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Friday, December 31, 2010

Collodion du jour - 122

Backyard
Yesterday was the beginning of the first decent snow of the season in Broomfield, CO. I couldn't resist getting my camera out and shooting a couple images.
One might expect that living in Colorado would entail snow for months on end, but unlike the mountains, the Denver metro area doesn't get that much powder and when it snows it usually doesn't stay on the ground for more than a few days. It's quite different from Iowa, where we lived for a few years.

Monday, December 27, 2010

Collodion du jour - 118

White Ranch Park, CO.
For a while now, I had been hoping to take the trailer for a spin and give another try to collodion landscapes, but I was having trouble with my chemicals and the weather wasn't cooperating either. Finally this week-end everything came together (the temperature soared into the 50's; after troubleshooting several of my chemicals, I changed formula for the collodion and got good results), so here is a view of White Ranch Park above Golden, CO.
I had a few different goals for the trip: I wanted to test my new collodion formula outdoors, get more practice processing plates outside the house and see how much difference the recycled kitchen counters I installed in the trailer would make.
Well from what you can see the collodion worked great. And I got more practice. And the counters tripled my working area, which made everything so much more pleasant.
I can not wait for Spring and take my collodion landscapes to the next level.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Collodion du jour - 116

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Wilson-Roussel Family.


Enora, Elaiza and Rachel would like to join me and wish you the best of time for your end-of-the-year celebration. We hope that 2011 will be a great year and that it will bring the happiness that you deserve.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Adventure in wet-plate collodion




I was happy to hear Todd Vinson stating that wet-plate collodion is 10 times harder in the field as in a studio. It is certainly close to the way I feel, except I might have said "twenty times harder or a hundred times harder'. Anyway enjoy the video

Collodion du jour - 114

Untitled from "A collection of somewhat random specimens".

Monday, December 20, 2010

Collodion du jour - 111

You say ..., I say:

This song has always dumbfounded me for which ever way I try to say "patato" it sounds the same: always off and with a noticeable french accent. So here is my visual version.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

As time goes by...

The Teal Art Gallery in Breckenridge, CO will be hosting, starting mid-december, an exhibition entitled "As time goes by...". Artists were invited to explore the notion of nostalgia and create modern artwork that would "capture the viewer's heart".

I am pleased to have one of my collodion photograph in the show.

If you're planning to spend some time in Colorado high country this December and January, don't hesitate to stop by the gallery and check the exhibition. It is bound to be a great show, plus the gallery is superb and Stephanie (the owner) is a very gracious host.

For more information, visit Teal Art Gallery

Denis

Collodion du jour 106

Untitled ambrotype.

This is my first ambrotype of the past 4 months and my 5th attempt at this process.

Ambrotype vs alumitype.

If you've watched the video from the J.Paul Getty Museum on wet-plate collodion, you have followed the different phases of the production of an ambrotype, or wet-plate collodion photograph on a piece of glass.

When I very started experimenting with collodion, my first 4 attempts were done on glass. And all things considered the first results were not too bad. However they were so many new things I needed to master that when I discovered you could use aluminum I was more than happy to get pre-cut aluminum plates protected by a plastic film. This eliminated all the steps needed for the preparation of a glass piece and allowed me to concentrate on  the crucial steps of the collodion process (from pouring the collodion, to finding the proper exposure, to develop and fix the image).

As a result most, if not all, the photos you've seen so far in this project are alumitypes. Such as this one:

I am expecting that most of the pictures to come will also be done on aluminum, however once in a while you might see an ambrotype pop up.

There is a magic to them that is wonderful: depending on the background it is placed in front of, an ambrotype might appear as a negative image or a positive image.

The photos don't do it justice, but give you an idea of the effect.


Monday, December 13, 2010

J. Paul Getty Museum's video on the collodion process

The J. Paul Getty Museum has produced a very informational video on the collodion process. You can see it at http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/videoDetails?cat=2&segid=1726

My method is slightly different than the one portrayed: I use mainly aluminum plates and  not glass, they come protected with a plastic film which eliminate the preparative steps that are at the beginning of the video. Also I do not make contact print of the collodion image, rather I scan the aluminum plate and output the final image on an inkjet printer.

My process end up being a marriage of antiquated and modern technologies.


Collodion du jour - 104

Black and white Panorama.
For more info on my set-up for landscape photography, check the post "Landscape photography with a mobile darkroom".

Landscape photography with a mobile darkroom.

When I started experimenting with wet-plate collodion, I imagined it would be a great medium for landscape photography: I thought that the vintage aesthetic of the process would marry well with the grandiosity and timeless quality of Colorado landscapes.

Flatirons, Co.
 So from the beginning I had in mind to take collodion photography on the road, which comes with an extra set of challenges. I have mentioned before while describing the process that everything (from preparation, sensitization of the plate to developing and fixing) has to be done within a few minutes (while the chemicals are still wet). In the field, this requires special organizational skills and a mobile darkroom.


In the early days of collodion photography William Henry Jackson explored the Rockies with a few mules carrying his heavy equipment, which included large cameras, glass plates, chemicals and a darkroom tent. Although I have seriously considered using a couple lamas for my landscape photography (and still love the idea of traveling through mountain vistas with a few of these wonderful animals) I had to revamp my traveling collodion wish list and be more realistic.

As a result, my first set-up looked like this:

All my equipment (camera, tripod, darkbox, chemicals, water, trays and tanks) nicely fit in the back of my minivan.

I constructed a darkbox out of cardboard, following a design by Tom persinger (http://www.f295.org/site/?p=1047 ). This lead me to this:


When getting ready to take a photograph, I would be sitting in the trunk of the car (where you can see all the equipment on the photograph) and preparing and processing the plates inside the darkbox (which is set on the folded back seats), the dark cloth laid over my head and upper body. My safelight was a red bike light taped to the roof of the box.

Although this worked very well in good weather, in inclement weather I was very exposed to the elements and had a lot of trouble (and poor images) when the wind blew (which is very common in the mountains...). Also my set-up probably looked weird to the passerby, for while parked on the side of the road, half of my body would disappear inside the cardboard box, whereas my bottom half would be offered to everyone to gaze at...

I still love the design of the darkbox and was amazed how easy it was to build (Tom's article was an invaluable resource) but I had to come up with another solution to improve my landscape photographs.

I have now upgraded to this set-up:





After doing some research and some thinking, an enclosed trailer seemed the best and most affordable solution for a serious mobile darkroom. Plus it looks great behind my Papamobile!
The trailer was fairly easy to light proof: some caulking and weather stripping were necessary but no major work was needed. Right now the inside is very very spartan, but has worked for me.
I have recycle the carboard darkbox into a table/storage unit.
I am still using the red bike light as a safelight and added a battery operated room light.
Now, as the trailer is a bare canvas, there are a lot of possibilities for improvement. I am planning to add counters, storage space and possibly a sink linked to a water tank. Anyhow, I am on the market for free used kitchen cabinets to turn the trailer into a dream mobile darkroom and will update you when the inside looks like this:


In the meantime, I've got work to do.

Denis




Friday, December 10, 2010

Thursday, December 9, 2010

COLLODION DU JOUR - 100!!!

Here it is: number 100 of Collodion 365

Vegetable Self-portrait as a happy wet-plate photographer.

As you can tell from this self-portrait, I am ecstatic to have made it this far. 

Doing this project has been a wonderful journey: I have started with little knowledge of wet-plate collodion and with virtually no practice of the process, but with great enthusiasm and an infatuation for the resulting aesthetic.  

The learning curve has been steep and necessitated an enormous time commitment (which has kept me out of trouble for the past few months). And although I still have much to learn and am discovering something new everyday, I am pleased with the photographs I have created.

I'd like to thank all of you for your support; it has helped me tremendously through the times of self-doubt and has encouraged me to keep going. The project and the images have generated interest and created opportunities (there should be several exhibitions in the not too distant future...) and I am grateful for the response it has gotten.

Wish me luck for the next 265 photos!

Best,
Denis

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Monday, December 6, 2010

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Collodion du jour - 96

Untitled.
Although I could find a spot sheltered from the wind on the side of the mountain with a view on Gross Reservoir, I didn't want to give up and go home without at least one decent shot. I went to the other side and found this view of the pine forest and the peaks beyond. I had only time for one photographs before the sun set behind another mountain.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Collodion du jour - 95

Windy Point, Gross Reservoir, CO.

As winter is fast approaching, I imagine the opportunities to go out and take collodion landscape photographs will greatly decrease. However this week I was able to take my mobile collodion darkroom on the road and explore the area around Gross Reservoir. It is a beautiful lake on which I take me daughters canoeing and fishing in the summer, but of which I only know a small portion. My goal for the day was to find a nice vantage point and make a panoramic composite of several images. I stopped at Windy point and started setting up my tripod and camera and organizing my darkroom.
By the time I was ready to expose the first plate, the wind had picked up tremendously. I then realized I should have considered the name of the spot (very appropriately chosen) as a warning that it might not be a fitting place to take my photographs. The wind was so violent that it continuously shook the camera during the 50 seconds exposure, resulting in a overall blurry image. I just had spent half an hour getting all set-up in a spot where it was impossible for me to get the images I had been looking for... I would be unable that day to find a place which would give me a view of the lake and where the camera was shielded enough for from the wind to get a crisp image. Oh well, patience and perseverance appear to be key components of collodion photography.
I do have to say that in insight I enjoy the aesthetic of this particular photograph. All is well.