Tonight I am studying Wet Plate photography from Quinn Jacobson's wonderful book "Chemical Pictures". Quinn's book will be my Wet Plate Collodion bible.
One of the advantages of being a night time security guard is that you have the time to study on duty while your being paid a salary (heck even got an hour of OT tonight, 13 hour shift). The plan is to spend some time each work night all winter studying and learning how wet plate works. I can learn from the book, from videos and fro all my wet plate friends in Facebook land.
I will study over the winter months, and get my darkroom trailer completed as well. In the spring I will get my chemistry, mix my Collodion and other wet plate chemistry before heading out to do my first glass plates (Ambrotypes) probably in around May 2020.
The eventual goal is to photograph KANATA my 10 year plus cross Canada wet plate project. I might use cameras (format sizes) from 4x5 to 35x35 to do this work (4x5, 5x7, 8x10, 11x14, 14x17, 16x20, 20x24, 27x35 and 35x35). The idea is to tell the story of Canada (KANATA is the Cree word for Canada). I will show the good, the bad, the beautiful and the ugly. I want an honest, true and rounded picture of the country (must be the social documentary guy in me). Only through balance can a true and honest story be told.
First step is to study and to learn the process. None of this happens unless I can master wet plate. Mastering, an interesting word, that is much easier said than done, but going to give it a shot!! Wet plate is notoriously difficult, not sure anyone truly masters it. Lets say I want to become quite good at the process maybe that is a bit easier. I want to proficient enough to make the ambrotype (pictures on glass) images I need to make.
What the heck do I got to lose? Of course photographing Canada alone in 10 years is impossible, heck more talented, hard working people than me could probably not do it in 100 years, but heck again, what do I have to lose? I will do my best and go from there! In life it is important to have goals and dreams or life is not worth living, otherwise your already dead. When those dreams and goals are Impossible it just make things much more dramatic :) We all need drama in life.
"Ain't Photography Grand!!"
One of the advantages of being a night time security guard is that you have the time to study on duty while your being paid a salary (heck even got an hour of OT tonight, 13 hour shift). The plan is to spend some time each work night all winter studying and learning how wet plate works. I can learn from the book, from videos and fro all my wet plate friends in Facebook land.
I will study over the winter months, and get my darkroom trailer completed as well. In the spring I will get my chemistry, mix my Collodion and other wet plate chemistry before heading out to do my first glass plates (Ambrotypes) probably in around May 2020.
The eventual goal is to photograph KANATA my 10 year plus cross Canada wet plate project. I might use cameras (format sizes) from 4x5 to 35x35 to do this work (4x5, 5x7, 8x10, 11x14, 14x17, 16x20, 20x24, 27x35 and 35x35). The idea is to tell the story of Canada (KANATA is the Cree word for Canada). I will show the good, the bad, the beautiful and the ugly. I want an honest, true and rounded picture of the country (must be the social documentary guy in me). Only through balance can a true and honest story be told.
First step is to study and to learn the process. None of this happens unless I can master wet plate. Mastering, an interesting word, that is much easier said than done, but going to give it a shot!! Wet plate is notoriously difficult, not sure anyone truly masters it. Lets say I want to become quite good at the process maybe that is a bit easier. I want to proficient enough to make the ambrotype (pictures on glass) images I need to make.
What the heck do I got to lose? Of course photographing Canada alone in 10 years is impossible, heck more talented, hard working people than me could probably not do it in 100 years, but heck again, what do I have to lose? I will do my best and go from there! In life it is important to have goals and dreams or life is not worth living, otherwise your already dead. When those dreams and goals are Impossible it just make things much more dramatic :) We all need drama in life.
"Ain't Photography Grand!!"
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| Tonight's Studies |
