first wet plates

[Gustavo_Castilla]

Hi all this are my first somewhat successful plates your comments and help are most welcome!!

My wheels

And then I feel of the bed!​

 

[bill schwab]

Congrats Gustavo. It's a start, but you've got a lot of issues there... not sure where to begin. Are these on glass or aluminum? Looks like you've got a lot of ridges in your pours, or maybe uneven development. Also a lot of "oysters" that lead me to believe your darkslide is coming in contact with the plate. Not sure where the black spots are coming from. Did you take a workshop? That is a good way to go if not. It will help you avoid a lot of these issues and save you time, $ and a lot of headaches.

 

[Jim Noel]

I'm with Bill. Good try, but a miss/. Too many issues with these images. Best to wait until results are more successful before showing to public.

 

[eddie gunks]

good showing for your first time out. i can not help much as i did my 1st workshop last friday! keep at it! post more when you can.

eddie

 

[2F/2F]

I'm with Bill. Good try, but a miss/. Too many issues with these images. Best to wait until results are more successful before showing to public.

Oh, please...

Best to wait until results are more successful before showing to public? What is the concept behind this thought? Why would anybody make such a statement?

 

[papagene]

Hey Eddie - you gonna post some of those wet plates you made last Friday? You had a couple of really good plates.

gene

 

[rwyoung]

Go get 'em Gustavo!

I'm slowly (and I emphasize "slowly") getting my camera and accessories built for wet plate!!!

 

[eddie gunks]

not trying to steal gus' thread but here is one of mine.

i will try and get the other sup soon. these are only digital shots of the images....i have yet to try and scan them. i also used automotive clear instead of varnish on one just to try it out. we were spaying a car at work so i tried it!

cheers

eddie

PS. i can never get the image to appear in the text! click here

 

[Gustavo_Castilla]

rwyoung do what I did cigar box or beat up gralfex cheap to start with , if you can find a dry plate holder it will work fine so long you epoxy or paint ( clear nail polish ) the metal spring
no harm done Eddie here are two from yesterday a tad better

Red Aluminum

 

[Gustavo_Castilla]

what part of experimental do people not understand??
Is here to learn ,may be some body had the same problems tribulations and may be just may be they may shade light on the subject

 

[papagene]

Gustavo - your second attempts look good. Looking forward to seeing your future plates.

gene

 

[Gustavo_Castilla]

Thanks papa
I will be getting some more colldoion next week as mine has to much water ( bad Alcohol)

 

[Vaughn]

Way to go, Gustavo!

When I give talks on carbon printing I usually show my first prints and mistakes. Mostly to assure people that the first attempts are just that -- attempts. Thanks for showing them...it is all a learning process!

Vaughn

 

[rwyoung]

rwyoung do what I did cigar box or beat up gralfex cheap to start with , if you can find a dry plate holder it will work fine so long you epoxy or paint ( clear nail polish ) the metal spring
no harm done Eddie here are two from yesterday a tad better

I should be more clear, as I've already done some wetplate by using a 4x5 holder I hacked and my graflex. What I'm doing is BUILDING a 1/4 plate tailboard camera and all the accessories. This is taking me a bit of a long time because I'm working from home-made plans cobbled together by looking at some stuff written by Otto Dippold, looking at pictures of other equipment on eBay or peoples wetplate web sites (wet sites?) and finally just cogitating on how to do things.

Done so far are:
1) body of the camera including removeable backs, but need to make a bellows and find some brass bits for some of the hardware parts and a more suitable material to re-make the darkslide
2) Plate drying rack
3) Glass vice for polishing (not 100% necessary but looked simple to make)
4) about 1/2 done on my sliver tank. I think I may re-make this one a little larger or perhaps make two different plexiglass inserts so I can do 1/2 and 1/4 in the same box without wasting silver
5) drawing up plans for a folding dark box.

I get more enjoyment out of figuring out the mechanics of a process or equipment in many cases than actually making the images.

 

[rwyoung]

And by the Gustavo, I like what you've done in the past with your printing so I have full confidence in your abilities with wet plate! Damn the torpedos, full reverse! Back to the 19th century! Or something like that.

 

[Polybun]

what part of experimental do people not understand??
Is here to learn ,may be some body had the same problems tribulations and may be just may be they may shade light on the subject

I was thinking the same thing. Take a workshop?? fuck that, i have a better idea, experiment, trial and error, why not? Some people, I wonder how they even focus a camera with their head stuck so firmly in such a dark place. I'm not talking about their dark rooms either.

For what its worth, I personally enjoy the photos on the abstract level. I think the errors on the plates give a nice little peice of x factor to them.

 

[Polybun]

Oh, please...

Best to wait until results are more successful before showing to public? What is the concept behind this thought? Why would anybody make such a statement?

Have you ever eaten some really hot food, then regreted it the next day? Imagine feeling that all the time, and you can start to understand them. I'm certain it REALLY hurts to have your head in your ass like that, thats why they behave that way.

 

[Vaughn]

Hey, Polybun...I thought you Portland people were more mellow than that

Let's give Jim a break and leave off with the scatological references -- he is a boatload of information, even if we may not agree with his opinions as expressed...

Vaughn

There was Woody's line in "Annie Hall"..."You know, I don't think I could take a mellow evening because I - I don't respond well to mellow. You know what I mean? I have a tendency to - if I get too mellow, I - I ripen and then rot, you know."

 

[Polybun]

Hey, Polybun...I thought you Portland people were more mellow than that

Phh! thats only because the national stations won't televise our riots!

No you know, you have to think of my tone of voice as a rambled muttering. Discompationate idle swearing. Somebody has to be the rude one.

 

[Vaughn]

Phh! thats only because the national stations won't televise our riots!

No you know, you have to think of my tone of voice as a rambled muttering. Discompationate idle swearing. Somebody has to be the rude one.

Okay! You be the rude poster, and I'll be the rotting, I mean, mellow poster!

Vaughn

Of course the networks don't televise Portland riots -- who wants to watch people in REI jackets and Tevas overturning police bicycles and yelling "Hell no, lets all grow!"

Whoops -- maybe I'm thinking of Humboldt County...

 

[Polybun]

Okay! You be the rude poster, and I'll be the rotting, I mean, mellow poster!

Vaughn

Of course the networks don't televise Portland riots -- who wants to watch people in REI jackets and Tevas overturning police bicycles and yelling "Hell no, lets all grow!"

Whoops -- maybe I'm thinking of Humboldt County...

No no no no no... all the people in REI jackets are Californians that moved here to "share in the experiance." The people that riot would be a bunch of students on "freak" bikes at a may day festiville. Freak bike being anything from one that looks like a giant shoe, to bikes that are two frames welded on top of eachother to make the bike double tall. The chant would be no war for oil. They will however fight each other for a joint.

The police would be on either horses, or on motorcycles, which will be over turned, but only because they have manage to crash into each other, again.