Madi in wet plate

Last weekend I had the opportunity to work with a great model named Madi. She is nice aspiring model, and we had a fun conversation before setting up to shoot. She wants to be a photographer as well, so that is pretty awesome :) We set up under some nice shade trees in a park close to my house to make some wet plate images.

The weather was great. Sunny, low humidity and warm with a slight breeze. Exposures were all where I wanted them to be, about 7 second exposures with 18-20 second developing times. When I can zero in on this combo, it works the best for me, giving me nice rich black tones while preserving the highlight details.

The wind was a little strong, and Madi (like lots of folks trying to sit still for seven seconds) moved a bit during the exposure. So I pulled out my head brace to help her out.

What is a head brace? A head brace was used by photographers during the wet plate era to help steady the sitter. Sometimes the brace was used on the back of the head, and other supports down the back to keep the sitter from moving during the exposure time. Here is a photo of Madi from the side, showing her with the head brace in place:

The head brace was made for me by Paul Muller of Muller's Lane Farm. I sent him some photographs and links to head braces of the 1860's, and he used his blacksmithing skills to make me a modern version of the head braces used during the era. It is pretty true to form, with all the swings and movements in the right places, and really helps keep the sitter stationary during the exposure.

Another photo of Madi with head brace in place:

You can barely see the head brace peeking out from behind her.

I chose a camera angle that would hide the head brace as much as possible, just like the photographers of the 1860's. 

The reason I was so excited to work with Madi, is because of her fair skin, her freckles and blue eyes. The wet plate process only sees the blue, green and UV spectrum, so anything red or yellow usually comes out darker than normal. I was blown away by the way the wet plate process worked with her skin tones:

1/6 plate tintype, 7 seconds. I love the way you can see her hair blowing in the wind.

1/2 plate tintype, 7 seconds. You can just see the head brace peeking out on the left side.

1/2 plate tintype, 7 second exposure.

A rogue thunderstorm blew in just as we were working, so our portrait session ended when the rain started falling. With all the outdoor events I attend, dealing with a little rain is just part of the job :) It still was fun, and I enjoyed it a lot.

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.

Box Brownie Part II

The Internet is a great place to learn about antique cameras. I found a copy of the manual for my 1916 Box Brownie on a photography web site.  It is a really cool manual, and has lots of useful information about the camera, as well as photography in general.

One of the last pages in the manual is a list of accessories for your Box Brownie. Of course, the "up sell" has always been popular with photography, and George Eastman was no dummy when it came to camera accessory sales. Among the list is a "portrait attachment" used for taking head and shoulder portraits.

The manual states "The Kodak Portrait Attachment makes large head and shoulder portraits. It can also be used for photographing flowers and similar objects."

Off to the Internet I go again, and on E-bay I found such attachment for sale- for 99 cents! Not really bad since it cost .50 in 1916!

I made the purchase, and it arrived all snug in it's little rusty tin:

 

On the bottom is a folded up piece of Bible paper, with all the information about the Portrait Attachment No. 1. :

The portrait attachment slips snugly in the front of the Box Brownie, and is a macro lens that changes the plane of focus inside the camera. The manual states "The subject must be exactly 3 1/2 feet from the lens; measure the distance carefully from the lens to the face."

This lens is necessary because the little glass lens glued inside the box brownie is a fixed focal lens. That means it is already pre-set to take pictures from about 6 feet to infinity. Think about those disposable film cameras, and you get the idea. The close up attachment allows you to get closer to the subject and make nice portraits. 

So I slipped the little portrait attachment lens in the camera, and amazingly it fits nice and snug. A perfect match! I was so happy that I bought the right one. 

I literally received the lens the day before I was to meet up with Kera Storrs in Bloomington for a photo shoot. Kera wears these awesome print dresses. Her dress and her style would fit perfectly with images made with a nice old vintage camera.

We first made some images with the box camera without the portrait attachment:

Then I put the portrait attachment on the camera, measured carefully with a tape measure, and made a few exposures:

I was so amazed at how well the lens worked! Of course the camera and the portrait lens are keepers, and I am going to make more images with the combo. There is something so exciting about making pictures with a 95 year old camera!

Box Brownie

I absolutely love shooting with antique cameras. There is a certain fun factor to shooting with cameras that were built many years ago.

The best part about most old cameras, is that these little buggers were built to last. Most digital cameras built these days are obsolete in two years, and non functioning in 10 years. What a shame.

I have had this little box camera in my collection for a while. It is a Kodak No. 2 Brownie Camera, Model D.

Cute little Box Brownie. Used but in nice condition.

The Box Brownie put the picture taking process into the hands of the masses. This particular Brownie uses the still readily available 120 size film, and creates eight 2 1/4" x 3 1/4" inch exposures per roll. It is a simple camera, but has almost everything you need to make some nice images. The shutter speed is about 60th of a second. There are three apertures, f11, 16 and 22 and a bulb setting to take extended exposures. The camera is a fixed focus camera, and takes images from about 6 feet to infinity. There is a close up adaptor for taking portraits, which I do not have, and it would allow the camera to make closer head and shoulder portraits.

The model D was produced from 1915 to 1917. The last patent date on the back of my camera is 1916, so that puts this camera right in the middle of the production run.

Here is more info on the camera:
http://www.browniecamera.nl/no_2_brownie_model_d_1915_1917.htm

The back of the camera opens, to reveal the model information and patent date.

The camera is very simple to use. You load the camera with film, key wind the film to the chosen exposure, and then push the shutter lever on the side to make the exposure. There are two waist level finders on the camera (for verticals and horizontal images) to allow you to sorta see what you will be taking a photo of. The little mirrors inside the finders are not as crisp as they once were, so the image isn't as easy to see as it could be. It does work pretty well though in lining up your subject.

A close up of the view you get from the horizontal finder on the camera..

I shot with an old expired roll of Tri-X I had in a drawer to test out the camera. Tri-X is a 400 asa film, which was unheard of back in 1916 when people were using this camera. Most "fast" film was still in the 25-50 asa range.

With the 60th of a second and 400 asa film, my light meter said that I should be good with f11 to f16 in open shade. And that is what I did.

After the eight test exposures I developed the film and was amazed to see that they were all pretty much properly exposed. Not bad for flip flop spring set shutter in a 95 year old cardboard camera!

Nice smooth skin tones. Amazing for a simple meniscus lens glued into a cardboard box. A little soft from center, but nice.

Soft all around, and a little soft off from the center sweet spot on the lens. But still a nice portrait.

My daughter Kalli is always eager to help out her dad, so she sat for a few portraits so that I could run the camera through the paces. I found the lens to be sharp in the center, and fall off to the edge.  I also found the pictures to be a little soft over all, which I guess is from the film not being perfectly flat inside the camera, and again the little glass lens that is glued in the front of the camera.

It was so much fun to use! I know I will definitely be making more portraits with this camera.