[music playing] >>> Collodion photography is both difficult
and somewhat dangerous to do. It was invented in 1851 by the Englishmen Frederick Scott
Archer who has looking for a process that could produce fine detail and negatives. It
was one of the first photographic processes invented.
Cutting the glass. I use both black glass and clear glass in the process. I use clear
glass for negatives and black glass for positives. I shoot everything from 11 x 14 to quarter
plate. Deburring the glass. You need to do this so
you don’t get cuts on your hands because of the cyanide used in the process. It also
gives a ridge to hold the emulsion or the film.
Cleaning the glass. Although this step isn’t very flattering, it’s extremely important.
If the glass isn’t cleaned well the emulsion or collodion will peel from the plate.
Flowing the plate. This step is where you actually pour the collodion onto the glass
plate. It’s very technique driven. It takes a lot of practice to do it correctly. The
technique used here will determine if your plate is smooth and ridge free and will determine
how many defects or imperfections you have in the plate.
Sensitizing the plate. When the collodion has reached a set point, the plate is dropped
into a bath of silver nitrate for three to four minutes.
Exposing the plate. Exposure in wet paint photography range from a few seconds to several
minutes depending on the lighting, the chemistry and what the photographer wants the image
to look like. Developing the plate. It only takes fifteen
to twenty seconds to develop the plate but you need to know what you’re looking for
so you don’t overdevelop or under develop. Fixing the plate. I use potassium cyanide
to fix the images. I let the sitter wash from a bluish negative to a warm positive ambro
type. Last year I bought a 1990 Dodge Caravan and
put a dark room in the back of it. This has allowed me to take wet-plate on the road and
do portraits outside of my studio. While this is exciting, it presents a whole new set of
challenges for me and makes me appreciate the photographers of the nineteenth century
even more. The biggest challenge I have is the technical aspects of the process. I have
no running water and it’s much more difficult to control the light when I’m not in my
studio. But when it’s successful, it can be very rewarding.