Back to the roots of Photography..

I love  my digital camera.. who wouldn’t it’s a Canon 5D MII.

But there has always been a part of me drawn back to Analogue photography.

For now it was just the longing of having my own dark room, where I could develop my film.. So at first I was looking for a used Analogue camera and which film I would like to use.

Then I went to an exhibit where Sally Mann was featured. I was in love with her photographs..  I saw here documentary What Remains, and was for the first time introduced to Collodion Photography. The imperfections of a “wet”plate really gives something extra to the photo.

So the hunt was open. Where could I learn more about this sort of photography… I went on-line, and in contradiction to  my expectation, there is a lot to find about this procedure. So I read about it, I looked at pictures, and got more and more exited. I wanted more.. I wanted to feel the plate in my hands. I wanted to see how the old camera’s work… If the lenses are as sharp as the new ones.. I wanted to check if the varnish really smells like lavender..

My hunt for knowledge brought me to Alex. Alex lives in Holland and is a Collodion enthusiast. Together with a friend (Michiel) we were offered to join Alex for a day collodion photography..

Weeks of anticipating paid off, what a trip.. It really is like magic..

We started out with a lot of information about camera’s lenses, and the ingredients for this kind of photography.

When the “wet plate” is ready you don’t have a lot of time to spend on a pose. So you make sure that the global pose is in place before you make your plate. Tiny adjustments can be made when the plate is ready. Remember that the pose you make, you have to hold for a second of 7… So be sure your comfortable Ehm I thought I had two arms, how is it that I can only feel one? But it was worth it… Alex uses two daylight studio lamps for lighting his subjects. Otherwise the exposure time would be much longer, and when you are working with life models that’s not something you would prefer.

Now it is time to make the plate.

Here I am “flowing the plate” first the plate needs to be super clean. Then you poor the collodion on to the plate and you very gentle flow the plate, that the collodion spreads over the entire plate. The next step is the silver bath. This will make sure that the plate will be sensitive to light.

After this step it is crucial that the plat is kept dark. You put it, in the dark room, in the camera’s plate holder.

You put the plate holder in the camera and set the timer for the number of seconds  you want. Make sure the model is in place and that she/he has a focus point so the eyes will not move during the exposure.

When the plate is in the camera you position your model the way you rehearsed earlier.

So when you know what you want your model to look like on the plate you check with a loop if the camera is in position and the subject is sharp where you want it to be.

And wow… These antique lenses are sharp as a razor… Brilliant.. To think these lenses are build in the 1800′s..

The next step is going back into the dark room to develop the plate. This is when the magic happens. You poor the developer onto the plate.. You can see the picture forming. This also is the step where I am going to make the most mistakes there is a point where you must stop the developing process, I got the idea that this is a guessing game of your own experience, so practice practice practice.. The developing is stopped by pouring water onto the plate until there is a nice film of water on the plate. Next you put the plate in a solution of Potassium fixation. The plate has had a milky white look until now. As soon as the plate hits the potassium the white will fade and the picture is revealed.. Magic to see… Now all is left is watering the plate down with tab water, and than rinse down wit de-mineralized water.

The plate has to dry. When dry you can varnish the plate.. And yes, it really smells like lavender.. If you used a white plate, you can paint the back black when the plat is dry.

Here are the results of the day.

We had a great day!

Alex thanks a lot, for this great opportunity.

If you want to read more about collodion photography or want to now more about Alex Timmermans: http://www.collodion-art.blogspot.com/

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