Marina

Here is a close-up of Marina that I really like.  The eyes came out beautifully, as did the slightly down-turned head, with fall-off of focus.  Also, the overall gradation of dark-to-light, top-to-bottom, gives it a nice dramatic effect.  This is a full plate.  I'm finding that the full-plate dimension, 8.5 x 6.5 inches, is a nice size with which to work (trying not to dangle my prepositions, Mom!) and also to view in-person.  The slightly smaller 5x7, being a bit taller in dimensional size, is also nice.  Anyway...

Mylen

I've had the good fortune to have two photo sessions with Ms. Mylen, and you can likely appreciate why I'm much looking forward to the third. 

Yankee Pin-Up

A few weeks ago Amy and I headed out to Pt. Reyes to make some plates.  I found an old barn and we started pouring away.  I think the old barn gives a nice background.  And with the torn lace top, it just seemed right to put the Union hat on her!  We got a few good plates in ... before Johnny Law showed up and chased us off.  Oh well.  It was a beautiful day, finished with bbq'd oysters and cold beer at the coast.

Samiha

May 1st is World Wet Plate Day, in honor of Frederick Scott Archer who invented the wet plate process in 1848.  Why May 1st -- Archer died on May 1, 1857.  He was buried in an unmarked grave in his local cemetery in England.  Some fellow colllodionistas raised some money to buy him a tombstone, which they set just yesterday during a ceremony.  On this day, collodionistas around the world shoot in Archer's honor and post-up their plates here:

http://www.wetplateday.org/index.php

On this celebrated day I had the great opportunity to shoot with Samiha, who has such gorgeous features that I suspect a monkey could get some pretty good plates shooting with her.  In any event, the following is the one I liked best. 

I note that this plate shows very well the attributes of the curved-field petzval-design lens.  As you'll see, her eye is very sharp, but not much else in the picture is.  Indeed, toward the bottom of the image the background almost melts into her skin, nearing the periphery of the curved field where the spherical aberration is strong.  At f3, and a long-focal length lens (10 inches?), the depth of focus is very short indeed, probably not much more than an inch.  This was a 14 second exposure taken on the side of my house.  I used a small plastic pill jar to try and hold her head steady, and it appears to have worked.  Also, there was a slight breeze, so the gray cloth in the background was moving a small bit, as was her hair, all of which I think adds to the softness of the background, drawing the viewer's attention to the detail of the eye.  I love it!  Thanks for looking.

Meghan

Meghan and her hair.  We went to Point Reyes for this shoot.  It was a lovely day.  Six pack of beer, bottle of collodion, and a stack of plates.

Miss Managua, take 2

You may recall the Angel de Managua.....

 

 

At the lake...

...well, reservoir to be exact.  But lake sounds nicer to me - more natural.  Anyway, here are a few shots I took with Nikki (the knife).  She was a super trooper and even got in the water repeatedly!  I really like shooting in nature, but it is hard to find spots that aren't "private property -- no tresspassing" and that are relatively private and that aren't too far from the vehicle (all the gear is heavier than you might think).  Anyway, this spot at Nicasio Reservoir fit the bill.  SF photographer Julia Comita came along to learn a bit about the process and she was very helpful throughout the day.  Thanks for looking.