Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Nekole and Mayer





When this plate did its magical-moment thing, turning from negative to positive, when dipped in the potassium cyanide bath, all three of us gasped "WOW", as if on cue.  It was such a great moment.  And, while many shoots are somewhat laborious in terms of trying to perfect a particular idea, this one came out beautifully on the first crack.  A few more notes about this plate....

We were in a public space, just underneath the Bay Bridge in San Francisco.  The fog kept rolling back-n-forth, putting the bridge in-and-out of the picture, as if God herself was just not sure whether the picture looked better with the bridge in the background, or without.  In this plate, she chose without.  I kinda liked it in, but one doesn't argue with mother nature.

Most readers of this blog will know that I'm a big fan of naked women, and a particularly huge fan of Nekole in her birthday suit.  But we were in a public place, and I wasn't going to propose to her that we do anything too revealing.  (Plus it was cold!)  So imagine my pleasant surprise when she volunteered, "Can we do one with me naked on the back?"   Me: "Uhhh ... OF COURSE we can!!!"  And this shot came out next.  Mayer rocked it too, with a perfect pose.   The other plate that really stood out from the nice collection we made that day was this one....



The technical notes are pretty simple -- Dallmeyer 3B, stopped down to f8, at one second (there was a very surprising amount of available light!).  But I owe a big thanks to Mayer for helping throughout the day with set-up and clean-up and transporting the gear and bike around.  It was truly an all-day effort.  Thanks Mayer! 

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Aja





What a great session this was.  After each plate, one or the other of us reacted with, "Now this one is my favorite!"  I love when that happens.  I used my Ross 12-inch f3.5, dating from about 1870.  Gorgeous lens.  The small spots you may see on the third plate are the tell-tale signs of using collodion from near the bottom of the jar -- technically imperfect, but I kinda like the insta-tarnish effect.   Thanks for looking.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Yosemite

For wet plate photographers, at least in the US, there are really two high points in the history of the craft: Matthew Brady's civil war images and Carleton Watkins' Yosemite images.  Living not too far from Yosemite, I decided to give it a try.  Of course, one can never walk in the footsteps of the great Watkins.  Watkins and his assistants traveled by a wagon pulled by 12 mules, over what must have been very rudimentary wagon trails.  In the wagon he carried his 18x22-inch camera, glass plates, portable (tent) darkroom, and chemical and food supplies to last weeks.  My trip consisted of my Toyota FJ Cruiser, pulled by its reliable V6 motor, carrying me and my 8x10-inch camera, dark box, and chemical supplies over paved roads.  And I ate and slept at Curry Village in the valley (mmm... pizza!). 

Anyway, it was a rewarding trip for me.   Here are a few of the plates I took.












Saturday, October 23, 2010

Noel

A gem of a man, my friend....

This was taken with a Ross Cabinet No. 3 (petzval lens, designed for whole plate).  This Ross lens is new to me.  And it is a beauty!  It feels like a small canon.  Very heavy brass.  Did  I mention the perfect glass?  Perfect brass?  Like just off the shop floor.  12--inch focal length, with f3.5 aperture.  I guess most people don't get excited about lenses.  I do.  This thing is beautiful.  And it dates from .... 1882!    I just bought another Ross (1874!!) for my planned trip to Yosemite.  More on that later.  Anyway, I love this shot of Noel.  I hope you too like it.... 






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Sunday, August 8, 2010

Discovering Josephine Baker...

...Cwen made this banana skirt!!!
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And I love this one -- Hemingway meets JB!   
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Monday, August 2, 2010

Nikki

I've become friends with Alex LaMarsh.  In addition to being a delightful person, she is a professional hair stylist and make-up artist.  This past Sunday, she came over with her colleague-stylist, Heather Sansky.  We'd invited the lovely Nekole Kemelle over for a shoot.  I've shot with Nikki a couples of times previously, and she is a pro with the stunning good looks and work ethic to prove it.  Anyway, we had a very good day.  Here's just a couple of the large crop of good results....





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Sunday, July 25, 2010

Rachel Abby

Because wet plate was invented in the early 1840s and came into the mainstream later that decade (overcome in large part in the 1870s by dry plate), it seems that in America at least the process will always be associated with the Civil War, as soldiers got tintype portraits of themselves and photographers made ambrotypes of some of the battle locations.  I'm not aware of any "pin-up" type plates that may have been made, but had they been made I'd like to think they may have looked something like this...