Whole Plate Photographers Column

WPPC/The Column


http://groups.google.co.uk/group/wholeplate


Hi there,

The Whole Plate Photographers' Column is a new mailing list/working discussion group for Whole Plate based on the Googlegroup software (google registration).

Although the LF forum and search engines for enquiring about whole plate photography remain indispensible, as far as I am aware, there is no specific group for new photographers embarking on whole plate imaging or helping one another develop each others' practice in whole plate photography.

The idea for the WPPC sprang up coincidentally with a view to sharing our ideas and resources about contemporary whole plate photography and its practice, namely developing a personal aesthetic for the whole plate format. Some of us are working photographers, making a switch back to the whole plate format for personal work.

In this respect, we hope the WPPC might help each other start off with the basic building blocks (assembling a working whole plate camera), to developing our own whole plate photographic practice with a peer reference.

We have no experience of running a group nor possessing mastery of its software, and the spambots may be too much to bear. So it might be a terrible idea. We're certainly willing to listen as this Column is run as an 'open access' list/discussion group. We thought it worth trialling the Column for interested whole plate photographers, and re-evaluating whether to continue thereafter.

Please feel welcome to leave any feedback here or at

http://groups.google.co.uk/group/wholeplate


Kind regards,

RJ

Is this just for whole plate users? Or can people who shoot 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 film participate, too?

Hi Will,

Thank you for your note.

Any method of photographing with whole plate [6 1/2 x 8 1/2] format in plate or film; whole plate film; dry plate or wet plate.

Hollis does do wet plate and tintype work and we both use film so please feel welcome.

Kind regards,

RJ

Good luck RJ.

I never had the money or the courage to have yet another format to work with, maybe some day I'll have WP negs too though :)

Thank you Ash. I think I might need it.

There is an elementary page on darkroom contact printing:

Since whole plate format work is mostly contact printed, darkroom constraints are less restricting.

*UPDATE*

After a year on the googlegroup site, the Whole Plate Column is migrating!

Here is the beta version:

Whole Plate Column

I'm not very good at understanding the data migration systems; it may take some time before moving over the new site.

Feel free to check it out and leave any feedback too.

Kind regards,

RJ

Whole Plate Column

Whole Plate Forum

Congratulations RJ! Great new site for a great - but inexplicably neglected - format. I'm very glad for all the work you're doing to keep Whole Plate alive.
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Hi Denise,

It's great to hear from you again. I hope the Oregon coast in the summer is a pleasure to work the dry plate craft with too!

It is fantastic to see the Whole Plate format float alongside the consciousness of the large format photographer, without resting on the banal level of 'What's Whole Plate?'. There is a place and time for such questions, however it's also been a pleasure to see the Whole Plate format go further than this.

One of the challenges which the Whole Plate format community still face, is the shifting and uncertain resource and supplies of materials. Being a dry plate Whole Plate photographer, I feel much admiration for your handicraft, which can operate independently of these issues. For instance, it's a little disheartening to see that the Ilford ULF initiative still invokes bizarre responses from UK partners of the Ilford programme, stipulating that a minimum order of 25 boxes of whole plate film would be required....alongside a 20% increase in costings. These supply lines - imaging materials, whole plate holders - may remain uncertain for film emulsion based whole plate photographers.

Another aspect of the Whole Plate community which has been interesting discovering, relates to pushing the envelope to see how far (and flexible) contemporary camera and film manufacturers are willing to mould themselves around a specific format. For instance - I would never have thought that Efke would consider cutting Efke PL25M and infrared 820IRc emulsions in Whole Plate format; nor a specialist manufacturer like Argentum, spending a terrific amount of pre-manufacture discussions to agree on a customised Whole Plate camera designed to an obsessionally high and detailed configuration, as a one off custom camera....after 2 years of negotiation. It surprises me how much potential scope there is, around expanding and working to recover this historical format ;)
It's been a fascinating journey, particularly with the wealth of experience accumulated from the Stateside photographers, bound and interested in this unique historical format, and more so, as independent practitioners without particular conformity in aesthetics or vision.

And on the subject of pushing the envelope ....working collaboratively in creating Whole Plate images has been an interesting development; a practice which is vital to the activity of photographing, lest the Whole Plate format regress to the status of being a purely gear-headed hobby. Not lest there is credit due to those who furrow the path of supporting large format photography in its diverse disciplines throughout the publication sector - an often thankless task.

Ultimately, I think the dry plate (and wet plate) Whole Plate format still shines in the modern digital age, as a beacon of traditional emulsion practice. I'm looking forward to seeing your unique work come autumn.

In the meantime, have a great summer!

Kind regards,

RJ

Whole Plate Column

and yet another migration to a new site...!

http://wholeplate.co.uk


After a month, the previous forumotion site started commercial spam advertisements on the so we have unified the googlegroups with a new forum on the easy to remember site.

If all that confusion between the 3 possible wholeplate sites wasn't enough, this is hopefully the last forum migration, since none of us have the patience to do battle with digital technology!

It looks like we'll be holding onto the memorable website address, not to be confused with the culinary whole plate websites which abound on the world wide web.


Kind regards,

RJ


http://wholeplate.co.uk