Social Documentary Photography for a Better World!

Friday, January 26, 2024

A Beautiful Day!

A great way to spend the day. First 2 1/2 hours at the Vancouver Gallery, now some great library books! Later a good Chinese meal! Even picked up a nice Timothy O’Sullivan book (slightly bent up cover, 20% discount) $143 CAD online, I paid $58 for mine.

A.Y. Jackson
Frederick Varley
Emily Carr

SaltScapes Photo Series Idea

A book I viewed yesterday “Changing the Earth by Emmet Gowan”, at the main downtown Vancouver library, gave me a photo idea.

“Do a series of landscape photographs from unique but not too high a vantage point using my mini drone. Then take those digital files and make digital negatives to create beautiful salt prints. The series would be called -SaltScapes-“.

The images would be composed lower than Gowan’s stuff and be printed in more earthy warm paper salt print tones than his book. I have never been a huge fan of satellite style imagery. But lower altitude stuff along with the.beauty of salt might be a winning combo for me.

A mixture of the new “Drones” and the old “Salt Prints”to create a unique hybrid art!

Something might be done there!! I could start making work for thus project next week!!! Another chapter for the web image as well :)

Note* My answer to a Facebook friend’s statement that I should use a ULF view camera fit the project instead.

GY:

“I wanted to find a reason to shoot the drone. With mini drones you have more legal access to a variety of locations. You can shoot from positions impossible to compose from with a view camera (flying above water etc.) and create high resolution images. Then I could print large detailed salt prints. The best of 2024 tech plus the best of 1830s tech. It will be fun. Going to give it a go.”



Vancouver Book Buys

Vancouver book buys!

Thursday, January 25, 2024

Emily’s Influence!

I was thinking of Emily Carr paintings when I made this Ambrotype in 2022, 91 years after her 1931 image.

I have grown to really love her work. She is my favourite Canadian artist.

I will try to make a large salt print of this Ambrotyoe later.

Quote: Jackson Pollock

 

Buying a Used 11x14 Chamonix Camera!

I will complete my Chamonix wet plate collection of cameras with a purchase of a used 111x14 camera. The addition of this tool will give me a 11x14, a 16x20 and a 24x24 Chamonix. 

The deal is for a  11x14 camera, a 11x14 plate holder, a 14x14 plate holder, 50 sheets of 11x14 aluminum (for tintypes) and a Chamonix camera bag. The total cost including shipping and insurance to Edmonton from Toronto will be $6117.15 CAD. 

This new expense is high but quite a bit cheaper than buying everything new. The camera was used 8 or 9 times, in studio, never outdoors. The seller is a reputable, talented, hardworking professional photographer, who takes care of his gear.

The camera should be an important piece of gear for AMBROTOS KANATA! I hope to use it extensively in the 2024 shooting season. Could the 14x14 inch format become my main portrait style?

Quote: Dr. Paul Farmer

 

Tuesday, January 23, 2024

New Wash Table

Got my black sink table. Set it up with water and a drain stop. Everything looks good. The idea is that I can now wash my larger plates measuring 11x14 , 14x14, 12x20 and 16x20 inches, outside of the darkroom trailer. 

I will fill the sink up with water, insert the plates and use a circulator pump for agitation. Wash the plates for at least an hour. Then drain the water and rewash as needed. It should be a sound and archival method. I can then dry the plates and travel.

Sunday, January 21, 2024

Quote: Albert Einstein

 “Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value. He is considered successful in our day who gets more out of life than he puts in. But a man of value will give more than he receives.”

Saturday, January 20, 2024