Wet Collodion: A Weekend Adventure with the Glass Negative

Indoor photography:

Indoor wet collodion photography is a challenge due to the lack of light. In order to achieve a sufficient exposure of the negative, I had to carefully adjust the lighting conditions. As an object, I chose an old hunting weapon – a shotgun, a gift from my father. I am the third generation to own this weapon. My grandfather, dad, and now I – all hunters – owned a shotgun.

Of course, the shooting took place in such a way that I observed proper safety and the cartridges in the cartridge chamber were not sharp.

Testing and exposure:

Before making the negative, I did a test exposure on the plate and then on the glass for the positive. Based on these tests, I estimated the exposure time for the final negative.

Development and redevelopment:

Under ideal conditions, double exposure is not usually necessary for negatives. However, in this case, after development and evaluation, I came to the conclusion that the density of the negative is not sufficient for quality copying. This was followed by a second development with a freshly mixed developer for the so-called redevelopment, which lasted less than an hour.

Varnishing and printing:

After development and fixing, I varnished the negative to protect the collodion layer. It is now ready for copying positives onto paper. For this process I chose collodion-chloride paper of my own production.

Advantages of the positive collodion process for collodion-chloride paper:

The collodion process is one of the most durable photographic processes. The collodion layer protects the image from environmental influences and prevents the yellowing that is common with old silver bromide photographs.

Difficulty and workshops:

As the size of the negative increases, so does the complexity of the entire process. Handling wet glass requires care to avoid damaging it. If you are attracted to this fascinating technique and want to learn it, I offer individual workshops.

Conclusion:

The weekend adventure with the glass negative brought me valuable experience and a beautiful original image and the opportunity to create more photos. 
If you are interested in this interesting photographic process, do not hesitate to contact me and learn more. Workshops take place in my studio in Třebíč or by appointment.