On December 5th, Amanda Baker stopped by for a wet plate demo. Amanda is the Programs and Events Coordinator for 40 North/88 West - Champaign County Arts Council. She is filming different artists for a video to be shown at the annual Gala fundraiser on February 9th.
I usually make my tintypes outside, so I set up my portable darkbox, equipment and chemistry and made a few wet plate tintypes. It was a bit cold, but bright and sunny. I kept the chemistry in the house until the last minute so that it would be warm enough to make some plates.
Wet plate darkroom (left) and a table full of wet plate stuff.
The inside of my small portable dark box.
I chose the white mulberry tree in my back yard as a "subject" as Amanda took video of me pouring and shooting a few plates. After an overexposed plate of six seconds, I was able to shoot a nice tintype of the tree at a quick two second exposure. It is interesting to compare modern digital snapshots to wet plate photos. Here are photos from my camera phone (top) and with the wet plate camera (below):
We had just enough time for one more photo, so I had Amanda pose for a wet plate portrait.
The plate ended up a bit underexposed. I tried to make up the difference with a little over development, but could not get the shadows to come in. Not bad for a sunny day in December. Yes December!
Here are the three plates resting in on the drying rack outside. Not bad for 45 minutes of shooting.
Battle of Mission [i.e., Missionary] Ridge, Nov. 25th, 1863 -
presented with the compliments of the McCormick Harvesting Machine
Company
/
Cosack & Co. lith., Buffalo & Chicago. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
Today marks the 149th anniversary of the Battle of Missionary Ridge in Chattanooga Tennessee. On this day one solder among thousands was mortally wounded during the battle:
"Among all the noble spirits that that day struggles so grandly for their country's flag, there was none more heroic than Walter V. Reeder, Company C of the 36th, who, having received the wound in the thigh, of which he died in about two weeks, lay bleeding on the hill-side, and taking a handkerchief out of his pocket, waved it towards the top of the ridge, silently inspiring his comrades to complete what he had so gallantly helped to commence." (History of the Thirty-Six Regiment Illinois Volunteers, during the War of the Rebellion" L.G. Bennett and WM. M. Haigh, 1876)
I know about Walter and his brother Carvosso because of an almost forgotten tombstone near Somonauk, Il. In the summer of 1997 I was a photojournalist working for the The Daily Times (now The Times) in Ottawa, Il. Workers with the La Salle County Genealogy Guild were clearing and documenting stones in Bernard Cemetery. Among the stones was that of Carvosso and Walter Reeder. It read:
"CARVOSSO, died Mar. 4 1868 aged 26 yrs. 4 days. WALTER, fatally wounded at Mission Ridge Nov. 25, 1863 and died at Chattanooga, Tenn. Dec. 13, 1863 aged 20 yrs, 8 mos. 11 ds. Both were with the 36th Ill. Vol. Infantry."
In 1997, I only knew the first names of the two soldiers and the unit they were fighting with. Over the course of a year of research I was able to obtain their medical and pension records, as well as state mustering records.
More importantly, there were two repositories of letters preserved from Walter when he sent them back to his family. I have copies of these letters, and they describe everything from camp life to his beliefs on slavery, battle accounts and how much he missed his family at home.
Although both boys have their name on this headstone, Walter lies in a marked grave at the National Cemetery in Chattanooga. Carvasso is buried in Somonauk.
If it wasn't for the interest in these two soldiers, and the research I did 15 years ago, I would not be making wet plate photos today.
My wet plate gallery opening at the Alley Gallery in Danville will also coincide with the 149th day of the Battle of Missionary Ridge. Amazing.
Thank you Walter and Carvosso. Thank you for giving me a window to the past, enlightening me on the ways of a soldier during the Civil War. Thank you for almost 10 years of wet plate photography and thank you for your service to our country.
I thought I would end this blog with a few words from Walter, written
in August of 1863. Three short months before a musket ball tore though his thigh, lodged in his spine, and took his life a few weeks after the battle of Missionary Ridge.
Benton Barracks, St. Louis
Saturday Aug. 1st '63
"The tide of time still rolls onward, and now, I find myself to be a Soldier of almost two (2) years standing, and in taking a hasty thought back over the past, I can scarcely think where the time has gone. But then to think of the hardships we have endured, the marches we have made, and enter into all this minutiae it looks like a long long time.
I trust that I am truly thankful that my life is still spared, though I have passed through many dangers, both seen and unseen, and my comrades have fallen on my right hand and on my left. Why my poor soul has been spared I cannot say, but I hope, to some good purpose, I trust that I may be kept from harm and return to my Home not soon to be returned again by war.
I think some times of my comrades, who started with me in a Soldiers life, with prospects for life as good or better than mine. But they now sleep in the soil of the sunny south, and they will rest until the morning of the Resurrection when they will rise to judgment. Some of our Boys Sleep at Rolla Mo, Some at Springfield Mo. Some in Arkansas. Some in Mississippi, Some slumber in Kentucky others lie in far off Tennessee. It is a sad thought to think of this so many laying down their lives, in its morning when life seems to them to wear new attractions, and when hope pictured out a happy future to step off the stage of being.
It seems hard to die in the spring time of life. When there seems to be so much to live for, but how much harder it is to die far from Home, among comparative strangers. No Mothers or Sisters soft hand to perform those offices, that no one can do well as they. No Fathers kind solicitude for their affection, and to comfort as far as maybe the last hours of their suffers. This seems quite hard but all this do the Soldiers. Committed to maintain our Governments. To give to the American people a land of Freedom. Where they may have civil and Religious liberty. This is what our Soldiers die for, and Should not the nation mourn their fate?"
I am pleased to announce that I will be featured in an upcoming show "Intimate Treasures" at the Alley Gallery in Danville.
The show will open on Sunday November 25th at 2 pm. I will be giving a live wet plate demo and artist talk at 3pm.
Here is the official press release and event page invitation from the gallery. I hope to see you there!!!
PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 12, 2012
The
Alley Gallery continues its mission of presenting the best local and
regional art to the art lovers of the Danville area with a new offering
entitled “Intimate Treasures.” On Sunday, November 25th, from 2-5 pm, the gallery will host a reception to present the work of St. Joseph photographer Steven Ingram.
His
work uses an old photographic process from the nineteenth century, the
tin type, updated and used to render everyday modern items as small
photographic treasures or keepsakes. The images are very small, 1 x 1.5
inches, presented in small custom cases, each a one of a kind object.
The process, while it is photographic, yields one and only one image.
There is no negative or digital file so the picture can never be
replicated.
During
the reception Mr. Ingram will demonstrate and talk about his creative
process and, weather permitting, will avail himself to make individual
portraits for sale.
He
has worked extensively with civil war re-enactors photographing the
participants as they might have been on the battlefield as well as
working as a photojournalist.
These original works will be for sale and at a reasonable cost making them ideal gifts for the art lover on your shopping list.
More
information can be had by viewing the Alley Gallery Facebook page and
“liking” it or by calling curator David Nolan during business hours at
217-497-2286.
In
addition to this exhibit, the gallery has planned a group photo exhibit
during February, co-curated by Dr. Ian Wang of Champaign, which will
feature various examples of the nude in photography.
These leaves were actually at my son's soccer game, and reminded me that I needed to get out in the woods soon!
Due to the drought and heavy rains this fall, I knew it was going to be a quick fall this year. Sure enough the leaves turned quickly and fell of their branches in a matter of days. In mid October, I spent a quiet morning out at Homer Lake which is just a few miles from my house. It is a beautiful park with hiking trails through the woods and along the lake and Salt Fork river.
I brought along my digital SLR and a few old manual focus lenses from my film days. I enjoy shooting with manual focus glass, it is a slower and more methodical way of shooting allowing more time for composition and framing. These are all fixed focal primes as well, so the zooming is done with your feet, rather than a ring on the lens.
The three lenses I took with are all AI Nikkors: a 28mm f2.8, a 85mm f2 and one of my all time favorites, my 50mm f 1.4.
The 50mm 1.4 is an especially wonderful lens. When it is shot at it's maximum aperture, there is virtually no depth of field. Everything floats away into creamy bokeh almost like an impressionist painting. It is a hard lens to shoot wide open because of the razor thin depth of field. When you get it right, however, it makes for fantastic images.
Check out how much light comes though the 50mm 1.4 wide open! The dings on the filter ring show the "love" I have had for this lens over the years.
My 50 and 85mm lenses are pretty versatile. They can be used on just about any Nikon SLR (film or digital) built from 1959 to the present. This is because of the little prong that is mounted to the top of the aperture ring. The aperture ring is also machined to couple with Nikon cameras built after 1977. I think it is pretty cool that even with auto focus and chipped modern lenses, Nikon has kept the same bayonet mount on their lenses since the beginning of SLR production 53 years ago!
You can see the prong on the 50mm 1.4 screwed on near the 5.6 aperture. It allows to the lens to couple with older bodies that have external light meters built in the prism, rather than the camera. The notch in the aperture ring behind the prong couples to cameras with light meters built into the camera body.
This maple leaf was taken with the 50mm 1.4 Nikkor. It isn't wide open, probably f2 or 2.8.
This group of leaves were in a gove of trees, all filtering their golden light though the canopy. Shot with the 50mm Nikkor.
I really liked the way the fall trees and blue skies were reflecting in
the Salt Fork River. I shot this with the 85mm f2, panning with the
leaves as they floated by while using a slow shutter speed to capture
the motion of the water.
I have always been a detail shooter, and enjoy the little bits and parts of my surroundings rather than the broader vistas. I also absolutely love shallow depth of field in images. I enjoy isolating the subject from the background, and playing with shapes and colors as background elements.
If you enjoy the woods as much as I do and would like to have your very own photograph from that lovely fall day, these three prints currently for sale :
Each 5x7 photo has been matted in white 8x10 frames. A perfect way to remember this beautiful fall day :)
Stop by my Etsy Store for more details. Enter the coupon code of "FALLPHOTO" and receive 10% off your order!
.....And time doesn't wait for me, it keeps on rollin'....
(Paraphrasing from the Boston song "Long Time")
Wow, it has been a long time since I have had the chance to write a blog. In fact, it has been almost a full year since I have been able to sit down and write about my photography. What a shame, I have had some amazing things to write about, but life had just gotten the best of me and I put off writing.
There is a creative process to making photographs. The most important thing is to actually go out and "take the pictures." I know this sounds simple, but if anyone out there is like me, the process and planning of the photos sometimes tends to overshadow the simple act of getting out of the house and making the photos.
I tend to think about the project, think about the type of camera I may use, the environment, maybe even storyboard out the idea. Pretty soon I have more ideas about stories and photos, and have not had the chance to execute any one of these projects- yet they are sitting right in front of me on scraps of paper, or in a notebook full of ideas, or example photos are torn out of magazines for inspiration.
The same thing happens at the end of the journey. A collection of photographs are taken, but then what the heck do I do with them? How should they be displayed, how should they be shared, how should they be added to my portfolio?
So the photos stay scanned on the hard drive, or the cards from the camera get dumped and archived, and the process never gets finished.
Finally, how should these images be shared? I have a web site, a Facebook fan site, a blog and a Blurb site. I have been good about sharing new images on my Facebook fan site, but not on my web site. It is all about the time, the time taken away from the creative process of making the photographs. The images need to be resized twice, and then uploaded twice. Tagged twice. Organized twice.
Some of these stories would also make great blogs, but after the double crop, double upload, and double tagging the blog took a back seat. Actually, the whole process fell apart. The process of sharing new work, writing about it, and then displaying it. You know, the photographs I took the time to take.....
I started looking at the ways I was creating and sharing my images, and decided on a new approach.
After the first of the year, my portfolio site at www.steveingramphoto.com will cease being a static site. The site you are reading right now will be the new landing spot for folks looking to begin their journey into exploring my photography.
I have new tabs at the top of this page that will direct you to my Etsy store (in the works) as well as my Blurb site where my September 11, 2011 Firefighter book is located. I also have a link to my galleries which currently takes you to my Facebook fan page to check out my images.
I will have an opportunity to write a blog about a project I am working on, and then immediately direct you to the place I want to take you. Storytelling with photographs is one of my favorite ways of expressing myself, and I will be making more story/photo essays on this site in the future.
My photography tends to be more one of a kind, rather than galleries full of images to order and purchase. Etsy is a great place to showcase handmade items, and my work will be available for purchase through the Etsy storefront. And my blog will be a great place to tell the stories.
All of this is in the works, and being changed and molded to work as we speak. It is exciting because I actually get to fulfill the whole image making process: Taking photos, talking about the work, and then presenting the final product. I am excited to be involved with the creative process again!!!
Stay tuned for updates on different things as they are squared away. Hopefully you all will enjoy the photographs as much as I enjoy the process!!!
