Ultra Large Format Wet Plate Practitioner Tony Lovell

[dkCambridgeshire]

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Just arrived home after 20" x 16" and half plate "wet plate modelling” for ultra large format wet plate practitioner Tony Lovell ... i.e. me 'posing' using Leica M3 / Summaron 35/2.8 with goggles … a variation on a Feininger theme inspired by AF’s well known Leica photographer photo c. 1952 http://www.artnet.com/artists/andreas-feininger/the-photojournalist-dennis-stock-xvc5b_nad6yaD63aKpDinA2.  …. But Tony suggested using my left eye as the point of focus with a different but similar pose. Unfortunately there were several technical problems with first time use of 20"x16" wet plates including temperamental wet plate chemistry … latter also affected the half plate size wet plates but Tony managed to ‘rescue’ one half plate image which with ‘all faults’ developed into an interesting photo. Await emailed copy of same from Tony. The 20" x 16" Hunter Penrose Camera was fitted with a Leitz EPIS 1000mm / f3.5 lens … shutter comprises dustbin lid lens cap … removed for 6 second (ish) exposures with my head supported by a head / neck clamp … and my camera holding arm (elbow) supported on an out of view tripod head, We will try again when Tony has fully discovered / isolated / remedied the several reasons for the overexposed and subsequently self-fading (after 2 hours) 20" x 16" wet plate images. An interesting day and grabbed a few pics using the X Vario ... including following illustrating the dustbin lid shutter / lens cap used on the 20" x 16" ultra large format camera ... it's actually capable of covering 24" x 20"  but today used 20" x 16" wet plates  

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X Vario ISO 800 18mm (28mm FF equiv) 1/60 f7.1 

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dunk

Edited June 12, 2021 by dkCambridgeshire
typo

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[dkCambridgeshire]

The part-rescued half-plate "wet plate' positive in the wash tray after 'fixing' ... the half plate 'wet plates' were taken using a Sanderson Junior camera fitted with a 19th C brass Petzval lens

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X Vario ISO 200  1/1600  f6.4  46mm (70mm FF equivalent) 

dunk 

 

Edited June 12, 2021 by dkCambridgeshire

[dkCambridgeshire]

And the 'part rescued' final wet plate after 'flipping' ... this photo taken by Tony Lovell using the Sanderson Junior ... we have discovered why the wet plates did not evolve as planned ... partly because the wet plate chemistry used powdered albumen (Chinese??) instead of fresh egg whites ... and the 20x16 plates were supported for first time in new mounts which 'flexed' when the dark slide was pulled ... with resultant OOF images ... the DOF with 20x16 in a studio is just a few mm. Experiment will be repeated with adjusted exposure times and fresh / better wet plate chemistry. Despite the faults, we're happy with the result.

 

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Me, M3, Summaron 35/2.8 with Goggles .. and Leitz 35mm finder ... and my CWC W10 (1999 UK Army Issue) wrist watch 

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dunk

Edited June 12, 2021 by dkCambridgeshire

[Graham (G4FUJ)]

Blimey, you weren't joking about the dustbin lid Dunk!

I look forward to seeing further photos as the process develops (pun not intended)...

[StS]

Fascinating series and remarkable output. I used to say I would go into LF when I retire but I doubt I would have time for it then...

Stefan

[Bateleur]

Fascinating account of what to me is a noteworthy photograph.

[dkCambridgeshire]

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Have now established that there was a 'light leak' in the Leitz EPIS 1000mm lens' mount and that with the required bellows extension for a 20" x 16" portrait, the exposure for a wet plate 'head & camera' image is uncomfortably too long. With a shorter bellows extension and thus shorter exposure time for the ISO 3 (ish) collodion wet plate, a waist level portrait should be possible ... but using a shorter focal length Leitz EPIS lens. The exposure will still be several seconds. 

Also discovered that Andreas Feininger's original 1951 shots of photojournalist Dennis Stock holding his Leica IIIf camera, were waist level portraits - subsequently 'cropped' to head and camera portraits. Feininger took several shots  and his original contact sheets show the crops.

This purpose of this exercise is not to produce a copy of Feininger's portrait pose ... the intention is to create a 'homage' portrait in a similar style but with a 'visible eye' ... using a later Leica M3 with 'goggled' Summaron 35/2.8 ... and on a much larger collodion wet plate using 19th C. wet plate technology. Feininger's Dennis Stock portraits do not show a visible eye. 

Wet plate collodion images rely on UV light wavelengths which vary throughout the day and throughout the year when natural daylight is used. A regular light meter does not measure UV light intensity ... so wet plate collodion studio images require test plates ... and careful use of charts showing UV light 'time windows'. 

The wet plate project will resume shortly. 

 

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Edited June 17, 2021 by dkCambridgeshire

[pgk]

You can buy UV meters - not cheap though!

I am always astounded that Samuel Bourne used a wet plate camera in the snow at an altitude of 18,600 feet in the Himalayas back in 1865! I am in awe of the tenacity of such photographers especially when I hear the difficulties of using them even in the controlled conditions of a studio!

Edited June 17, 2021 by pgk