Fun with Wet-Plate Collodion - 10/17/14

My friend Kaleb stopped by VSU yesterday to show off his new portable darkroom and wet-plate setup. I've wanted to see him make some plates for a while but we haven't been able to get together until now.

I documented some of the process. I shot my Nikon SP 2005 with 50mm f/3.5 CV Heliar lens as well as some with my Pentax 67 and 105mm f/2.4 lens. I shot color in the Nikon (Agfa Optima 160, expired) and T-Max 100 developed in FX-39 (1:24, 68°F, 20 minutes) in the Pentax. Here are the images:

 

I also grabbed a quick couple of portraits of some of the photography students hanging out and having their photos made:

It was great to finally see the process in person. Kaleb and I are already planning some collaborative wet plate projects, so stay tuned...

In the meantime, I will have to see if I can get some scans of the plates!