Sharon Arnold
Here are some shots of the lovely Miss Sharon Arnold. She was so full of energy that I was not sure if she could sit still for the 8 or 9 seconds it takes to expose the plates. As the shoot went on, she became more and more relaxed and we made some very nice images.
No CommentsShaun Kardinal Wet Plate Collodion Portraits
Shaun Kardinal is a good friend of mine and a former co-worker and Co-curator of Some Space Gallery as well as a talented photographer and web designer. Such a good dude!
Today I used a fresh batch of Collodion and realized that the last batch had thickened from ether and alcohol evaporating out every time it was used. This caused some thick areas in the corner of the glass plate that was used to pour off the excess collodion. These areas take a long time to clear in the potassium cyanide and turn a dark blue color. The fresh batch poured very smoothly and left only a little buildup and made for an evenly sensitized plate.
My pouring technique is a work in progress and the slightly thinner collodion makes for nicer plates……. I probably should thin the collodion a bit as I get near the bottom of the bottle. I shot 6 plates and these these two are my favorites-
No CommentsBrian Lane
Brian Lane and I share a studio space in Georgetown. My goal was to highlight his beard but the 600w halogen lights that I am currently using are way to hot and not nearly as bright as I need them to be. I need to get a fluorescent light bank over 1000w to get close enough, and bright enough, without burning my subject. I will probably shoot him with some 8 x 10 film to document that hefty beard before he shaves that thing off-
I shot four plates but this one is my favorite.
No CommentsMr. Steven Miller
Getting Steven Miller to sit for me was such a treat. He was so excited about the whole process and it made the shoot very rewarding. I shot 5 plates and I kept three and Steven went home with two. this one is my favorite-
No CommentsDennis Raines Ambrotype Portrait
This shot was the best out of four ambrotypes of Dennis Raines. The image is 7 x 9 inches on clear plate glass. The first shot I took was a complete disaster – the collodion just slipped right off of the glass as I developed it- SHIT!. I didn’t get the glass as clean as I should have….. I think that developing in the tray and the excessive movement seemed to work some collodion loose around the edges. On the last shot I held the plate waiter style and then poured the developer on. That and cleaning the hell out of the plate seemed to do the trick. I scanned the plate on an hp4890 flatbed scanner with the lid up. This gave me the black background necessary for the image to read as a positive.
No CommentsFirst Wet Plate Collodion Ambrotype ever!
First ambrotype ever!……..well the only that survived anyway. The first was well exposed but the collodion lifted of while being washed. This one suffers from underexposure and whiting residue ’cause i just didn’t clean it right. The last plate was so underexposed that it just didn’t develop. 1 out of 3 but this is just the beginning!
Shot it with my Burke and James 8 X 10 with a modified 8 x 10 film holder that takes a 7 x 9 inch glass plate. Lens was a Bausch and Lomb 11 x 14 (400mm) f/4.5 lens. Exposure was 5 seconds just as the sun went down.
This is what the lens looked like after I stripped off all the flaking black paint-
No CommentsShow At Joe Bar
“Supernatural”
October 6 – November 2, 2009
Opening Reception: Wednesday, October 7 from 6 – 8pm
Working mostly in Mezzotint, Daniel Carrillo explores the concept of mythology and religion by concocting his own figures and idols that posess supernatural qualities. By referencing everyday observation of human nature and simple mechanical devices, his anthropomorphic figures become visual metaphors for specific human attributes.
Joe Bar
810 E Roy St
206.324.0407 (across from the Harvard Exit Theater).
Contact: Chris Crites
chris@bagpainter.com
206.568.7419
Mezzotint rocking progress
The plate is coming along nicely and quickly. Saturday night, I finished the first two directions. Each pass is marked with an arrow after it is completed so I know where I left off- this becomes very important as the rocking progresses. Each direction gets rocked with two passes in each direction and I do this in 4 directions at 30° each. I will finish the plate by swicthing out the 85° gauge rocker with a much more coarse 45 gauge and rock in 3 directions at 45°. These last three passes will leave a triangular rocker pattern over the much finer circular pattern left by the 85 gauge rocker. A triangular rocker pattern will be clearly visible in the image that is to be scraped and burnished onto the ground. The rocker marks are what attracted me to the mezzotint process and I love to see images that have been produced on coarser grounds and have a rich visual texture. To me, the textured ground resembles tiny fundamental particles that are the basis for all matter.
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