Modeling with wet plate

The wet plate collodion process is such a phenomenal photographic technique. It has filtered down and influenced all of my work, and lately I have begun to use it for modern subjects as well as my reenacting and living history events. In the past, I made a few "modern"  images at reenactments. Finally this year I started pursuing the wet plate process with a focus on modern subjects.

The things that attract me to wet plate work well with both historical and modern subjects. The lens with it's sweet spot in the center of the image. The swirly out of focus areas and the shallow depth of field. The time it takes to set up and make each individual photograph, as opposed to shooting frame after frame on a digital camera. Wet plate taps into my artistic roots, and forces me to work harder on each image.

In mid July I set my camera up at the David Davis Mansion in Bloomington, Illinois for a living history event. Just as the sun was starting to set; Kera, a volunteer at the mansion, walked up in one of her modern print dresses. She looked beautiful in the dress, and I thought that it would make a great photograph in wet plate, so I asked her to pose for me.

The image came out great! Soft evening light, beautiful gray tones and a painterly like out of focus background.

In late July I set up my camera gear at Deming Park in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was a HOT weekend! I've made wet plate images in the field in all sorts of weather, from freezing temps to boiling hot summer days, and everything in between. So the weather wasn't gonna deter me.

The wet plate setup at Deming Park in Terre Haute. Everything you need to make 19th Century images: camera, chemistry, water, plates and darkroom.

Anastasia and Kayla joined me in the park to make some images. They are both models that I contacted through Model Mayhem, a modeling site that brings photographers, models, make up artists etc. together. This was the first time either of them have had their "images struck" with the wet plate process. It was fun to work with them, and let them see the process from start to finish.

We set up in a shady out of the way spot in the park. I absolutely love working in open shade while making pictures. Wet plate is very complimentary under nice even diffused light.

Both Anastasia and Kayla were troopers, with the heat and humidity (and the bugs :) ).  In all we made about ten or so plates over two and a half hours.

Here is the setup for a portrait of Kayla. The camera in position and a reflector used off to the right to bring in just a little bit of fill light back into the subject. As you can see, the tintype is a direct positive, so everything is reversed in the photograph.

The final plate of the day was with Anastasia. We were both pretty hot and tired, and between the two of us we posed this final photograph. Anastasia was going to lay with the camera directly above her.

Here is the setup for Anastasia's photo. I actually moved the camera over and above her head after looking through the ground glass. I was trying to beat the heat, because the plate was already in the plate holder and starting to dry out. I knew I only had a few more minutes before the plate would be dry and no longer sensitive to light. So I moved the camera, refocused and came up with a nice image.

Wet plate is a slow, labor intensive and hands on process. It involves a lot of prep time and patience by both the photographer and the subject.

In the end it produces one of a kind unique photographs that can never be duplicated again.

It is about as far away from modern digital photography as I can get, and I truly enjoy it.