Ambrotype Photography

[John Mc]

This is abit of a confusing one,so bare with me,

Im looking into Experimenting with Ambrotype photography,however,i cant find the info im looking for on the net,and i've looked for weeks. So im now down to asking here

I was wondering what,or if i need a specific camera for the job,i've figured out that the cameras going to work like a Large Format.so would i be able to convert a Large format slide do you reckon? or if it would be viable in Making the camera myself?What lens would i need? say,if i wanted to make the Slides 6"x6" could i use a 5"x4" lens?or would i need a different lens?

Another thing i was also thinking,is do i have to use Glass?i know theres simular techniques where i can use sheets of metal,but i want to mount the glass panels in frames and back light them like i light box effect. i was wondering if transparent Plastic panels would work? thinking this idea would be a smart option,as the glass would need to be thin i think,and plastic is alot more flexible.

I hope you's could help in my experiment, Thanks for your time

John

 

[compur]

Ambrotypes are made with the wet plate collodian process which you can search for to get more info.

 

[John Mc]

Thanks you! i should maybe speak to my tutor aswell. not been in College for a few weeks but due to the snow.

 

[ann]

go over to hybrid.org , there are people there who do this type of work, or check alternative processes website they should be able to assist as well.

 

[Allen]

I like the name of this essay: Against all good advice: how to build a large format camera for wet collodion work at home.

 

[Proteus617]

John-I've also been intrigued by wet plate, but the expense and complexity is not joke. I started playing around with cyanotypes as it's quick, easy and cheap, figuring that I'll work my way to wet plate in an incremental fashion. Having said that, I ran into a guy making ambrotypes on the street a few years ago. He had a very big large format camera for the plates, but one of his students was using an old rollfilm box camera. The sensitized aluminum plates were sized to fit against the film plane. I've seen box cameras up to around 4x5, and they always can be had cheaply.

 

[Vautrin]

John-I've also been intrigued by wet plate, but the expense and complexity is not joke

out of curiousity, what does it cost and why?

 

[Proteus617]

out of curiousity, what does it cost

Lots

and why?

Check out this overview. First, it's not a negative process, so you need a big camera with filmholders modified for the plates. 8x10 would be nice. It's also a wet plate process, so your plates are poured and developed on location. You are either shooting right outside of your darkroom or carrying a portable darkroom into the field along with your giant camera. Next, start sourcing chemicals. The price of silver nitrate alone will snap your head back. Then add in the cost of plates, plate holders, lab ware and the various gear you need to mix and safely handle and store the chemistry.

 

[orlovphoto]

Wow.... who wrote the Q and A there - it's so hard to tell what the actual question is.... I know I would never be able to figure it out just from that overview...

out of curiousity, what does it cost

Lots

and why?

Check out this overview. First, it's not a negative process, so you need a big camera with filmholders modified for the plates. 8x10 would be nice. It's also a wet plate process, so your plates are poured and developed on location. You are either shooting right outside of your darkroom or carrying a portable darkroom into the field along with your giant camera. Next, start sourcing chemicals. The price of silver nitrate alone will snap your head back. Then add in the cost of plates, plate holders, lab ware and the various gear you need to mix and safely handle and store the chemistry.