Col. Scott W. Adams, III

My buddy Scott Adams came over for a quick portrait session.  I recently acquired a replica civil war hat, and I thought it would look good on him, espcially with his recently sported goatee.  A suitable shirt was the next problem, and we settled on nice wool one that almost looks the part.  I used my smaller mahogany box camera, as it shoots 1/2 plate size.  I thought the 1/2 plate size would look more authentic for a civil war shot, in-hand of course, even though half plate sizes were quite rare at that time, from what I gather.  I think most were 1/4 plate or less.  Also, I wanted to incorporate my groovy headbrace, as I think it looks cool (though photographers of the bygone wet plate era strived to hide them from view).  The brace is actually very useful to keep the sitter's head still.  I've found that, generally speaking, if the eyes are sharp it greatly improves the impact of the image.  Anyway, we had a good time.  Colonel Adams is a good family man, and a notorious slayer of rebs....