Wet Plate kits at Bostick and Sullivan

mark

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Just what I wanted to hear. I have been holding off purchasing it.

Is there aging of the collodion involved?

How does the Sodiumthiosulfate work compared to KCn, besides the fact that it will not kill you?
 

Colin Corneau

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How long is the kit good for if not used?

I'm looking for instruction in wet plate but getting this kit sounds great...I'd like to learn first before cracking it open.

Also if anyone has suggestions for tutoring in wet plate for a total beginner please let me know!
 

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Marco B

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Colin Corneau said:
I'm looking for instruction in wet plate but getting this kit sounds great...I'd like to learn first before cracking it open.

Also if anyone has suggestions for tutoring in wet plate for a total beginner please let me know!
Click to expand...

Don't forget to have a look at the APUG Video section! There are a number of videos regarding wet plate listed there.
 

Colin Corneau

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Thanks, folks.

It's all useful to me. Right now the priority is finding someone for one-on-one instruction. If I'm honest, I'll admit that's my ideal way of learning especially on something I have no previous foundation in. I also have one of Ty Guillory's wonderful hand-made cameras and would like to have my initial learning happen on that.

Good info, and thank you again!
 

mark

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Anton Lukoszevieze said:
it is much cheaper to mix your own......
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And if you find the process is not for you, there are a crap load of chemicals, potentially dangerous chemicals, sitting around.

This seems to be the best method to try the process. You have sufficient chemicals to do a decent number of plates and build up a good solid addiction. After you exhaust these, you start cooking your own up..

I also don't want to spend my learning time trouble shooting chemicals in the mixing stage.
 
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Gustavo_Castilla

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Yes it is cheaper but not everybody wants to have a bottle of Ether or collodion at home then there is the Alcohol many states do not allow the sale of pure grain 190 proof
and to ship the ether you have to pay a hazmat fee and special box , scale then there is the actual mixing and filtering of both the colloid and the Varnish so cheaper is a variable that people that will like to try the process may not want to get into of the get go
 

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From what I understand, Colin, wet plate can leave pretty nasty stains on cameras. Don't know if you want to use a nice camera! For the next APUG Pacific NW get-together (Eureka, CA, Oct 2010), I have a wet plate demo lined up. I am looking forward to seeing it done!

Vaughn
 

Anton Lukoszevieze

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You have sufficient chemicals to do a decent number of plates and build up a good solid addiction. After you exhaust these, you start cooking your own up.. LOL
 

Andrew Moxom

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I had that worry as well, but was correctly informed that these stains become badges of honor!!

 

Anton Lukoszevieze

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Silver stains are in a way badges of honour, the process is such a wonderful one in so many ways that the cosmetic degradation of the camera is incidental. The chemicals are not dangerous if treated with respect, collodion at home is not dangerous, ether one has to be careful with (I keep it in an outhouse in a locked chest). The Bostick collodion uses cadmium, something I wouldn't want to use in my collodion.............. and of course silver nitrate has to be treated with respect.
 

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For anyone interested in some instruction, the Rayko Photography Center in San Francisco has an excellent series of wet plate classes. The field classes use Rayko's mobile darkroom.

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Colin Corneau

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Hah! Badges of honour... love it.

Ty's cameras are truly beautiful things, but they are specifically made for wetplate, so I suppose one has to accept a few 'badges' along the way.
 

mark

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Anton Lukoszevieze said:
... ether one has to be careful with (I keep it in an outhouse in a locked chest). ......
Click to expand...


Around these parts an outhouse is a toilet, outside, over a hole you fill with smelly bodily fluids and semi solids. Don't think I would store something explosive in there. The mental image gave me a good laugh.


http://www.outhousemuseum.com/
 

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Are the badges of honor destructive? If so, is there a way to prevent the destruction?
 

Vaughn

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Colin Corneau said:
Hah! Badges of honour... love it.

Ty's cameras are truly beautiful things, but they are specifically made for wetplate, so I suppose one has to accept a few 'badges' along the way.
Click to expand...

Ahhh...I did not recconize the name -- stain away!
 

mark

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SHould have said damage to the camera outside of appearance.
 
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