Alex Timmermans Collodion Ambrotype wet plate Photography

For sale, Beautiful Hermagis Eidoscope nr. 2 375mm 4.5

2012-01-19T08:44:00.000-08:00

I have for sale a very nice hermagis Eidoscope n2 375mm 4.5 black version
It's serialnumber is 510948 which indicates it's an early black version.
produced in aprox 1910.
Lens is in very good shap. The lenshood has some minor dents but nothing serious.
No sratches or fungus. Just some really minor separation at the outer side of the glass. Aparture smooth as butter.
Lens comes with it's original flange.
price for this soft focus beauty, € 1200,= ex shipping and paypal
Lens is located in Holland, Europe

European wet plate weekend during 15-16th of april !!

2012-01-11T01:34:00.000-08:00

Please mark these days in your agenda.
Currently we are working on a wet plate weekend gathering in Eindhoven.
There will be some very talented international wetplaters showing their work and giving demonstrations.
Also a fantastic wet plater will give a masterclass on large format.
So stay tuned !!!

Alex

They got married.....

2012-01-10T10:26:00.000-08:00

I just couldn't wait any longer.
Made a lens plate today and "married" my new Large Vogtlander lens with my 20x20" Donchev camera.
(I have two original lens plates which came with the camera, but i hate to cut a hole in them........)The difference in age between he and she is huge.
The voigtlander was made in 1862 and the Donchev is made in 2011.
Lets call it a "modern" marriage
It looks just great on the ground glass and i definately want to make some work with this camera starting in 2012. So keep posted.

If you need any more info about the Donchev camera's, just have a look at Andy's weblog : http://donchev-cameras.blogspot.com/

"Darwinian mill....."

2012-01-09T13:32:00.000-08:00

Currently i am working on a new still life series with some sence of humor in it.
This is one of them.
Can tell you, it was a smelly job....

Exposure time 14 secs
Black glass ambro
KCN fixer
Dallmeyer 3b at aprox f8
18x24cm

How to store your precious Ambrotypes

2012-01-04T07:11:00.000-08:00

Making nice plates in one thing, but storig them in a proper way is at least that important.
Although your plates are varnished, it's very important to store your plates safely.
I bought my envelopes from the Dutch fotomuseum. They are acid free and have the exact European size ( 18 x 24 cm ).
They also sell smaller sizes !
Here you can order them : http://www.nederlandsfotomuseum.nl/component/option,com_nfm_verpakkingen/Itemid,794/lang,nl/index.php?option=com_nfm_verpakkingen&sub=detail&Itemid=794&id=233

I print the actual picture at the front. Just by using my laserprinter and at the back i print some additional information.
I use a safe shockproof aluminium case to store them vertical.
Storing them this way doesn't take you much space and they are safe.

Normal film plate holder part 2

2012-01-02T12:21:00.000-08:00

In oktober 2010 i posted some pictures how to modify a normal film holder to a wet plate holder.
Here's the post http://collodion-art.blogspot.com/2010/10/normal-film-holder-for-wet-plate.html
I have got several questions how i manage to hold the plate into the plate holder as it has no door with a spring.
Well, actually this is quite simple. Just take a normal plastic (limonade) bottle. Cut a small part out of the bottom part (which is mostly the stiffest part) of the bottle (about 1.5 x 3 inches) et voila: you have made yourself a spring for your plate holder.
Just as simple as that.
Try to make it of a white bottle which makes it much easier to locate when you are working in the dark room.

I finally found "Her".......

2011-12-25T05:44:00.000-08:00

After a long search i finally found a suitable lens for my 20x20”Donchev camera.

This is a 24” early Voigtlander petzval which was produced aprox in the year 1864.
This lens is massive. I thought my 20inch Hermagis was big. This one is huge.
The glass is in execptional good shape. No separation, fungus or what so ever.
It came with one original waterhouse stop.

Some specs:
Weight :                         8,3 kilo
Height:                           39 cm
Diameter lens hood:      19 cm
Flange diameter:             23 cm
Serial number:                12540
Focal lenght                    24"
F-stop                             aprox 5.2 (because of waterhouse slot)

If anyone can supply me the exact production date of this lens, please let me know.
Just to show how massive this lens is, the lens next to the Voigtlander is my Dallmeyer 3B

COLLODION WORKSHOPS 2012

2011-12-20T02:39:00.000-08:00

If you are interested in the magical collodion process and want to know all about this kind of photography,
just join my workshop "wet plate photography".
The place to be is Veldhoven (nearby Eindhoven).
I give these workshops on Saturdays and only/always to a small group of 2 students.
So this is almost a one to one workshop and not in a large group where you lose a lot of time waiting at each other.
In the morning you will learn how to handle the chemicals,
and the whole process will be discussed.
At noon we will have a nice lunch together.
In the afternoon you will start making your own plates in my studio and darkroom.
I will only assist you when needed and you will produce your own collodion plates.
That's the nicest part of the workshop !!
This whole process isn't difficult, but you really need to know what to do and what you DON'T do !
You don't need to have any darkroom background as this process is really
different compaired with normal analog photographic processes.

If you need any further information, don’t hesitate to send me an e-mail :
collodion-art@onsmail.nl or call me on 0031-402301470

Alex Timmermans

Beautiful rare Derogy lens

2011-12-08T04:41:00.000-08:00

Recently i bought a very early beautiful Derogy petzval lens for my small collection.
Every time i say to myself, i have to stop collecting stuff, but this one i couldn't resist......

The lens is dated between 1850 - 1860 so more than 150 years old.
A beautiful example of perfect handcraft.

The bayonet system makes this a rapidly convertible portrait/landscape lens.
The lens has a focal length of about 8" and it's speed is about f 3.8
unfortunately it has no flange, so if somebody could help me finding one i would be more than grateful !
Thread diameter is 88,6 mm.

I made you some pictures to show how the ingenious lens works.

Standard portrait situation

fast opening with bajonet

It has a double lens cap which can be taken apart.
One for the portrait lens and a smaller one for the land scape lens

Here you can see the aparture rings which were used in very early lenses

Mounted as a landscape lens including the smaller lens cap mounted at the front

My little friend again, Samy.

2011-11-27T08:13:00.000-08:00

Today my little friend (my nephew) visited us. Ofcourse he wanted to be a sitter again.
Is very interested in the whole proces and the first thing he always asks when he's bringing a visit : "are we going to make plates ?"

He's a perfect sitter. Only 8 years old, tiny but very intelligent.
I had to stock the chair with a box and a pillow, otherwise he's to small for the head stand......
I still can't believe how collodion can change someones "look"

"Samy"

Hermagis 420mm 4.5

Black glass ambrotype

exposure time 7 secs

KCN Fixer

How to finish an ambrotype

2011-11-22T03:24:00.000-08:00

After you have varnished your plate there might be some varnish at the back of the plate.
First let the plate rest for a few days. Fresh varnish is very fragile.

When cleaning the plate lay it flat on a clean piece of paper.
Use a razor blade to cut of the varnish from the back of the plate.
Put some alcohol on a clean paper towel and clean the back a few times untill you will see no cleaningmarks anymore.

Than use a simple paint roller and black acrylic paint to paint the back.
You will have to do that twice for the best result.
Now your plate is ready to show.

If you store your used roller in a simple glass jar you can keep it ready for use for months.

Gathering with Maartje and Rien

2011-11-20T03:36:00.000-08:00

After a long wait Maartje and Rien were finally able to join me in the "wet plate world"
Maartje, a photographic teacher and creative as she is, has talent!
During pouring her plates she hasen't spoiled a single drop of collodion.
I have never seen that before !
Rien, also a shool teacher loves to experiment with old photographic processes.
At shool he has a cabinet filled with all kinds of chemicals.
A real childrens playground for adults.....

A brief impression of this long day.

Great source for black aluminium !!

2011-11-14T07:29:00.000-08:00

Thanks to a participent of my workshop i found a great supplier of black aluminium over here in Holland. I also think its one of the very few in Europe.
It's a small firm located in the south of Holland in a place called Schinnen.
So also close to Germany and Belgium
We already made some testplates and they work just fine.
They are able to cut in any sizes you want and they are also willing to ship all over Europe. The thickness of the material is aprox 0,7 mm
Getting it from the US might be a just bit cheaper but this source is fast and accurate !!
No problems with the customs anymore.

If you are interested just contact my contact person, Daniël Putters.
Website : http://www.graveerbedrijf.com/
E-mail : info@graveerbedrijf.com
Phone : Tel. +31 (0)46-4428442

Cornelis le Mair

2011-11-12T10:22:00.000-08:00

After a long wait today i finally had the oppertunity to make some plates of Cornelis le Mair. He's a very talented Dutch fine art painter.

I quote from his website : "Born in Eindhoven, the Netherlands in 1944, fine arts painter Cornelis le Mair can rightfully be called a natural talent. At barely five years old, he had to show his drawings to all of the other Kindergarten classes. After finishing High School, he started his art studies at the Kunstacademie in Den Bosch.

For the talented Le Mair however, this art education is limited to teaching “free expression” and a talent for drawing is considered an obstacle on the way to finding “true art”. The teachers there are not able to instruct him in the things he finds interesting. He heeds the advise of a helpful teacher and switches over to the Koninklijke Kunstacademie in Antwerp in 1965, where the old painting techniques are still being taught. Fortunately his teacher, professor Victor Dolphijn, takes these traditional painting techniques seriously. In 1968, le Mair graduates “cum laude” in portrait and figure painting and, guided by Dolphijn, starts painting still lifes, a subject he has continually learned to master. In 1973, Le Mair moves to a farm in the countryside in the vicinity of the city where he was born, and starts his career as a fine arts painter".

More on his website : http://www.cornelislemair.com/

Despite of the difficult circumstances i am very happy with the final result. It was very dark in his atelier.
He has collected an extremely beautiful collection of curiosa during his trips all over the world so i had to manoeuvre in a very small room paying attention not to damage anything

I have used two strong lights in umbrellas and my Calumet c1.

Ambrotype on black glass

Exposuretime 7 secs

KCN fixer

Hermagis 350 mm f 4.5

Wet platers from Italy

2011-11-07T02:52:00.000-08:00

A few months ago Filippo and Guiseppe contacted me for more information about the wet plate process. So we exchanged some e-mails and we settled for the date.
But just about one week before "D-day" i got an e-mail from Guiseppe. '
He had a serious injury at his foot and needed a surgery.....
BUT, he had asked his surgeon if it was ok to go to Holland by plane which was confirmed positive.
So with the help of a wheel chair and large elevator they got him into the plane!
Flying was very cheap, only 30 euro for a return ticket at Easyjet !!
I arranged them a nice bed and breakfast nearby my home and on Saturday at exact 09:00 they were standing on my doorstep.

Flowing there first plates just went great. They hardly spoiled any collodion.
As usual, the fixing stage is the most interesting part.
I have heard this so many times : WOOOOOW !!!!
We made some really nice plates together on clear and black glass.
On Saturday night we had a nice dinner in Eindhoven and on Sunday morning they collected their plates and Guisppe took his "new" Darlot lens back home.
I just wonder if they have ever seen wet plates passing the x-ray scanner at the airport........
Guiseppe and Filippo, thanks for joining me and you interest for this beautiful process.

As i can't get it working on my ipad :
http://www.youtube.com/user/alexcollodionart?blend=3&ob=5#p/a/u/0/ySUSksxoZ_U

Nice article at "Eager"

2011-10-31T03:56:00.000-07:00

Recenty Hans and Douwe visited my studio because they wanted to know all about wet plate photography.
Douwe wrote a nice article which was published at Eager.
This time it's in Dutch AND in English !!

http://didyousayeager.com/magazine/nl/201110/article/eager/collodion Dutch version

http://didyousayeager.com/magazine/en/201110/article/eager/collodion English version

some pictures

Douwe made by Hans and me.

Hans made by Douwe and me.

Gathering with Albert and Bart

2011-10-22T15:20:00.000-07:00

Today we made some portraits during my workshop.
Albert is a photography shop owner ans also a collector of all kinds of photographic items and Bart is a student at the Fotovakschool at Venlo and he loves to works with alternative processes.

For the first time i have used a 420 mm 4.5 hermagis petzval.
I have bought it last year at the Houten fair but wasn't able to give it a try before.
http://collodion-art.blogspot.com/2010/11/i-am-in-love.html

I should have.... It turns out to be a great lens. great details and a beautifull DOF.
some plates we made during the day.

Clear glass Ambrotype

Hermagis 420mm 4.5 petzval

exposure time 6 secs

KCN fixer

Black glass Ambrotype

Hermagis 420mm 4.5 petzval

exposure time 6 secs

KCN fixer

Albert made by Bart

Black glass Ambrotype

Hermagis 420mm 4.5 petzval

exposure time 6 secs

KCN fixer

Albert made by Bart

Black glass Ambrotype

Hermagis 420mm 4.5 petzval

exposure time 7 secs

KCN fixer

Another publication

2011-10-20T04:34:00.000-07:00

This magazine just fell on the door mat.
It contains lots of cultural information about Brabant, the provence i live in.
With the help of Joep Eijkens, correspondent of Brabant Cultureel, i have been published again with this beautifull photographic process !.
Sorry it's in Dutch...
Just click on one of the two pictures to see the larger versions

"Ben"

2011-10-15T04:28:00.000-07:00

Today i finally had some some to make a portrait of my friend Ben.

Clear glass ambro

26 x 26 cm

Non ether collodion

KCN Fixer

exposure time 7 secs

Dallmeyer 3b open

Large print from ambrotype

2011-10-12T14:59:00.000-07:00

Made a new print today of a 18 x 23 cm plate. Print size is 80 x 50 cm
Originale plate is shown in the left corner. I am really impressed by the details.

Vera and Alex

2011-10-10T14:49:00.000-07:00

Recently two very enthusiastic photographers joined me at my studio to take theirs first steps into the wet plate world.
Alex told me that he really didn't knew what to expect from this proces and Vera already new some details about wet plate.
Vera also experimented with pinhole photography and she loves alternative photograpique processes. Just remember her name : Vera van Almen
http://www.veravanalmen.nl/ She's a talented photographer !

As soon as they flowed there own plates they were caught by the "collodion virus".
A many of you already have noticed before, it's a very agressive verus.
Alex is already searching for a wet plate camera...

A brief impression of that day.

Cheapest plate rack ever !!

2011-10-09T04:14:00.000-07:00

This is with no doubt the cheapest plate rack ever.
I have been using these for already a few years now and they are just great.
Able to support plates even up to 30 x30 cm (or more).
Ikea is selling them for .... € 3,49 !!! You can't even buy the wood for that money.

IKEA Magasin plate rack

Demonstration at Photo 3.0

2011-10-04T07:19:00.000-07:00

Last sunday we were invited to give a wet plate demonstration at the new Photo 3.0 event. Together with my friends Ben and Ad i had a great day !
If you want to know some more about that event, just have a look at this website :
http://photo30.nl/

A few very talented photographers were showing there works like Mike Roelofs, Kim Boske, Femke Schaap, Martijn Hesseling, Marjan teeuwen and many others
It was located at the temporary Art centre in Eindhoven.

I am always surprised how much stuff i have to bring, just to make one picture.
My car was fully loaded with camera, lights, chemicals, trays etc. etc.
But it's always a pleasure to give such a demonstration in front of very enthousiastic people. People who are interested in this beautifull kind of photography.

There's something else which surprises me. Many woman are very interested in wet plate photography. More than half of the listeners were female !
So it isn't a men's world anymore....

The pictures below were made bij Ad v/d Beemt and Theo Visser

Lisa

2011-09-28T14:11:00.000-07:00

Inspired by a picture of Ed Ross i finally was able to get my daughter in front of my camera again.

Clear glass ambro

18x24cm

exposure time 4 secs

Dallmeyer 3b open
Alex collodion mix
KCN fixer

Gathering with two Belgian photographers

2011-09-26T04:53:00.000-07:00

Last saturday Kelly and Michel, both professional photography teachers, visited my small studio. They were eager to get more knowledge about the wet plate process.
It was funn working with them. It's always nice to see that everybody has it's own vision about photography.
So we made some plates together.

8x10" (black and normal glass)

alex collodion mix ( no additional ether)

Dallmeyer 3b wide open.
exposuretimes aprox 4 secs.

KCN fixer

Three fixer test

2011-09-11T09:41:00.000-07:00

Recently i bought Amaloco x-89 rapid fixer as i was wondering if it would work with Collodion. Well it did, and i was surprised by the result.
Is it a scientific test. NO ! but i tried to show you the differences using three different fixers.

The result ? Well they are close to each other. The KCN gives a bit more yellow look.
Can you call it warmer ? Maybe, but the differences are really close.

The other two show a little bit more magenta/red tone. But again, it's close.

Just one remark. It looks like the KCN also has a bit influence on the exposure ???!!!
It looks just a tad brighter.

If you make two identical pictures (which is almost impossible with collodion) and you lay them side by side you might notice some difference. But when showing just a single plate for me it is almost impossible to tell wich fixer was used.

From left to right
1. Amaloco x89
2. KCN fixer
3. Natrium Thiosulfat (HYPO)

First i precutted a plate so it was easy to break it after the developing stage.

Three fixers. from bottom to the top : Amaloco, KCN, Natrium

After developing

Again, from left to right : Amaloco, KCN, Natrium Thiosulfate
Plates were still wet.

when dry the diffence is even closer.

Got published in Fuzion magazine

2011-09-05T11:12:00.000-07:00

A few months ago i got in contact with Gabriel van Ingen.
He's a very talented wedding photographer http://www.gabrielvaningen.com/ but also publisher of a fantastic photographic magazine called Fuzion magazine.
If you are a lover of analogue and conceptual photography than this is a must to read.

This time Gabriel dedicated the whole issue on Collodion Photography which exposes beautiful work from "wet platers" all over the world.
You can download the PDF for free or get yourself a hardcopy for only USD 20,=

Have a nice time reading this beautiful magazine : http://www.fuzionmagazine.co.uk/

Gabriel, many thanks for offering me this opportunity

Alex

Wet plate demonstration

2011-09-04T11:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday a friend of mine organized a open day at his photographic education centre at Veldhoven ( near Eindhoven). http://advance-cvf.blogspot.com/

There were a lot of visitors who were interested in the wet plate process.
This time i have used my Calumet c1 with a 13 inch Hermagis petzval
I was able to give some demonstrations despite the lack of a real darkroom.
I used my "grow tent" again which is a very good alternative. The size is just perfect and can be build up in about 10 minutes. The only thing is that you cant open the zipper from the inside, so you always have to be with two persons.
I seriously have to start working on a mobile box'.........(lack of time)
A brief overview of that day.

The following pictures were made by Henk Peters.

Many thanks !

Clear Glass Ambro

13 inch hermagis petzval

poorboy collodion

KCN Fixer

exposuretime 6 seconds

Donchev camera is "deflowered".........

2011-08-28T02:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday i was finally able to "deflower" my new Donchev 20x20"camera.
It took me a long time to finish all the needed material and find the time to start with this project.
So yesterday i phoned my friend Ad and asked him if he had some spare time.
It's time, i told him. Let's make a large plate....

So we made the set-up but i made several mistakes.
This plate isn't my best.
The glass wasn't properly cleaned, so this is not what we call "a clean plate".

Producing small plates is something like working on automatic pilot.
I can tell you, i have to relearn all my skills. This is totally different ball game....

But it was fun to do.
Andy Donchev you made me a great camera !!

Do you want to see how the camera looks like ? Just have a look :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ajhI0WIZlM

clear glass ambro
30 x40 cm ( had to start somewhere........)
"poorboy" collodion mix
KCN fixer
exposure time 9 sec ( should have been around 11 secs)
No name large petzval 20" at aprox 5.6

Plate is scanned in 2 pieces and stiched in PS

How to unscrew a stuck lens element.....????

2011-08-22T11:14:00.000-07:00

Recently i bought myself a beautiful Dallmeyer 3a!
It's in beautiful original shape.
But there was one problem. All the lens elements were stuck.
Also the soft focus function.

As i have tried this solution before on a Hermagis with a severe stuck rear element i gave it a try again, but now with this beauty.

All you need is a fitting piece of thin rubber, a screwdriver, a LITTLE hammer and a large hose clamp.
Cut the rubber just as wide as the clamp itself. Make sure you cut it a little shorter to keep the place open where the screw is.
This to make sure you get an equal pressure around the element.
Tighten the hose clamp slightly. There is no need to tighten it hard! When you tighten it to hard you might break the glass!!!
After that you take a small hammer and gently tap on the screw in the direction the element has to go loose.

Before this solution i have tried several options. I tried silicon spray several times over a few days, tried to unscrew it while wearing special rubber gloves.

Nothing worked. Now it came loose within 2 seconds.

rare find

2011-08-22T10:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we participated at the fotografica fair at Doesburg.
Doesburg is a small and very old city in Holland which became a city already in 1237 !
Every year Roel Fokken organizes the open air Fotografica fair.
It's one of the largest open air fair. Even bigger than Bievres.

More than 160 stalls filled with fotografica.
We (Henk a good frend of mine and myself) were there to promote Collodion photography.

At the start we suffered from very heavy rain but at 09:30 the weather changed and we had beautiful open weather. So we had a great day explaning the proces over and over....

Last year i spoke to someone about a very special ambrotype and he promised me, if he would find one, he would bring it for me.

And he did !
Now i am the owner of a very rare ambrotype. Just have a look at the pictures.

I am extremely glad with this one as it gives me the possibility to explain the process to people who have never heard of wet plate photography.
You can open it like a book and you can look at the ambrotype at both sides.
Without one of the 2 backgrounds its transparent, but when you close one side you can see the whole plate as it should look like.

Finally.......................

2011-07-25T02:55:00.000-07:00

Finally i was able to move my "new" dark room sink up to my studio.
I bought it, but it turned out to be too big to bring it up using the staircases.
( my studio is at my attic and also my dark room).

First i had to cut of the top. But with the right tools that wasn't such a big job.
Using a ladder we were able to get it in trough our bedroom window.
Just one staircase to go, but with just a small damage at the staircase we finally made it !!

Now i have to break down my old sink and replace it.
I hope starting to make 20 x 20 inch plates soon.

stay tuned....

Silver bath maintenance

2011-07-14T15:20:00.000-07:00

Recently i noticed some problems with one of my silver bath solution.
While developing plates it was more difficult to spread the developer over the plates

So it was time to start maintenance on my silver bath.
As i did not have any other problems i decided just to boil the solution back to a volume of about 20%.

There is no need to boil it. I just heated it up just under boiling temperature. To reduce the volume to about 20% took me about 1 hour.

After doing this i added the needed volume demi water and the bath turned VERY cloudy.
As you can see the 2 solutions had problems with mixing together.I had to stir it firmly to get a mixed solution.

After that i filtered it twice, checked gravity, added the needed silver nitrate , sunned the bath and filtered it twice again.

Result : a perfectly clear and good working silver bath again.
So it takes a few hours but the result is worth it.

Silver solution was boiled untill about 20% of it's original volume

Lot's of dirt after the first filtering

Gravity is too low. Should be around 1.08

Added extra Silver nitrate untill it reached the exact gravity.

Sunned this solution again, filtered it twice and it was ready for use again

Making your own varnish

2011-07-11T07:12:00.000-07:00

Making a varnish solution isn’t such a big job.
Actually, i like it a lot. Love the smell.........

First you need to get sandarac.
Sandarac (or sandarach) is a resin obtained from the small cypress-like tree Tetraclinis articulata.
Because it contains lots of dirt. I once had an ant in my bottle , you need to filter it very very good.

There is no need to crush the small pieces as it dissolves quite easy in alcohol.
Just measure the needed quantity and drop it in a bottle with the right volume of alcohol.
You can leave it like that for a day or so or take the bottle and shake it several times during watching TV.....
When the resin has dissolved you will have a very cloudy solution which needs to be filtered.
For the first 2 times you can just use normal coffee filters.
You will see the difference as it becomes clearer and clearer after each filtering.
After using the coffee filter i always use laboratory folding micro filters.

After filtering it twice again you will obtain a very clear yellow solution and it is ready as a base.
You will only have to add the needed volume lavender oil to finish this job.

Weighing the needed amount of sandarac

There is lots of dirt in the sandarc which needs to be filtered out

After the first filtering you can see the difference already

After 2 times using a coffee filter now you filter it twice using micro filters

At the right you can see the final result.

A clear solution (like a nice glass of beer..)

Gathering with Koos and Niels

2011-06-28T01:11:00.000-07:00

A few months ago Koos and Niels contacted me regarding the collodion process.
They are both very skilled photographers and wanted to know more about this beautiful process.
Koos is already working with dry plate for a few years already, and with success !

So we sat together last Saturday and made some plates.
As Koos already flows his dry plates, flowing a wet plate wasn’t such a big deal.

if you are interested in their work :

http://www.koosgoris.nl/Site/Home.html
http://www.nielsvanveen.com/

A brief impression :

Expensive tintype.....

2011-06-27T01:35:00.001-07:00

A photograph believed to be the only surviving image of Billy the Kid has been bought by a private collector for $2.3m (£1.4m) at auction.

The black and white tintype of the 19th-century wild west outlaw was sold at auction in Denver, Colorado, and is believed to have been taken in 1879 or 1880 in Fort Sumner, New Mexico.
The hammer price, which included a seller's fee, was far higher than expected. The auction house had expected the portrait to go for no more than $400,000.

The photograph is believed to have been given by Billy the Kid – who was also known as William Henry McCarty, Henry Antrim and William H Bonney – to his friend, Dan Dedrick, and had been the property of Dedrick's descendants until the sale.

It is said that there were taken 4 tintypes at that moment. Only 1 of them is left...
Go and search for the other 3.......................................

Maintaining your silver bath

2011-06-19T16:36:00.000-07:00

Maintaining your silver bath is one of the most important things in the collodion process.
It will prevent your from fogged plates, comets, comets and other nasty things.

Sunning your silver bath is one of the easiest things to do.
Just pour it in a glass bottle and place it outside into the sun.
Leave the bottle open to allow evaporating the ether and alcohol which is left in the solution.
Just in case, put an old stocking on top of the bottle to prevent something getting into the bottle.
ALWAYS put the bottle in a safe place where nobody has access to it !!

After sunning you will notice that the silver solution has turned light grey.
Now every organic part in it has been exposed. This can be filtered out very easy using normal cotton cleaning pads.
Put these into the bottom of a funnel and filter the solution several times until the solution and the cotton pads are clear/white.

Just as easy as that....

Left bottle after sunning for a few hours outside

Left cotton pad after first time filtering the silver bath

Second one after the fourth time.

Movie about 20x20" Donchev camera

2011-06-15T06:03:00.000-07:00

While unpacking my new 20x20" Donchev wet plate camera my friend, Ad van den Beemt, made me a short movie.

If you want to see the larger version : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ajhI0WIZlM

If you need more info about this camera, just send an e-mail to :

andrey.donchev@gmail.com

Collodion process movie

2011-06-15T05:24:00.000-07:00

A good friend of mine and a photography teacher, Ad van de Beemt, made me a nice movie of the collodion process.
It's not quite finished yet, but i just wanted to share it with you.
The direct link : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzCCjlubQ2o

Ad, many thanks for the help.
His website for those who are interested: http://www.advance-cvf.nl/home.html

Great find at Bièvres !!

2011-06-14T01:50:00.000-07:00

I found an extremely interesting lens for my collection.

A large Hermagis which is dated 1856 !!

This is one of the very first lenses Hermagis made.

It even has no serialnumber on it but the glass is the proof

The engraving says : Hermagis Opticien, Rue de Rambuteau 18 Paris

Which indicates it's an early one indeed.

"Henk Schiffmacher"

2011-06-13T10:35:00.000-07:00

Today i had the opportunity to make some pictures of :
The Dutch King of Tattoo,
Henk Schiffmacher.

Henk Schiffmacher is a tattoo artist, painter, writer, collector, world traveller
but he also was a photographer for more than 10 ten years.

When i showed him some collodion results
he invited me to come over to his tattoo shop in Amsterdam,
as he had never seen this process before.

As you can see, there wasn't much room,
but we managed to make some nice pictures.

Hermagis 420 4.5 portrait petzval

exposure time 8 sec.

Black glass ambro

KCn fixer

Pictures made by Ben :

"Mr Bond......"

2011-06-13T04:32:00.000-07:00

Recently Bas Berends and his stepfather Guus Schilling visited my studio.
They were touched by the look of Collodion photography and wanted to know more about it.
Bas is a young but very talented professional photographer http://www.baslab.net/
and Guus loves to play with his guns and rifles (air pressed) for his hobby.

So we sat together and made some plates.

"Guus, alias Mr Bond"

Guus flowing his first plate ever......

Bas varnisching his plates.

"Bas" made by Guus

"Guus" made by Bas

Big boys playground...........Bièvres

2011-06-05T00:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had the oppertunity to visit the Bievres fair.
It's one of the largest photographica open air fair in the world.
We arrived at 11 and already lots of people we looking for interesting lenses, camera's. photographs, tripods etc.
If you are looking for something special, this is THE place to be.
This is realy THE playground for big photographic boys.
We planned to stay two days but unfortunately i had to leave early.

Although it was VERY warm ( 32 degrees C !!) we had a great time.
We met some very nice "wet platers" like Garrett from the USA, John Brewer for the UK, Matthias Olmeta and Fabrice Pejout from France.
Just have a look at there websites.

Garrett : http://www.flickr.com/photos/garrettsphotos/sets
John Brewer : http://www.johnbrewerphotography.com/
Matthias Olmeta : http://www.olmeta.com/
Fabrice Pejout : http://www.fabricepejout.com/

"Ferry"

2011-05-31T14:45:00.000-07:00

Tonight a friend of mine, Ferry, visited my studio and we made some plates.
Ferry himself is a great photographer and currently he's working on a magnificent book about Paris.
He's also writing a very informative blog about Paris : http://paris-fvdv.blogspot.com/

Dallmeyer 3b open

exposure time 6 secs

KCN fixer

Black glass

Poorboy (alex) collodion mix

Differences in silvernitrate

2011-05-18T03:52:00.000-07:00

If you aren't buying almost 100% pure silver nitrate i can cause lot's of fogging problems.
This week i received a batch which made me doubt about the quality.
The crystals were much bigger as normal and the colour was off-white.
The good grade (at the right) is like very fine sugar and extremely white.
So i decided to do a test. I made a new silver bath and made some comparisons with my old silver bath.
As you can see on the first plate there is some fogging (after developing and fixing).
So fogging problems are not always caused by ether, alcohol or other ingedrients.
So don't try to save a little money on your ingedrients.

Gathering with Jos and Sander

2011-05-13T23:56:00.000-07:00

Last week Jos and Sander visited my studio to make some wet plates.
Jos is the founder of the Fotografica Museum Zoetermeer.
http://www.fotograficamuseumzoetermeer.nl/about.html

Sander is a professional photographer. One of the few left who only works analogue !!
Although it was warm in my studio again we made some nice plates. They really enjoyed the process and they already started collecting things for making their own plates in the near future !

Just click on the underneath picture to see an animated GIF

"Jos" made by Sander

"Sander" made by Jos

"Sammy"

2011-05-08T11:38:00.000-07:00

Black glass Ambro

5 secs exposure

KCN Fixer

Alex Collodion mix

Dallmeyer 3B open

"amazing discovery"

2011-04-30T11:17:00.000-07:00

After reading some posts from Cor and Andrew at the Collodion forum i did the aceton test. It means adding a little aceton which should recover old dark red Collodion

I had a batch of collodion which was more than 6 months old.

Adding a bit of aceton (2ml at 100ml mix) cleared the collodion mix within 5 days. I assume the process hasen't stopped yet, so it might become a little clearer.

I did the test. I taped a plate and flowed the plate at the same time with 2 bottles. Not easy i can tell you (LOL).
As i had no model (My wife doesn't want to be photographed on Colldion...) i had to take some "dummies"

The left side of the picture is with "renewed" collodion'.
I have used 2 x 4 x 24 watt CLF bulbs. At each side 4 bulbs to get equal lighting.
Exposuretime was 6 secs which is just a little bit more as when i use a fresh collodion mix.
Developing time about 15secs. And ofcourse developed in one flow.
Well, as you can see the result is amazing !!

UPDATE !! : Another update ( not so good....)

I just varnished the plate ( at least i tried to do) with sandarac.
The aceton must have weaken the collodion as the varnish dissolves the picture in a rapid way.
I have never had this problem before...
The part with the old colldodion does not have this problem.

So this might not bring what we are looking for.

Alex

"Manon Navarro"

2011-04-29T22:59:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Manon and Arjen joined me in my studio for making some nice wet plates.
They are running a fantastic studio for image-architecture in Amsterdam.
Real "photoshop-artists". Have a look at http://www.wentennavarro.nl/

I already posted Arjen's picture but i forgot to post this picture of Manon (sorry for that Manon.....).

I can tell you from my own experiences : she's full of energy !!!
They are already collecting lot's of things for there wetplate adventure, so soon they are able to show there own plates. Stay tuned !!

Note she has a brow spot in her right eye which makes it a bit darker than her left eye !

Dallmeyer 3b open

exposuretime 5 secs.

"poorboy" colldodion

KCN fixer

18x24 cm black glass

Buy yourself a decent loupe.............

2011-04-25T13:36:00.000-07:00

In the past few years i have been working with a agfa 8x loupe which i thought it was good.
Well it WAS.

I have several old camera's and i noticed huge differences while looking at different ground glasses.
On my older camera's it was ok, but on my newer camera's it sometimes was very difficult to see the real details.
Last week i bought myself an (more than 100 years old) hermagis loupe. My first intention was to store it in my lens collection.

UNTILL......... a few days ago.
I just gave it a try and o boy, the difference is HUGE.
Also on the camera's which are very difficult to focus on it works like a charm.
This is really a piece of art !! So don't make the mistake i did a few years ago.
A decent loupe makes a huge difference.

Alex

Gathering with Monicque and Michiel

2011-04-25T00:16:00.000-07:00

Today Monicque and Michiel joined me for making some collodion plates.
Very enthousiastic AND some pefectly flowed plates. Almost no spoiled collodion......
It's always very inspiring working with so enthousiastic people loving these kind of old photographic processes.

Some developing hesitations/faults , but nice pictures.

But it was warm in my studio....... 28 degrees at the end of April !!!!
It has never been so warm in April before.

Michiel made a small movie with his i-phone ( modern technique !!) showing his plates : Youtube movie
Also have a look at Monicque's weblog : weblog Monicque

His first plate. (watch his beautifull tattoo !)

Monicque flowing her first plate ( she's got talent !!)

COLLODION WORKSHOPS

2011-04-21T02:15:00.000-07:00

An English sculptor and photographer, Fredrick Scott Archer, invented Collodion photography in 1851.

He experimented with collodion in the hope of producing a photographic positive on ordinary glass plates.

Collodion, a thick and syrupy liquid, is made by dissolving nitrated cotton in a mixture of alcohol and ether.

It was widely used by surgeons as a liquid bandage owing to its strength and adhesion.

In 1851, Archer used collodion to hold light-sensitive salts to his glass plates.

Once the salts, such as potassium iodide, were in the mixture of collodion, the viscous liquid was poured onto the plate.

Allowing the alcohol and ether to evaporate, a thin film containing the necessary iodides was left on the plate.

Ready for sensitizing, the plate was placed in a bath of silver nitrate.

This formed a light sensitive compound of silver iodide on the surface of the plate.

Once sensitized, the plate was exposed in the camera before the collodion began to set and dry.

If the plate dried before development,it would have had practically no sensitivity and would be therefore useless.

For this reason alone, the process Archer invented became known as "Wet Plate" collodion process.

After exposure in the camera, the plate was quickly returned to the darkroom.

Using an acidic solution of ferrous sulfate, the plate was developed, then rinsed and fixed in a mild solution of potassium cyanide, or hypo.

The wet plate photographers could now produce multiple images from a single negative or offer a collodion positive.

Have you become interested in this beautifull process ?

Just contact me for a workshop.

I give these workshops to only small group of 2 persons, so you get all the needed attention during that workshop.

If you need some more information, just drop me an e-mail : collodion-art@onsmail.nl

Thanks

Alex

Great find at Houten fair

2011-04-18T10:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we showed some collodion plates at the Houten fair in Houten.

One of the largest photografica fairs in Europe.

We talked to a lot of people who were really interested in the colldion proces.

Ofcourse this is a Mekka for me trying to find interesting stuff. And i did !!

A place for Boys toys

I found myself a very nice Hermagis aplanetiques grand angles nr4.

This lens fits perfectly on my new 20x20 inch camera. The couvarge is perfect.

Because it's a relatively small lens it will look a bit odd on that big camera.

Just to show how big that fair is.

Me happy, but Ben..........????

"Mario"

2011-04-06T11:33:00.000-07:00

I finally had the chance to "shoot" my brother in law, Mario

Dallmeyer 3b at 3.0

Black glass ambrotype
exposure time 7 seconds

KCN fixer

18 x 24 cm

My new 20x20 inch Donchev wet plate camera has arrived !!!

2011-04-04T07:54:00.000-07:00

After a long waiting period of about six months finally my new

wet plate camera has arrived.

With this camera i am able to produce ambrotypes up to 20 x 20 inch !!

This camera was made in Bulgaria by Andrev Donchev.

For me it was a bit of a gamble because i bought it only from drawings,

but i must say : i am really impressed !!

This camera is a state of art. Very well build and every movement is geared.

Just the packaging alone must have taken hours to make. just fantastic.

Soon we will also post a movie of the unpacking and demo of this camera.

Now the hard work begins as i have to build a larger silver bath, buy larger trays etc etc.

some details :

complete packaging 76 kg

camera it self without wet plate back 38 kg

max extention aprox 60 inch (1.5 meter)

lens plate 28.5 cm

max plate size 20 x 20 inch (aprox 51 x51 cm)

Following pictures were taken with a sony video camera by Ad van den Beemt.

"Arjen"

2011-03-26T13:09:00.000-07:00

I made this picture during a workshop today.

Dallmeyer 3b open

exposuretime 5 secs.

"poorboy" colldodion

KCN fixer

18x24 cm black glass

Exhibition "EXTRAORDINAIRE" from 20-03 untill 15-05

2011-03-14T02:27:00.000-07:00

At 20-03 at 14:00 we have the grand opening of our exhibition :

"EXTRAORDINAIRE".

With two of my friends we will
show all kinds of different work like polaroid transfers, Holga pictures,
urban photography and a very interesting multimedia presentation of the
Millennium developement goals.

I will show several collodion plates and prints.

So if you are interested you are more than welcome at the opening or on other days.

Alex

Gathering with Caroline and Eddie

2011-02-28T00:01:00.000-08:00

Last weekend i had a gathering with Caroline and Eddie.
They are both very passionated photographers and Eddie is a real "analog" guy.
They just wanted to "taste" the collodion process.

Eddie made bij Caroline

Dallmeyer 3b at 5.6

Clear glass

KCN fixer

exposuretime 7 secs

Caroline made bij Eddie
Dallmeyer 3b at 5.6

Clear glass

KCN fixer

exposuretime 7 secs

"Jo"

2011-02-18T07:33:00.000-08:00

Jo joined my workshop and when i saw him at my doorstep

i wanted to make a picture of him.

Poorboy Collodion

Dallmeyer 3b at aprox 5.6

exposure time 8 sec

KCN fixer

Black glass ambro

Jan and Tom from Belgium

2011-01-12T02:58:00.000-08:00

Last saturday Jan and Tom from Belgium visited my small studio.

They both wanted to give Collodion a try.

Jan is stage manager from Sesamestraat in Holland.

Tom, his son, is sound technician

They had a great sence of humor so we had lot's of fun.

It was a long but constructive day.

How i did the framing

2010-12-30T14:36:00.000-08:00

I have received several questions about how I did the framing of my plates.
Actually it isn't that difficult. It sure is no rocket science.

This is the final result : http://collodion-art.blogspot.com/2010/12/my-first-exhibition.html

I bought some 9 mm thick oak plates.
Because there are so thin and I wanted to prevent it from curling I placed a 2mm steel plate at the back.
I took 2 small pieces of oak and glued them on the the oak plate. On top of that I used adhesive velcro.
One piece attached to the glass plate and the other on the small pieces on the oak plate.

First I tried adhesive tape but that was more permanent and much more difficult to remove the plate again.
With the velcro I have a kind of picture frame where I can easily remove the plate and put on another one.

My first exhibition

2010-12-26T14:17:00.000-08:00

This weekend we have opened our anual exhibition.
For me it was my first time showing my plates to the public.
It took me some time working out the presentation of the plates but i am very happy with the result.

Interview in the local newspaper

2010-12-11T07:42:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago got a phone call from the local newspaper.
They were very interested in the collodion process and they asked me if I was interested in an small interview.
As these are opportunities which are only offered once or twice in a lifetime I accepted they offer in a eye blink.

Sorry it is in Dutch.

Alex

Just click on the picture to see a larger version

"George from Ghana"

2010-11-28T13:06:00.000-08:00

This is a picture from my friend George from Ghana.
He's wearing traditional clothes from Ghana.
Normally he's ALWAYS smiling, so posing like this was rather difficult to do for him...

Clear Glass

Dallmeyer 3b open

Poorboy collodion

KCN Fixer

exposure 6 seconds

Some results of recent workshops

2010-11-28T11:59:00.000-08:00

"Jeroen"

"Hein"

"Bart"

Wetplate gathering with Sir Eddie

2010-11-26T15:23:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday we met Eddie from the USA at the fotografica fair in Houten.

On tuesday evening he visited my small studio and Ben, eddie and me made some nice plates.

We tried some different lenses, including my large noname petzval.

Had never used it before.......

It turned out to be a great lens.

It's alway's fun to see other wetplaters making his or her own plates.
Everybody has it's own way of working and personal style.

some results :

Eddie posing

Eddie flowing his plate helped with Ben

"Flaming Eddie......"

"Sir Eddie"

"Ben made by Eddie"

"Ben with my "new" Hermagis made by me"

"What a beauty.........."

2010-11-22T14:23:00.000-08:00

yesterday i found this more than 120 years old HERMAGIS petzval.
It's a aprox 420 mm 4.5 lens.
Just perfect for portraits. I will have to make some waterhouse stops for it, but that's a nice thing to do during the winter.

Enjoy :

Camera fair 2010 at Houten

2010-11-22T12:10:00.000-08:00

Yesterday there was the international camera fair at Houten ( Holland)
We were invited to show some ambrotypes and to provide some background information to the visitors.
I can tell you, they were very enthusiastic.
The fair started at 09:00 and at the time of 15:00 I think Ben ( my photofriend) and me have explained the collodion process hundreds of times.
We really had a great day.

Many thanks to the organisation of the fair for inviting us.

Ben, explaning the whole proces over and over.

During the day, coffee was his fuel.....

Eddie Gunks, a wetplater from the USA also visited our table.

Eddie, Ben and me

Workshop with Mémé and Wim

2010-11-07T03:56:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we had a workshop with Mémé and Wim.
Both very enthusiastic photographers who wanted to smell ether...
We just had a great day, made many plates and had great fun.
They both are eager to start with their own wet plates so stay tuned on there websites.
Some photos of the developing and fixing proces and the results :

Flowing the plate with developer

Almost at the end of the developing time

Fixing the plate of Mémé. Ths normally takes about 15 seconds.

"Mémé"

8 x 10 inch

Black glass

poorboy collodion mix

KN fixer

dallmeyer 3b 5 secs

weblog Mémé : http://memebartels.blogspot.com/

"Wim"

8 x10 inch

Black glass

poorboy collodion mix

KCN fixer

dallmeyer 3b 5 secs

website Wim : http://www.iconoclastica.nl/

Normal film holder for wet plate photography

2010-10-23T11:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday i bit the bullit and started working on a normal 8 x 10 " film holder.
I wanted to make it suitable for wet plate photography.
Alexey Alexeev showed mee some pictures of his plate holder.
To be honest, it is really very easy to do. The plate between the two slides was actually thicker than i expected. It was very stiff and about 1 1/2 mm thick.
The whole process only took about 30 minutes.

1. Put some tape to on the inside of the film holder and put on the glass which you want to use. Draw a line around the glass plate so you have the needed size
In my case it was 18 x 24 cm

For cutting i have used a small normal grinder which allows me to adjust the speed.
I have used a special thin cutting blade.

Because you can not reach the corners with the grinder i have used normal sawblade, which you use fur cutting alluminium or iron, for cutting the corners.
After that just use a small file for finishing.

For the corners i have used stainless steel wire of ,75mm thick or even better is pure silver wire.
I drilled the small holes with a small drill of 1 mm.
Make sure you cover the cuttings and holes with some transparent (nail)paint
Et voila, a plate holder suitable for wet plate photography

Workshop with Charley and Jaap

2010-10-23T10:18:00.000-07:00

Today i had a workshop with Charley and Jaap.
Both enthousiastic photographers who wanted to learn the collodion process.
It was a long dag , but we had lots of funn
We made several nice plates with good results.
Hardly any collodion was spoiled !!

some results :

Dallmeyer 3b at 5.6

exposure time 5 sec

Clear glass

KCN fixer

Dallmeyer 3b at 5.6

exposure time 5 sec

Clear glass

KCN fixer

Dallmeyer 3b at 5.6

exposure time 5 sec

Clear glass

KCN fixer

Studio shoot at "MIJNSTUDIO"

2010-10-16T05:58:00.000-07:00

Last week i was invited by Marc Vreenegoor, owner of a very beautifull professional studio in ter Aar ( near Amsterdam) to give a demonstration wet plate photography.

He invited a very beautifull, but also very patient model Marisa to make some plates.
The other photographer was Huibert van der Meer. A great and very creative photographer.
For the most of them it was the first time they ever saw wet plate photography.
It was a very long but also joyfull day.

Location : www.mijnstudio.nu

Marc Vreenegoor : http://www.m-xposure.com/

Huibert van der Meer : http://www.huibertvandermeer.nl/

some impressions :

picture made by Marc Vreenegoor

Dallmeyer 3b wide open

exposure time 10 sec

black glass

Dallmeyer 3b wide open

exposure time 6 sec

black glass

Dallmeyer 3b wide open

exposure time 10 sec

black glass

"George"

2010-10-12T14:14:00.000-07:00

This evening my friend George came by.

He 73 years old and he's ALWAYS smiling.
George originaly comes from Ghana and this pictures was with his traditional clothes on.

noname petzval
aprox 350 mm 5.6
clear glass
"poorboy" collodion
KCN fixer
exposuretime 6 sec.

This was more difficult to get the light right.
Unfortunately not perfect sharp, but i think it is almost impossible to do, laughing for 6 seconds and keeping your head still.

My son Robin

2010-10-04T12:40:00.000-07:00

I know, he looks a bit angry. But thats the way he wanted it.
This looks cool on he internet was his answer......

No name latern petzval lens

aprox 350 mm 5.6

clear glass

"poorboy" collodion

KCN fixer

exposuretime 5 sec.

A 7 page article in DIGIFOTO pro

2010-10-02T08:20:00.000-07:00

A few months ago i got in contact with the Dutch magazine DIGIFOTO pro
Jorrit Dijkstra, there journalist, was very interested in the wetplate proces.
He recently visited my home and wrote a 7 page large article about wetplate photography.

So if you are interested in reading it, just buy there new magazine
http://www.digifotopro.nl/magazine
It's in Dutch. sorry

Although there are some minor miswritings in the article i am extremely happy with it.
Many thanks to Jorrit and there magazine.

DIGIFOTO pro

The Thinker

2010-09-30T10:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday i made this picture of a member of our Photo club LUCIFER
It took about one hour untill we were satisfied with the result.
from now on i will call him "The Thinker"

Lars, thanks for being so patient.

noname petzval
aprix 350 mm 5.6
clear glass
"poorboy" collodion
KCN fixer
exposuretime 5 sec.

"Grand opening" of the ADVANCE education centre

2010-09-18T08:37:00.000-07:00

Recently a friend of mine had the grand opening of his new photographic education centre at Veldhoven ( near Eindhoven). http://www.advance-cvf.nl/

Lots of visitors were expected and i had promised him to give a demonstration wet plate photography.

Fortunately my darkroom tent arrived at Friday afternoon, so that’s what they call : “just in time”.
That tent just worked great. The only thing is that you can not open the zipper from the inside, so you always have to be with two persons. That will need some modification.

On Saterday there were a lot of people who were really interested in the wet plate process and i must say, it was really fun to give a demonstration.
For those kids it was real "magic"

A brief overview of that day.
The following pictures were made by Jan Theo Mellema and Henk Peters.
Many thanks !

Posing

Flowing the plate (love that smell)

What is he doing ? Some magic ???

Exposing the plate for 5 seconds

Just a few seconds after developing the plate ( in the tent)

Fixing the plate.

"life" fixing

The final result.....

Workshop with Ivo and Fokke

2010-09-12T05:52:00.000-07:00

I recently gave a collodion workshop to 2 photographers. Fokke from Amsterdam and Ivo from Antwerp. Both very passionated photographers who would like to “taste” the wetplate process.
Underneath you will find some pictures taken during that day. They were very interested in the whole process and had some very interesting discussions about photography. And not only about wetplate !

After we went through the theoretical part of the workshop and having lunch we started making pictures. That’s always the nicest part of the workshop.

I must say, it worked out surprisingly well. Although the whole process was new for both, soon they were moving around with the studio lights and the camera making better compositions.

Thanks guys for your interest in this process. It was a real pleasure working with you two.

Alex

Cleaning the plates, not the nicest job to do......

"breathing" a plate

Ivo flowing the plate. pitty you can't smell this....

Fokke flowing his plate on black glass.

Fokke "rocking" the plate to prevent getting lines on the plate.

red light district..........

The old Narita Camera.

Ivo working on a picture of Fokke.

Preview....

Fixing a plate.

Fokke

Ivo

Pictures made by Ivo, Fokke and Alex

making your own lens cap isn't that difficult

2010-08-17T13:10:00.000-07:00

With some great help from Unrealalex from Russia i managed to make some nice lens caps. http://unrealalex.livejournal.com/45453.html

For this i have used normal “passe partout” cardboard.
First cut a spacer. The thickness of that spacer is needed to fill the space when the leather is wrapped on the inside of the cap.

Make sure you put some extra tape on it. Otherwise this spacer wil stick onto the actual lens cap. Cut 2 identical strips. The width depends on the space you have on the lens hood. But don’t make it wider than 2 cm otherwise it won’t come of smoothly. Cut the first one at the needed length and wrap it around the lens (on top of the spacer which is already on the lens. Make sure that the ends fit perfectly. Secure it with a tape. Then wrap the second strip around it and make sure it fits perfectly also.

After that, take the two strips of and spray them with a glue and put them on the lens again. Secure them and Leave them for about 1 hour.

If you want to see larger pictures, just click on them

Then cut 2 squares about 2 cm wider than the actual capsize and glue and press them together.

After drying put some glue ( i have used simple white wood glue) on the strips and place the square underneath them. Use the weight of the lens to press these squares onto the strips which are taped around the lens. Leave it for about half an hour again. Make sure you wipe of the glue on the outside.

After a half an hour take of the cap, remove the glue which is left on the inside and shape it with a sharp knife. Use a sharp knife. Most accidents occur with knifes which are NOT sharp enough. Now you can see where the tape on the spacer is needed for...

Grind the edges until they are smooth ( i have used an electrical grinder for that, which works much faster)

Now cut a, larger than really needed, piece of leather and let it soak in normal water for about 30 minutes. I have tried it with dry leather but that only works with very small lens caps. When the leather is wet, it is much easier to shape it around the lens cap.
Make sure you get real thin leather. The best leather is sheep or goat leather.

Put the same white glue onto the lens cap.. Take your time. Stretch the leather nice and easy around the cap. Don’t hurry and don’t stretch it too fast, otherwise the leather will tear !!

To hold the leather. I have used a tie wrap which works much faster than anything else. Just leave it overnight. Don’t force it drying with a heater or so !! Be patient.

When the leather is dry, take of the tie wrap, take the cap of the lens ,and cut of the larger parts of the leather. Make sure there is enough leather left for the inside of the cap.

Now the most difficult part of making a cap starts. You will have to fold the leather to the inside, but the leather is actually wider than it should be. The easiest way to do this is putting on the cap without cutting the leather perfectly. Leave it for about one hour on the lens and after that you can see perfectly where it needs some extra cutting.Take your time, and do this step by step. For this part i have used normal contact glue

.

When everything is folded and glued you only have to cut the inlay of the cap. Cut it the same size as the actual lens shade. Glue this part into the lens cap. Start from the middle and work to the outside. You are able to stretch the leather if needed and let it fit perfectly.

For finishing just use some neutral shoe polish.

Using the right material it will take you no longer than about half an hour making a perfect cap.

What was wrong ??

2010-07-29T15:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday evening we tried to solve a problem a fellow wetplate photographer had.
No matter what she tried, her plates were always fogged.
I had the same problems when I started and I can tell you : that is so frustrating!!!!
Trying to solve that problem, i made dozens of plates almost without any help and never was able to solve it.

So we tried to make several plates last night.
The best thing to do is start right from the beginning.
Flow a plate, sentisize it and directly after that, develope that plate without leaving the darkroom.
When your silverbath and developer is ok your plate should look like the right one. So it must be "totally" clear. As you can see the left plate looks muddy or fogged (although I have seen them worse !)

My plate was with my silverbath and my collodionmix. Clear
Her plate was with my silverbath and her collodionmix. Fogged
Quick conclusion : with her colodionmix seems to be something wrong.

We were glad we found the problem so fast. To find a solution for such a problem you need help from outside otherwise it can take days or weeks and lots of wasted chemicals.

How "The Alien" was made

2010-07-20T13:16:00.000-07:00

Following is a brief explenation how "The Alien" was made.

Currently I am using 2 falconeyes studiolights 5500k with 9 bulbs each.

This picture was made with a noname petzval lens.

focallenght was 350 mm at 5.6

poorboy collodion

exposuretime aprox 4 sec

clear glass

KCN fixer.

a little flashlight from behind to create a body

two falconeyes daylight studiolights

First Dutch Collodion Day 04-07-2010

2010-07-20T08:22:00.000-07:00

It's a fact. We had our first collodionday.

We were invited at Jeroen de Wijs his parents house. Beautiful house with even a more beautiful garden. First i would like to thank Jeroen and his parents inviting me and for hosting that really nice event.

As you can see we enjoyed the beautifull weather and had great fun. We tried many camera's and lenses and we even made some nice plates. At the end we were invited for a very nice barbeque and drunk champagne.

We had a great time !!

Gerda flows one of her first outside plates under supervision of Geert-Jan

Lots of nice gear

Indra's "growtent"

Posing for a digital picture !

Jeroen standing next to his mobile darkroom.

Posing.......

Champagne !!!

Some results

The Camera

2010-07-19T08:14:00.001-07:00

The camera I currently use, is an approx 80 years old belgium Narita oak studio camera.
Max. plate-size is approx 30 x 30 cm.
Max. extension is about 120 cm which makes it suitable for long lenses also.

Wetplate process

2010-07-19T02:08:00.001-07:00

An English sculptor and photographer, Fredrick Scott Archer, invented Collodion photography in 1851.
He experimented with collodion in the hope of producing a photographic positive on ordinary glass plates.
Collodion, a thick and syrupy liquid, is made by dissolving nitrated cotton in a mixture of alcohol and ether.
It was widely used by surgeons as a liquid bandage owing to its strength and adhesion.

In 1851, Archer used collodion to hold light-sensitive salts to his glass plates.
Once the salts, such as potassium iodide, were in the mixture of collodion, the viscous liquid was poured onto the plate.
Allowing the alcohol and ether to evaporate, a thin film containing the necessary iodides was left on the plate.
Ready for sensitizing, the plate was placed in a bath of silver nitrate.
This formed a light sensitive compound of silver iodide on the surface of the plate.

Once sensitized, the plate was exposed in the camera before the collodion began to set and dry.
If the plate dried before development,it would have had practically no sensitivity and would be therefore useless.
For this reason alone, the process Archer invented became known as "Wet Plate" collodion process.

After exposure in the camera, the plate was quickly returned to the darkroom.
Using an acidic solution of ferrous sulfate, the plate was developed, then rinsed and fixed in a mild solution of potassium cyanide, or hypo.

The wet plate photographers could now produce multiple images from a single negative or offer a collodion positive