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  • [music playing] >>> Collodion photography is both difficult

  • and somewhat dangerous to do. It was invented in 1851 by the Englishmen Frederick Scott

  • Archer who has looking for a process that could produce fine detail and negatives. It

  • was one of the first photographic processes invented.

  • Cutting the glass. I use both black glass and clear glass in the process. I use clear

  • glass for negatives and black glass for positives. I shoot everything from 11 x 14 to quarter

  • plate. Deburring the glass. You need to do this so

  • you don’t get cuts on your hands because of the cyanide used in the process. It also

  • gives a ridge to hold the emulsion or the film.

  • Cleaning the glass. Although this step isn’t very flattering, it’s extremely important.

  • If the glass isn’t cleaned well the emulsion or collodion will peel from the plate.

  • Flowing the plate. This step is where you actually pour the collodion onto the glass

  • plate. It’s very technique driven. It takes a lot of practice to do it correctly. The

  • technique used here will determine if your plate is smooth and ridge free and will determine

  • how many defects or imperfections you have in the plate.

  • Sensitizing the plate. When the collodion has reached a set point, the plate is dropped

  • into a bath of silver nitrate for three to four minutes.

  • Exposing the plate. Exposure in wet paint photography range from a few seconds to several

  • minutes depending on the lighting, the chemistry and what the photographer wants the image

  • to look like. Developing the plate. It only takes fifteen

  • to twenty seconds to develop the plate but you need to know what youre looking for

  • so you don’t overdevelop or under develop. Fixing the plate. I use potassium cyanide

  • to fix the images. I let the sitter wash from a bluish negative to a warm positive ambro

  • type. Last year I bought a 1990 Dodge Caravan and

  • put a dark room in the back of it. This has allowed me to take wet-plate on the road and

  • do portraits outside of my studio. While this is exciting, it presents a whole new set of

  • challenges for me and makes me appreciate the photographers of the nineteenth century

  • even more. The biggest challenge I have is the technical aspects of the process. I have

  • no running water and it’s much more difficult to control the light when I’m not in my

  • studio. But when it’s successful, it can be very rewarding.

[music playing] >>> Collodion photography is both difficult

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