Plate prep

One of the many chores that needs be doing for the photographic processes that I use is plate preparation. Not all that difficult. A bit tedious, and I try and stay ahead of it. This morning I set out to cut, sand, and wash twenty five plates, all 4×5 in size.

I have explained the steps before, so I will not bore you with the details. It takes a few hours to do, but with the radio on, and a comfortable work station it was done by lunch.

With the newly cleaned plates Stacked, and drying I began wondering what I would pick as a subject, what method I would us, wet, or dry plate, and what camera. As I was daydreaming, a package arrived. A friend, of a friend had sent me a fantastic vintage camera. She was interested in the wet plate process, and I had taken the time to offer some advice. As a thank you I was given this:

An ADLAKE drop plate box camera. It looks somewhat like the Seneca camera that I have, and at first glance I thought it was just that, but then I realized it was not a camera I was familiar with. The lens, viewfinder,and overall shape of the camera was not all that different, but when I opened it up, I saw something unlike any camera I had come across.

The back folded down to reveal twelve plate holders that were hung on an odd looking notched arm. The papers that came with it offered little, to no instruction, so I poured my self a cup of coffee, and gave it some thought. It took a good twenty minutes, but when I placed one of the plate holders in in a certain way, it all fell into place. A simple, yet clever design.

The twelve plates get Stacked together, and rest upright on on tracks that are on each side of the interior. When the plate is exposed you turn a dial which moves two notched arms on each side. The notches grab the pins on the lower corners of the holders, this pulls the holder down a fraction of an inch where it drops below a tab. Free, it falls forward, and the plate behind it is now ready for exposure.

I look forward to testing out this gift, and I will post results, along with a video of its operation

Here is the promised video.