I have been studying the videos of Quinn Jacobson on YouTube. Quinn is an advanced teacher in the art of wet plate photography. Todays video was on the use of black "Asphaltum" to coat a clear glass ambrotype.
The finished product is one of a kind and quite stunning. The subject matter is not that interesting to me but the look, depth and feel of the finished glass image is astounding. You look through the glass to see the photograph on the back side, it sort of sits there and glows back at you. Imagine what a 16x20 or even better still a a 22x32 ambrotype with black "Asphaltum" would look like! A subject of a strong northern Canada coastal landscape or a tight head shot of an other indigenous person! Wow! As beautiful as photography can be. It is almost like magic, the image is captured INSIDE the glass. An important memory kept safe forever. A glimpse into another place, another time, another life. Using an ancient technique, technique 170 years old (made with a lens from that same period??) to photograph and bring to life modern subjects!!
I am very excited, I may have found the look I am after for this important Canada based project. I could do up these type ambrotypes as well as shooting regular film for silver gelatin and platinum prints at all my shooting locations.
Here is a link to the video and some captures of the final ambrotype.
The Studio Q Show - S01E06 - Using Asphaltum on Clear Glass Ambrotypes
Note* If you want to learn wet plate, Quinn Jacobson is the guy you want to talk to. He has several books, as well as videos on YouTube and elsewhere and is a workshop teacher.
Note** Doing a ambrotype like this on clear glass is MUCH cheaper to make than using black glass (expensive-rare). The other advantage is you can reverse the image by flipping the glass allowing for all the text etc. to be the right way round.
The finished product is one of a kind and quite stunning. The subject matter is not that interesting to me but the look, depth and feel of the finished glass image is astounding. You look through the glass to see the photograph on the back side, it sort of sits there and glows back at you. Imagine what a 16x20 or even better still a a 22x32 ambrotype with black "Asphaltum" would look like! A subject of a strong northern Canada coastal landscape or a tight head shot of an other indigenous person! Wow! As beautiful as photography can be. It is almost like magic, the image is captured INSIDE the glass. An important memory kept safe forever. A glimpse into another place, another time, another life. Using an ancient technique, technique 170 years old (made with a lens from that same period??) to photograph and bring to life modern subjects!!
I am very excited, I may have found the look I am after for this important Canada based project. I could do up these type ambrotypes as well as shooting regular film for silver gelatin and platinum prints at all my shooting locations.
Here is a link to the video and some captures of the final ambrotype.
The Studio Q Show - S01E06 - Using Asphaltum on Clear Glass Ambrotypes
Note* If you want to learn wet plate, Quinn Jacobson is the guy you want to talk to. He has several books, as well as videos on YouTube and elsewhere and is a workshop teacher.
Note** Doing a ambrotype like this on clear glass is MUCH cheaper to make than using black glass (expensive-rare). The other advantage is you can reverse the image by flipping the glass allowing for all the text etc. to be the right way round.
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| Ambrotype with added Aspuhalton by Quinn Jacoboson |
