I will apologize in advance for not having taken any photos during this last ride. I got so caught up in what I was doing, and was having such a beautiful ride, that I did not get around to it.
ast Sunday promised to be a beautiful one, and I had the great fortune to have nothing on my schedule. I awoke at my usual ungodly time, but had the luxury of staying in bed enjoying a cup of coffee. What a treat.
With my second cup of coffee drained, and the Sun not showing even a hint of light in the East, I dressed, walked over to the market, and made myself a Sunday breakfast of bacon, and eggs. The bacon, by the way, was made by yours truly. A beautiful slab of pork belly that has been seasoned, and curing for just under two weeks. The next step will be to smoke it. With breakfast cleared I loaded up Sweetpea to set out for a ride up the West side.
This would be a test of the prototype darkroom box. I already had a few design changes in mind, but I still needed to take the kit into the field to give it a fair, and proper try. So, off we go. Sweetpea felt a bit sluggish at first, but soon it felt like old times as we made are way around the battery, and up the bike path. The early morning start was gave me a near empty path till about 79th street, and then the serious cyclist began to make an appearence. Both the Bicycles, and the riders looked so sleek. Carbon fiber, and lycra. Me, steel, and wool. Like distant cousins who meet for the first time. The resemblance was there, a common ancestry, but the life experiances were miles apart. What I ask of Sweetpea could not be managed by these beautiful bicycles, and the riders of those rigs would find little joy in riding Sweetpea. We shared a common path that beautiful Sunday morning. All of us happy not to be on the others ride.
A light headwind most of they way, but it would not build up till later, and it would be a welcome tailwind for the journey home. Arrived at my destination in a little over an hour. The little red lighthouse under the George Washinton bridge would be my willing subject for today. I found a nice spot for Sweetpea, and began unloading my gear.
The tripod, and camera get set up first. This allows me to compose the shot, and if neccesary move the whole operation to a better location with haveing to repack, and load everthing. Once that was done I began setting up the darkbox. A rather simple procedure, and in time will become more fluid. The box gets emptied, turned over to screw in the legs, and then set upright. I need to get into the habit of timing myself for this whole operation. from setting up, making a tintype, and getting back on the road. This helps when I am on the road, and see a subject that looks promising, but worry that it takes too long. It feels as though it takes forever, but with practice should only take about fifteen minutes.
A small crowd of masked people gathered to watch. For many it is probably the first time seeing a large format camera in use, and most certainly seeing the set up with bucycle, and trailer. We chatted a bit, and I explained both the wet plate process, and my plans for the future. I reminded myself that I need to carry my business cards with me to help build up a following. Once I had answered enough questions I began the steps of creating a tintype, and explained that it is somewhat time sensative, but would be more than happy to answer more questions when I could.
The first thing I noticed was how confined I felt working with the new darkbox. A 4×5 tintype was doable, and with practice a 5×7, but an 8×10 would be extremly difficult. Light leaks were also an issue. I need to find a way to secure the dark cloth in a way that still allows me easy access, but will prevent the wind from getting underneath, and blowing it around. The legs on the box could be a bit longer too.
Whilst my very noticeably fogged tintype was being washed I sat with my notebook, and made some crude sketches of box modifications. If the sides of the hindged lid were cut a little longer, and hinged to swing up, and to the side, then it would give me ample space for larger tintypes. The dark cloth needs to be a little larger too, and snaps, or ties for securing it to the box. Rather than a developing tray inside the box I think the improved model will have a built in tray with a drain. All rather simple.
I had a beautiful ride home, and as expected the wind had increased giving me a much welcome tailwind.
Webster’s Wet Plate 