July is a perfect time to do Ambrotypes with Nataly. This was the first time I fully utilized the real estate of my 12×12 Primer camera and made 12 inch by 12 inch glass plate. Silver collodion on glass is also know as an Ambrotype. It doesn’t sound like a big change going from an 8×10 inch image to a 12×12 inch image but the 12×12 is actually 80% bigger. That means 80% more chemical and 80% more area to cover evenly with collodion. It also means 80% more to cover with developer as quickly as possible.
So.. how did it go? Very well I think. The glass is really big and I had some spillage on the first few plates (collodion running over the sides). But not nearly as bad as what I feared. The developing is a bit uneven as I struggled to get quick even coverage. The developing is especially hard as I normally target a 15 second developing time. I have to pour and cover the entire plate as quickly as possible to get even developing while keeping the total volume of developer to a minimum.
We also played around a bit with my Wollensak Vitax Petzval portrait lens. This lens is based on the classic Petzval formula and incorporates a diffusion adjustment. The diffusion adjustment changes the distance between the two rear elements and gives a unique soft look to the image. The picture below was taken with the diffusion set about 1/2 way and is amazingly creamy! I definitely have to do more work with this lens!
Nataly and I have had a number of silver collodion adventures together. Below are a few other posts for your enjoyment.
You can also see more modeling pictures of Nataly on my digital site Jalanlee.com
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