I am going to be posting up some of my images of cars and shops as I progress through a new project I am trying to put together. I am a Collodion / Tintype photographer. I work in third photographic process to have been created and released to the world. It is all done by hand on sheets of Blackened metal or glass with silver nitrate, all chemistry is is mixed by me. I use 100 yr old cameras and lenses, a mobile darkbox. It is very intensive and some what magical. There is no digital manipulation or tampering of any kind with these photos. Everything must be done within about 8 minutes or the plate dries and the image is lost. The process was used to document the Civil War, and then was all but forgotten in the world. There are less then 200 practicing the process, and far less doing it everyday. I just find it haunting, and love the connection to materials to create an image. In the world of digital there is no material worth in the creation of the millions of images captured everyday. While there are many breathtaking photos and amazing photographers in the world, I just wish more people took the time to remember the hands on side of it all and where it came from. Much like how we build our cars, with our hands and with our hearts. Thats how these images are captured.
If anyone in the southeast is interested in maybe taking part of the project I am doing, please PM me. I am looking to shoot traditional rods and customs, as well as shops and garages.
Love it. I guess you don't have to worry about your subject matter moving on ya. Seems like dogs where always blurry in old time images.
These shots are awesome, and the process is fascinating. I'd definitely like to see more about how you create these. Post your shots in the Friday Art Show and no one will hassle you about being off-topic. Whereabouts in the deep south? Lots of guys in and around Atlanta and the Carolinas.
Very cool.It is refreshing to see that there are still people that "get it" in terms of our past and heritage.I agree about the digital world,not to start a debate,but your craft is fading in these times much as panel beating and other lost/dying trades are. Thank you for sharing.Please continue if you have more.
The process is very interesting, I will try to do a video of the next car shoot I do. Its done with very poisonous (Potassium Cyanide) and very flammable (Nitro Cellulose and ether) chemicals so you have to be very aware and comfortable with working with those things. I will post more soon.
Probably not "deep south" enough, but I'd be interested in at least learning about your project and what you need help on.
I have to admit that I've never done this type of photography..yet..i do shoot medium and large format film, but never wet plates. its great that you have the inspiration to do it. Spike
Very intersting....I would like to see more and hear more about this process. Keep them comming please.
I am attempting to try and document some of the beautiful aspects of hot rod and custom world. This process lends itself so well to the commitment and passion that many of the people have for it. The history that is held inside the concrete and wood of the shops and drag strips and factories that this all comes from. The more I look around I find people have all but forgotten their connection to the past, to the way things came to be. The legends and the hero's, the doing things the hard way. Not everything should be easy, there should be struggle to find the rewards from working with your hands and heart. Okay I am ranting... Here is another image
Do you use a flash powder? If so, which one(s)? I've always wondered while watching old Westerns in which they used a flash outside during the day whether it was technically accurate. Was it really needed?
Whether it's technically accurate is an arguable point. However, using a flash while shooting during the day fills in shadows and creates an overall more crisp and detailed photograph. The technique is also referred to as a "fill flash"
Flash is used to stop motion, so shooting cars that are sitting still there's no flash needed. The steering wheel is on the "wrong" side, I'm assuming because you're exposing a plate of some sort then flipping it onto the paper for developing?
This process predates flash photography by almost 20 years. Collodion when sensitized is only able to pick up blue (natural) light between 460-482 K. So flash powders based in magnesium, or gun cotton would not work. Thats for dry plate and early film photography. It was used because of how poorly light sensitive and slow early dry processes were. You see it backwards because with older lenses they do not auto correct the image being reflected through the lens. So it is upside down and backwards in the ground glass. These are one of a kind images captured on sheets of metal with the emulsion poured directly onto it. If anyone wants to know more about the process, PM me. I would like to simply keep this about traditional hot rods and customs and not bore folks with nerd side of all this old-fangled photo hocus-pocus. If you live or work in AL, Fla,LA, TN,SC and would like to see about getting some images created capturing your traditional rides or shops please PM me and lets see if we can set something up.
You should check out the photography group (Photograhers Corner) in the HAMB social groups pages. Link is here...http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/group.php?groupid=103
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