Tintyping in Aspen, CO.

I haven't posted in quite a while... My absence here hasn't been due to a lack of photographic activity. On the contrary I have been busy shooting landscape tintype for an upcoming exhibition at the Colorado Photographic Arts Center in Denver. You can find details by clicking the following link:
Developing World - Opening July 10th

I hope that you can make it to the show, but in the meantime here is one of the latest tintype that I have produced:

Maroon Bells, Aspen, CO.

Dry Collodion Photography

As you might know, over the past few weeks, I have been experimenting with the dry collodion process to capture the timeless beauty of Colorado's landscape and vistas. It seems to be the perfect medium to continue the adventure started last summer when I jumped on my motorcycle packed with photo gear and circumnavigated the San Luis Valley with my friend Joe, stopping to take tintypes all the way. I am psyched about all of the possibilities and now looking for ways to turn those possibilities into reality.

I have decided to try something new (for me) and offer one of my photographs as an open edition, for a very affordable price. Your support will help me greatly in continuing my experimentation with dry collodion photography!

The photo is an archival inkjet print made from a dry collodion negative and represents one of the many breath-taking rock formations at the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, CO. The print is 5"x7", the image size is 4 ^1/2"x 5 ^5/8". I am offering it for $25 + shipping. Please consider taking advantage of this opportunity and visit the following page:

http://www.denis-roussel.com/Colorado_Landscape/GOG.html 

Share with your friends!

Thank you!

Denis

Tintypes from Wheeler Geological Area

Eldorado Canyon State Park

After a few-months hiatus, I was happy to be back shooting in the field. I went back to a personal favorite: Eldorado Canyon State Park.

Denis

Eldorado Canyon - Ter

This is the last image from Sunday's shoot:

I got to catch a climber waiting for his turn at the big boulder by the river.

Denis

Eldorado Canyon - Bis

Eldorado Canyon.

Here is the second shot of my outing to Eldorado Canyon:

The plate is a little over-developed. While processing the image, I saw that a part of the sky had not received any developer, by the time I tried pouring developer there, I had gone past my developing time...

Shooting ambrotypes in Boulder, CO

Recently I have been working with ambrotypes: wet-plate collodion photographs shot on glass.

In the past, most of my images were done on aluminum coated with a black enamel paint. I buy the aluminum cut to size; I only have to peel the protective layer of plastic and it's ready to roll. This made my life easy and I liked it!

But I also enjoy challenges - as you might have noticed when I decided to pull a trailer carrying 80 lbs of equipment and chemicals with my bike, on a rugged trail... So here I am cutting glass, cleaning it with alcohol, cleaning it in my dishwasher, cleaning it with whiting... When the glass plates are finally cleaned, I sub the edges with albumen (a mixture of egg white and water). This helps the collodion adhere to the plates and avoid the lifting of the emulsion during processing.

On Monday, a friend, Larry, stopped by to witness the production of a wet-plate collodion photograph. After shooting a small alumitype successfully, I did my first 8x10 ambrotype:

Larry.

And today, I headed toward Boulder, parked my car near Lee High street and shot a couple ambrotypes of the Foothills. They came out really nice.

Today was a good day!

8x10 collodion landscapes.

After having done my first 8x10 plates at home, I needed to see if I would get decent results in the field. I had some doubts on the size of my portable cardboard darkroom and was also curious to see how much more difficult it would be.
I put my darkbox in the back of my trusty Toyota Sienna (not the most glamorous car, but it's the right size for this type of work) and headed out towards Eldorado canyon. I parked at the Fowler trail head.

I couldn't lug my camera very far - which I expected since it weighs 16 lbs - but found a nice view of the foothills:

Fowler Trail, near Eldorado Springs

My cardboard darkroom was very cramped, but I managed sensitizing, developing and washing inside. I had to fix the plate outside the car, but that worked just fine. I am happy to verify that I can use my current workflow for the larger plates.

Here is the second shot of the day:

Fowler Trail.

It was a beautiful and quiet morning.

Collodion du jour - 365

Summit Lake, Mount Evans, CO.

It seems very fitting to finish on a view of Summit Lake on Mount Evans. I've made it to the end of my self-inflicted year long assignment: 365 wet-plate collodion photographs! It feels great to have made it all the way. Thank you to all of you for following the blog and helping me get through the highs and lows of such a journey.
I have a lot of projects in mind already, so stay tuned. But in the meantime, mark your calendar for the Collodion365 exhibition at ArtworkNetwork in Denver in October. Come and join me on first Friday, October 7th.

Best,

Denis

Collodion du jour - 362 & 363 & 364

Summit Lake, Mount Evans, CO.

Collodion du jour - 361

Fly fishing, near Golden, CO.

Collodion du jour - 359 & 360

Highway 6, near Golden, CO.

Collodion du jour - 331

From Plainview Road.

Collodion du jour - 330

Burnt trees and limbs.

Collodion du jour - 329

From Plainview Road.

Collodion du jour - 325, 326, 327 & 328

From Plainview Road, near Golden, CO.

Collodion du jour - 305

View of the surrounding mountains, from Officer Gulch, CO.

Detail of the above photograph, bottom left corner.

Collodion du jour - 304

Flatirons, CO.

Collodion du jour - 290

Officer Gulch, CO. Tintype.

Collodion du jour - 289

Officer Gulch, CO. Tintype