Film

Chemical World: Wetplate Collodion Photography

*UPDATE* Visit the Silver Sunbeam – www.silversunbeam.co.uk – to see all of Andy Martin’s wetplate portrait and landscape work. *UPDATE* Not a lot of people know this. But for the past 3 years or so, I’ve been realising a long time dream and experimenting with some slightly obscure chemicals in the name of exploring the […]

Read More »

Wass Camera Rebuild Post #8 – The Bellows

The bellows were always going to be an interesting part of this reconstruction, namely due to the fact that they were so big, and so badly damaged – finding something from another camera wasn’t really an option. Likewise repairing the originals, something I had originally considered but decided against after seeing just how badly they […]

Read More »

Wass Camera Rebuild post #7 – Rebuilding the Camera

This was always going the biggest job of the reconstruction, and without a doubt the most significant. Fortunately the fine brazil Mahogany was a little too tough for the woodworm to chew through and no significant repairs were needed, as had been the case with the stand. To recap, the camera had been stripped down, […]

Read More »

Wass Camera Project Post #6 – Huge Plate Holder Arrives!

Another piece of the gigantic camera jigsaw (almost) in place now, a 12×15″ plate holder. Seen here on the left, with a whole plate and a 5×4 side by side for a sense of scale. It’s huge! Although not as big as I’d like, with the original being 15×15 it will suffice for now to […]

Read More »

Wass Camera Project Post #5 – Stripping the Camera

With the stand repaired and repainted, with only a few minor finishing touches remaining, attentions turned to the camera itself. I initially felt this was probably going to be the most complex part of the reconstruction but actually, once I’d begun stripping things down it didn’t seem too bad. I’d barely seen the camera as […]

Read More »

Wass Camera Project Post #4 – The Lens

Well. After many hours of sanding and repairs with not too much to show for the effort, I wanted to feel like I’d achieved something and made something shiny so decided to tackle the cleanup of the lens. It’s an Optimus 3B, adjusted by Perken, Son & Co Ltd of Hatton Garden, London. I measured […]

Read More »

Wass Camera Project Post #3 – Rebuilding the Stand…

So, last post you may recall an impressive amount of woodworm damage in one of the legs of the stand which required a bit of attention… Let me say firstly that I’m not exactly blessed with quite as much skill, tools or nice dry workshops when it comes to woodworking but I think, given the […]

Read More »

Wass Camera Project Post #2 – Stripping the Stand

As mentioned in the previous post – there was a canny bit of woodworm evident at some point in the camera’s life. Chances are the beasties inside had long gone but with the camera being stored indoors once restored it’s not a chance I wanted to take. Fortunately, I work in a Museum. Equally fortunately, […]

Read More »

Wass Camera Project Post #1 – Background & First Photos

A slight precursor to this post for those outside of the North East of England regarding the word WASS.  Wass is a NE (or maybe Sunderland only) word which means massive, or huge, eg: ‘just seen a geet wass spider under me bed, like.’ And also a nod to the legendary ‘WASS HAIR’ unisex salon […]

Read More »

Darkroom Build Part 4!

Shamefully, it has been almost two years since I last updated the blog. Does anyone read it anyway? If yes, I apologise to those clamouring for an update. If not, then you’ll not know, or care, either way. In Autumn 2010 the darkroom was completed. It has survived two winters, lots of snow, ice and […]

Read More »