wet plate witchcraft in the woods

Yesterday I hauled a ridiculous amount of equipment and chemistry into a wooded area so that I could take some wet plate photographs for the "Earth Magic" series.  This involved me going across town with an 8x10 camera, tripod and other heavy and cumbersome gear.

And a cardboard box, to serve as a makeshift darkroom.

Things came along surprisingly well and I was able to take a lot of photographs without any major mishaps.  Not bad, considering it was my first time doing wet plates without the safety of running water or a nearby darkroom.  The location was beautiful and perfect for the photographs.  If you ignore the gang of ten year old boys on bicycles.

On the way home I realized that I'd officially made the transition into "functional hobo":  a pushcart loaded with bags and a cardboard box, hands blackened from a run-in with the silver nitrate bath that the plates are dipped in, and a container full of wine and alcohol bottles (used to hold chemistry).  Maybe I should make an attempt to look a little less sketchy next time.

I'll post some images from yesterday soon.

starting over (again)

After much work on the most recent incarnation of the Symbiosis series, I decided to start over.  Again.  I've lost track of how many incarnations there have been in the past 8 months.  There have been 11x14 photographs with oil pastels, 4x6 foot collages on unstretched canvas with oil paint, 11x14 photographs with oil paint and 16x20 photographs with acrylic paint.

On Wednesday I photographed artist Steven Johnson Leyba.  Wet plate portraits.  He was in town for an exhibition he was in.  We've been friends for around a decade and have worked on collaborations a few times in the past.  I'll post images as soon as I'm able to print them.


Later on Wednesday, I took more color photographs for the Symbiosis series (which, to be honest, I'm thinking I need to re-name).  On Friday I got into the color darkroom to make test prints, then did some quick painting with acrylics.  I'm very happy with how they're turning out so far.  A very different feel.

I'm thinking that I'm going to keep them small.  Intimate.

Tonight Jane and I are planning on seeing Wolvserpent and Locrian.  Last summer I photographed Locrian in anticipation of their upcoming release on Utech Records, "The Crystal World." 

Look at the Utech website to see Justin Bartlett's great cover artwork for "The Crystal World."