Yesterday I had the good fortune of being invited to assist (in the loosest terms) Carl Radford and Alastair Cook with their big undertaking of photographing 20 members of the public using the Wet Plate Collodion Process. This wonderful venture took place in support of Alastair's breathtaking exhibition 'Analogue Decay' held at Howden Park Centre.So, on Friday I packed me and the family up and headed for Edinburgh. I take my family everywhere. On Saturday morning my husband took the kids to the Camera Obscura and I headed off with Alastair (along with lovely Heather) to meet Carl.
After setting up, we met our first lady. Such a lovely lady, who seemed intrigued if a little nervous about having her portrait done. However, she loved it. In fact I think the overall response was wonderful. The thing with Wet Plate is that it isn't always the most flattering when it comes to portraits (as opposed to touched up digital images) but the magic of the process and the ethereal, haunting feel that one sees allows you to abandon vanity. It was wonderful to see the responses. It was interesting how so many people said that they were looking at their mother or another ancestor .. they weren't looking at themselves at all.
As for my role, well I washed a few plates really ... not much help but it was so good to be there. So good to be amongst wonderfully talented and supportive people. Talking of which I also had the pleasure of meeting photographer Jenny Wick & her beautiful family & look forward to meeting them again.
So all in all a great day. It's days like yesterday that made me so happy that I chose to do the wet plate course last year. Not only has it allowed me to work with a beautiful process, it has also introduced me to some great people too.
This takes me back to the 70's, in the bathroom processing black and white film. I bet you had a great time Deborah, just being part of the process must have been so exciting. Thanks for posting
ReplyDeleteThanks so much George for stopping by .. glad to revive some good memories .. and yes, it was lovely to be part of it, even if it was minor :) Hope you are well George.
ReplyDeleteFab. Thanks for posting, Deborah. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Brenda .. hope it's wetted your appetite even more (not that I think I need too) .. look forward to seeing you there :)
ReplyDeleteHow I would love to see this in action!!! Great fun for you, Deb!
ReplyDeleteHow incredibly cool! I'm so happy to see you having so much fun with your photography Deb, you are as always an inspiration :)
ReplyDeleteThat's looking like you've all had a blast Deb!! It's always great to go out and do such things with people. My "family", only one member, I always take him everywhere I go. It's wonderful to have that support and to share all these things together. Great to see these images!
ReplyDeleteAnd how I would love you to be there to see it Mel :) It was fantastic .. thanks so much for stopping by :) x
ReplyDeleteSo lovely to hear from you Rhana .. how are you? And thanks so much for your kind comment, it really was a great day :)
ReplyDeleteIt really was a blast Indra ... I had had my family with me and now I feel like the wet platers are becoming like another family ... whether you meet them in the flesh or online .. it is a wonderful common bond and I am loving it :) As ever thanks for stopping by, always lovely to hear from you :)
ReplyDeleteI love the depth of these portraits, something that probably can't be achieved with any other process. Magic portraits to cherish for generations to come. My list of photographic things to experiment with seems to grow day by day... and wet plate collodion has just been added to the list.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Estelle, so pleased you like them. I know what you mean about that list .. so many endless possibilities with photography, it's wonderful :)
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