Webster’s Wet Plate

Perfect conditions this morning. The heat of the Summer is behind us, and the cool Fall weather makes for easier wet plate colloidian work.

I decided to stay aboard the ship, rather than loading up the bicycle, this made for a more relaxing start to my day.

The exposure for the plates was about six seconds, though I could have gone a little longer on the first one. The developer was also a little on the warm side, but I made the next batch a little cooler.

The weather looks promising for the next few days, and I hope to get out more with the rig. These images are 4×5 tintypes, and were shot using my trusty Crown Graphic special.

Last Friday was a productive day in the darkroom. Cleaning up, and organizing was the top priority, and as a reward I made a few prints.

The first two are of a familiar subject. One from a 4×5 negative, and the square image from a digital negative. Need to explore that more.

The last one, a platinum palladium print on cotton rag, is from a 5×7 glass plate negative that I purchased a few years ago. Rather nice if I do say so myself.

My next trip out, if it is not horribly hot, I’ll switch cameras, and go with my 4×5, Crown Graphic Special.

As you may already know, I am working at trying to devote Fridays to photography, and for the most part I have been successful the past few weeks. It is hard for me not to pop in to my other work space at the market, and perhaps bake a few dozen cookies, a pie, and some bread before continuing on with the day, and today was just that.

Back home now, and rather than head out with the camera today, I have decided to devote the morning to organizing, cleaning, and cataloging. I also need to make a new focusing glass for the 5×7 back. It worked its way loose last weekend, and fell to the pavement.

Oddly, it was not at all upsetting. I figured it would break at some point in my travels, so this is an opportunity to see how easy, or challenging a replacement is.

I first tried sand blasting a piece of glass, and had the grit been finer I think it would have been ok, but the surface ended up a little pitted.

I did some research, and decided to try acid etching next. Easy enough. Brush the acid paste on. Let it do it’s work for a few minutes, then wash it off. How hard could that be?

Though not difficult, it did require a few attempts. Getting the paste spread out quickly, and evenly is key. My first attempt shows a pour mark in the center, not unlike a mark left on a tintype when the developer is poured in one spot.

The next attempt was better, but I’d like to now mixing up some rotten stone paste, and working the two surfaces against each other.

I have a collection of both aluminium, and glass plates, failed tintypes/ambrotypes that need to be cleaned. The glass is easy enough, the tintype requires a bit more elbow grease. I’ll also try my hand at coating the aluminium plates with asphalt varnish.

If a get enough of my projects done, I’ll try and get out with one of me cameras too.

Like, share, and comment please.

Sitting under the Hells gate bridge on Wards island. Arrived moments ago, and am cooling off a little before I set up my camera gear.

I am lucky to be here. The past few months have been a struggle, and when I awoke this morning all I really wanted to do was close my eyes, and go back to sleep, but I had set a goal of getting out on Fridays with my wet plate gear, and creating images.

The ride along the East river was without incident, but it was slow, and hot. Stopped a few times to rehydrate, and cool down. I have not had a cigarette in a little over a week now, and after huffing, and puffing my way to Wards island I am a bit more committed to giving up smoking.

Well, it’s time to end the pity party, and make some tintypes.

Words of encouragement are greatly appreciated.

Here is one of the 8×10 tintypes that I did last Friday. Finger prints galore, and a few pour marks from the developer. I can easily palm a 5×7 plate during the colloidian pour, and drain step, but I need a bit more practice with the 8x10s. All in all though, I am pleased with how the day went, and am looking forward to this Coming Friday for another wet plate session.

Also, more chemistry has arrived!

A nice cool, and clear morning. Felt more like Fall than late Spring. Took advantage of it and did a quick wet plate shoot. Did not venture out, just set up on deck. One test shot, and then a finished image.

This evening, if I have time, I’ll start prepping glass plates. It is a rather simple process. First that are each meticulously cleaned, then the border of the surface that will have colloidian on it will get a coating of egg white.

The egg white was beaten into a meringue about two years ago. Strained, and put in a glass jar. Foul smelling as all get out. This will bond to the glass, and in turn the colloidian will adhere to it. This will help prevent the colloidian from lifting, and peeling away from the edges whilst it is being developed. Fixed, and washed.

A new bottle of silver nitrate arrived the other day! Now I have enough to start doing 8×10 plates. Very excited. I will also adapt my plate holder to carry a small square plate. 2×2 should do it. This is primarily going to be used as an economical way to do test plates, but can also make some sweet little tintypes, or ambrotype images.

Sold two tintypes the other day! Ones of the Brooklyn Bridge. So very rewarding to have my work appreciated. It also covered the cost of the new bottle of silver nitrate.

I am also gathering up better material for the blackout cloth that covers the box. It is a challenge finding material that will both block UV light, but also not be horribly heavy.

I packed my gear last night with the hopes of getting an early start before it started to get hot. Awoke at 0130, so rather than try and get back to sleep, I got dressed, and went over to the market to see if I could prepare a few items for the day.

I had enough makings for a few salads. They are becoming popular as the weather warms up to Summer temperatures. I checked the time, and figured I could also crank out a few chocolate cookies, and a pan of brownies while I was up.

I was able to get what I wanted done, and the Sun was just hinting at making an appearance. Pots, and pans washed, and stowed. Now time to hop on Sweetpea, and try my hand at tintypes.

I opted for a short ride. My go to spot by the Brooklyn Bridge. This has the advantage of being very close to home, and if I start running into any major issues it is just easier.

Camera set up in no time, and the first plate poured. A little overcast, but the UV index was high. 6 second exposure at f 16 to start.

Not bad, but not great either. Image lacked detail, and was a bit dark. Next plate 8 second exposure. Not much different. I did eight more plates, increasing the exposure a little each time. Still not happy with what I was getting. Time to brew a pot of tea, and think a little.

Wondering if I am getting UV light in the dark box? Time for a test plate. This is done by coating, and sensitizing a plat e as normal, but instead of loading it into a holder, it is pulled from the silver nitrate bath, and held face up in the box to expose it to any stray rays of light. the developer is poured on as usual. If not light leaks then the tintype develops out black. Unfortunately a cloudy looking film appeared indicating a light leak issue. I moved the box over to a shaded area in hopes that would help.

Test #2 was much improved. I’ll need to find a better dqrkcloth soon. I also double checked the focus of the camera. It was off enough to cause a slight blur. Fixed, and onto another plate.

I saw a big improvement with the next two tintypes. Enough chemicals to do perhaps six more. I was forty in that a hydrant with a slow stream of water was close at hand, and I was able to keep my water supply topped off.

Through out the day folks would gather to watch the process, and once I was a little happier with the outcome I invited them to come in closer, and see the full process. One gentleman from Brooklyn was able to watch from beginning to end, and was rewarded by seeing the best plate of the day materialize in from of him.

Back home now. Tintypes being washed, and I hope to get them dried, and varnished soon. I’ll post pics when I do.

A quick breakfast, and then an early start to the day. I had a goal of pedaling up the Westside bicycle path with my wet plate gear, and setting my sights on the little red lighthouse under the George Washington bridge.

This time I was also hoping to shoot some 8×10 tintypes, and had mixed up enough silver nitrate bath to accommodate them. The weather looks to be perfect for the whole day.

The added gear, and larger plates made the trailer a little heavier than my last test ride. I attached my front panniers, and carried the two jugs of water forward. Though this did not lessen the weight of the rig, it did improve handling some.

A pleasant ride up to the lighthouse. Just over and hour to cover the twelve miles. Found a nice spot under a tree, and began setting up.

Before shooting 8×10, I started with 5×7. This would allow me to shoot test plates before going to a larger format. What I should do is adapt a holder that would take 2×2 plates for test shots. This would be more economical.

Once all the necessary gear was loaded into the box I figured I should rig up something to secure it in case a breeze picked up. Whilst walking to my bicycle for a length of line to anchor the box a gust blew my box over. Nothing damaged, but a full tank of silver bath was lost. An expensive lesson learned. 500ml of silver bath cost a little over $100. So glad it was not the 1000ml tank for the 8×10 plates!

I salvaged what little I could. Cleaned, and organized, and moved on with what I had. I would have to be content to shoot just 5×7 plates today.

Plate poured, bathed for four minutes, loaded and exposed for 10 seconds. Developed, fix, wash.

The exposure was. Will increase for the next plate. I repeated the whole process, but this time no image! I regrouped, looked a my supplies to make sure I was not making any simple errors like using fixer in place of developer.

All looked good. Try again. Little longer exposure. A faint image, but not what I was looking for. A few people were showing up now. The big camera always draws a crowd. I enjoy explaining the process to folks, and one young cyclist showed particular interest. I told him that I was having a little difficulty, but would be more than happy to walk him through the whole process.

I had enough colloidian for one more plate. With an audience now, I was keeping my fingers crossed. Pour, bath, load , expose, and develop. Once the plate was rinsed of developer it was ready for the fixer. When all goes well it is a very dramatic step. In the plate goes. A faint outline, but nothing worth showing. Obviously something was not right. I thanked my audience, and hoped to meet again when I had figured out what was going wrong.

I began the process of packing up my gear. I had hoped for a longer day shooting plates, but with the big spill, and other problems I was calling it a day.

Whilst securing the camera I gave the lens , and shutter a post shoot inspection. Cocked, and fired the shutter, and found that it was jammed. This was what was causing my problem. A faulty shutter.

Back home now. Will spend the day cleaning gear. Sunning the silver bath to remove impurities before filtering. Then work on the shutter to get it back in operation.

How would I rate the day? Excellent! Yes, despite all the problems I learned much today. Top of the list is to make sure the box is well secured before setting up with chemicals. That was an expensive lesson. Hope to get out again sometime next week for test ride #3.

The gear that stows in the box.

Moments before the box blew over!

At long last I have done a test ride with my portable dark box. The ride it self was short, just down the street to my favorite spot with a view of the Brooklyn Bridge. Always a willing subject.

I had loaded up the trailer the night before in hopes of getting an early start after doing some baking for a local school. Sixty five cinnamon buns, and coffee for teachers. With that done, I hooked up the trailer, and headed out.

It felt sluggish at first, but that is always the case when hauling a load for the first time in awhile. All in all it handled well. Just a matter of getting reacquainted with a loaded bicycle.

On arrival at my spot I began a timer. Curious as to how long it would take to set things up, and pour a plate. Eighteen minutes. Not bad for the first time. With practice I hope to get it down to less than fifteen minutes.

Most of the gear survived the trip, though I did manage to spill some silver nitrate. Can afford to do that. Stuff is not cheap. The camera set up, and a plate poured. A little overcast, but still plenty of UV light available. Aperture set to f16, plate loaded into holder, and first tintype exposed.

Now the true test! How will the dark box do? Will the curtains block out the UV? Will I have enough elbow room to work? Under the curtains I go. Plate removed from the holder, developer poured, and the twenty second count begins. Half way through an image begins to show. This is a good indication of proper exposure. If an image appears to soon it is an indication of over exposure, and if the plate was underexposed the image would take longer to appear.

When I was satisfied with development I arrested it by pouring water over the plate. Water is heavy, and I need to carry several litters for this process, and though there are places throughout The City where I can top off it is good practice to be conservative with it.

The water at first appears oily on the plate. This is an indication that developer still remains, and more water is added till this streaky, oily looking appearance is gone. Now for the magic part!

The image on the plate at this point is discernible, but it looks more like a strange negative. It is safe now to be out in the light, so out from under the curtains I go. Time to fix the image. This step removes unexposed silver halide, the part of the surface that was light sensitive. At first the image clouds over and seems to vanish, and then it reappears as a positive. This step, the fixing, is always magical to me, and I hope never to be unamazed by it.

At this point the plate should be washed, but as water on the road is scarce, I followed a recommendation of coating the plate with a glycerin/ water solution. This will prevent the plate from drying out before I can get to running water.

I am happy with how the whole setup worked, and other than spilling some silver nitrate, all went well. The remainder of the morning will be spent cleaning, and filtering, cleaning silver nitrate of of the plate holders, and everything else.

I am working at making Friday my wet plate day. No work. Just image making.