

8"x10" Clear Glass Negative

8"x10" Ruby Glass Ambrotype

8"x10" on Black Aluminum

8"x10" on Black Aluminum

There was a second model the same day, but unfortunately we only got off 2 shots.  Something was wrong with the chemistry.  Her name is Kate and I hope to have her back again soon to finish up our shoot. :)

8"x10" on Black Aluminum.

I've just started this portrait series, "Faces".  I don't know where it's going to take me, but I don't have too many parameters to confine it.  My main focus it to shoot very natural images of people.   Not a lot of hair/makeup.  Try to get something in them to come out on the plate...strength, vulnerability, sadness.  The eyes are the windows to the soul.  Every now and then they let something out.  Hopefully I can capture something in them.  

To see some of the guys I've shot for the project, you can see them here:  http://jamesweberstudio.com/blog/?p=1941

Many Thanks to my good friend, Jesse Mata, who is also a wet plater and has given me so much help and support with this process.  He has also lent me his 11x14 camera to play with...should be even more fun. :)

Would you trust this guy?? haha...I took this self portrait...my "Yoda in the woods" shot on John Coffer's farm.  This was where I learned to shoot Wet Plate.   I wrote about that experience here:  http://jamesweberstudio.com/blog/?p=1376 

Thanks, James

Fashion in Wet Plate Collodion

Hey there everyone,These images are the first in my attempt to shoot a fashion editorial in one day using the wet plate collodion process. The stylist(Fredo) and I got together and decided on a few things. We wanted to do a story that had a Josephine Baker influence to it. We also wanted to give it a period feel, but using designers of today.  For instance, the corset on her is made by THE BLONDS. Their works are usually seen on stars such as Christina Aguilera and other celebrities. In person, this piece is bright, silvery blue...not very period. It photographed in collodion wonderful though.  Another of my influences in photography in general has been Paolo Roversi. His photography always has a timeless feel to it. I wanted to channel some of that, if you will. :)

In the end, we got much of what we wanted in the final look and feel of the images. The closeup image in particular is striking because of the collodion mistakes/artifacts in it.  Sometimes the process reaches out and decides to change something.  Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not.  

We shot about 25 plates in a day, which is a LOT for wet plate, but it's still way under what one would normally shoot.  That's not even a traditional roll of film at 36 exposures...

I have to thank my friend, Jesse Mata as well, who helped pour the collodion and develop as well so we could keep it moving quickly.  Without him, this shoot would not have happened.

8x10 Ruby Glass Ambrotype

Technically, it was a success as I was able to use strobes for the first time with repeatable results.   In previous testing, I found that one to three strobes at full power just wasn't enough light.  I ended up using 4 Profoto 7a packs tied to 2 profoto bi-tubes, generating 4800 watt seconds of power per head for a total of 9600 watt seconds of power per flash(only one needed). That, mixed with a little time exposure of 5 seconds or so to add in some of the ambient light(2000k Arri), and there you have it. As this was my first test in this kind of shooting, I believe it was a successful one. I'm looking forward to planning another one and taking the next one of few steps forward...possibly on location next time to give it more atmosphere. I have to thank Jesse Mata profusely as he assisted me during the shoot, helping pour plates and develop so that we could get more shot in the day.  The only thing I'd like to change next time is doing it with fresh chemistry.  I'll have more latitude in my exposure times and power needed.

8x10 Clear Glass Negative

8x10 Ruby Glass Ambrotype

8x10 Black Glass Ambrotype 

8x10 Ruby Glass Ambrotype

Photography by James Weber

Styling and Art Direction by Fredo

Hair and Makeup by Chuck Jensen

Model:  Gift  @ 1.1management

Wet Plate Assistance:  Jesse Mata

Video:  James Sullivan

It's quite a process getting ready for wet plate shooting.  There's setting up the Dark Box, getting all of the chemistry together, setting up the fixing/washing area, getting the plates ready, etc...but there's no other style of shooting that is like it.

Here's some photos from the set:

I'm shooting with an Anthony Imperial Climax 8"x10" Camera.  Behind me is the dark box that I built as a DIY project.  It's where I sensitize the plates with silver nitrate and develop the plates as well.  It's a mini-dark room.

Here's some of the plates that we shot throughout the day.  It's a mix of Black Glass and Ruby Glass Ambrotypes and Clear Glass negatives.

That's all for now...on to plan the next one...

James