Art Critics Discover Dry Plate!

[Photo Engineer]

Vaughn, that is why I make an ISO 40 plate formula as well.

pe

[Vaughn]

PE...ASA 40 sounds a little more managable. I already have done 30 minute exposures with ASA 125 film (at f64 or f90) without a breath of air moving the ferns or leaves, though 15 to 15 minutes exposures are more common.

Exposure increases due to Reciprocity Failure might still require a nap. Makes me tired just thinking of it.

Vaughn

[wildbillbugman]

PE and Vaughn,
I have seen some realy intresting large format pinhole photographs where exposure was measured in months.
One of my 'TO DO' projects is to do pinholes using my 5x7 "one shot tri-color camera". That should put me into houers, at least.
Bill

[sanking]

"Philosophy on this Forum?!
Now I have seen it all! As for me,I am happy if I make one finished piece of "art" in a whole year. Thats working on it everyday. For me, process IS the art and its value. I apologize to no one about my lack of "prolification" (is that a word?).

Bill

It is a shame more photographers don't work on that one good piece of art a year principle. It would sure be good on storage space, and save many of us from a lot of mediocre photographs.

I think the perfect process for low productivity is tri-color carbon with original pin-hole separations made in a separation camera. That would be setting the bar pretty high.

Sandy King

[Jim Chinn]

Great news and congrats to Tony, but I wish the article was more about the art and less about how it was made.

The process can be one of a multitude and still have similar or the same results (and it doesn't matter whatsoever what camera he used!), but it's the photographer who is integral in the creation of the art. The article just talks about him using dry plate and a 100-year old camera as if those are the sole reason for the show.

Photography is one of the few art forms where so much emphasis is placed on the technical side of the craft. As to similar results with a multitude of of processes it relates to my investigation into shooting wet plate collodion. As you look at the work of wet platers you begin to see work by some that is so flawless in their technique that you do not see much difference from a print done on film, especially if they are enlarging onto modern paper with a glass negative. I know that one of the "advantages" to collodion is it is grainless compared to film, but how much grain is there in an 8x10 contact from 100 asa film?

As far as the look of a plate with swirly bokeh, and limited depth of field that is a product of the lens being used which is pretty much predicated on the limitations of the speed of the collodion (asa 1). The glass plate or tintype is itself an art object so that adds some to the appeal, but as far as a final image you can get near identical results with film, vintage (and some more modern) lenses and filters at a fraction of the trouble and cost.

But yet there are certain practioners of wet plate (and other processes) that just seem to be able to get something out of their process that others can't and cannot be duplicated or approximated in other mediums. I think this is where hobby evolves into craft which evolves into art.

[wildbillbugman]

I think the perfect process for low productivity is tri-color carbon with original pin-hole separations made in a separation camera. That would be setting the bar pretty high.

Sandy King[/QUOTE]

Sandy,
Jim Browning has suggested in camera color separation based upon silver-gelatin chemistry with dye spectral sensitization specific for each color "cabon" tissue. This remains in the back of my mind as I work on a panchromatic silver emulsion. Color separation is at the core of all my work. I have been facinated with it since I took my first course in ColorPhotography.
Bill

[domaz]

You are kidding yourself if you think the value placed on the craft is higher than that of the craftsman.

So you're saying these photographs are not as good artistically had they been made on factory-made silver gelatin film and printed in a series of 1000 with photogravure? Or if they had been shot digitally and printed with an inkjet?

I'm not saying that at all. What I'm saying is that people do judge art by how it is created. Read the placards on the walls next to pieces in mueseums for modern artists and a very large percentage of them explain in detail the artistic process the artist uses- whether it be miminal or complicated. It is interesting to most people how art is created and I don't think you can completly seperate process from the final result. They are two important pieces of the artistic puzzle.

[zinnanti]

Hi Folks -

I just found this thread. I didn't even know it was up. Thanks for posting it Denise. I appreciate the encouragement and all the help you have given me since I started with dry plate work.

The reporter who wrote the article got a lot of things wrong (as is obvious from the content of the article). This hang was a survey of several techniques for creating negatives and plates. Everything was enlarged except for the 8x10 contact prints. The images were shot with a variety of cameras - not just my 8x10.

Two of the pieces hanging were dry plate. Both dry plate images were printed out to 16x20.

I appreciate the paper doing the piece. But, they based in on the written show abstract. They never interviewed me, though it sounds like they did.

Anyway, don't believe everything you read.

Tony

[dwross]

I think we all bemoan the general lack of knowledge about photography among gallery owners and art critics. It's understandable to a certain extent. Photography is perhaps the most technically complex of all artistic expressions. Still, one could wish for a world where every little detail of what we do do didn't have to be spelled out -- only to watch the eyes glaze over when we try . So, again, Tony, thank you for being out there on the leading edge, making it just a little easier for the rest of us who follow! I very much look forward to your next body of work.

d

[wildbillbugman]

-- only to watch the eyes glaze over when we try.
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Is that why my eyes glaze over when I talk to myself?:rolleyes: