Re: Fresh 4" x 5" dry plates
Jason,
The following are the openings of our wet plate holders. Your plates should be smaller in order to fit our holders. About 1-1.5mm on each side.
045---127mm x 100.5mm
057---177.5mm x 126.5mm
WP----215.8mm x 166mm
810---253.3mm x 203.2mm
Thanks.
Hugo
1 Attachment(s)
Re: Fresh 4" x 5" dry plates
I developed some plates last night. The truck is from batch #003 (the first round of plates I sold is from this batch). That's my town (Brookline, NH) Fire Department Engine No. 1, a 1919 purpose-built fire truck on a Ford Model T chassis. The Fire Department bought it with money from fundraisers like dances and such at the time, and they've owned it ever since. I took this in preparation for our upcoming 250th anniversary. I didn't do anything except scan it in.
https://www.photrio.com/forum/attach...19-jpg.192682/
This one is a crop of the photo above to a size equivalent to a 35mm frame. This gives you an idea of what the grain looks like. Ignore the dust from the scan.
https://www.photrio.com/forum/attach...il-jpg.192683/
2 Attachment(s)
Re: Fresh 4" x 5" dry plates
Here is a photo I took yesterday. I share it because I didn't want to exclusively show you "the best of the best". This is sort of in the category of "towards the middly-bottom" as far as plate quality goes. So (along with the other examples I've referenced) you get to see the range of quality in these hand-coated plates.
It is from batch #004 (the latest round of plates). This was a reject plate, because as a test I back-filled a hole in the emulsion at bottom center which you can see as a lighter blob-area due to the emulsion being thicker. The light curved artifact on the right-hand side is due to the dark slide I used having a crack in it.
Ignoring those, the photo shows what you could expect of frilling at the edges where the emulsion can start lifting from the glass. So when you go to compose a shot, you might want to take that into account. It can be a cool effect, but you can also crop it out of course.
Attachment 173211
and a crop equivalent to 35mm so you can get a feel for the grain (this is tray developed in HC-110 Dil B, 5 minutes at 68F). You can see my poor attempt at cleaning the back of the glass.
Attachment 173215
Going forward my quality will inevitably improve, but these two shots and the other examples I've shared sort of give you a snapshot of where I am today. Each batch, some aspect gets better. Anyways, lots of fun.
Re: Fresh 4" x 5" dry plates
Congratulations !
It looks extraordinary !!!
Re: Fresh 4" x 5" dry plates
Impressive plate and good subject.
What was your exposure parameter?
addendum, for each plate shown
Re: Fresh 4" x 5" dry plates
So I've gotten used to thinking in terms of Exposure Values (EV), so you'll have to bear with me if you're not familiar with how EV's work.
For the truck, EV reading on the ground was 10 and on the wall it was 14. This worked out to 8s at f/22 to properly place the truck in the mid-tones at ISO 2. I don't really trust direct readings off of bright red paint since the emulsion doesn't see red. I think it was reading EV 13 on the fender. I bracketed 5s and 10s just to be careful (there wouldn't be an opportunity to do-over), but it turns out my 8s estimate nailed the exposure.
For the lake scene, the EV reading was 14 which at ISO 2 calls for 1s exposure at f/16. So the snow and sky aren't blown out like they should be for plates. It was cold out there and I was in a hurry. If my brain had been working right I would have aimed to put EV 12 in the mid-tones at ISO 2 and exposed for 2s or maybe 4s. Ah well.
Re: Fresh 4" x 5" dry plates
Thanks! Well done!
I have always thought EV was an unnecessary added complication foisted on us as a simplification.:)
I do see it's value on linked speed/aperture shutters for a few situations.
Fresh 4" x 5" dry plates
Thanks.
EV was really important when I was making batches that rated ISO 0.25 or 0.5, which is so low that my meter would not support.
I created an exposure vs f/# spreadsheet from the equation which converts EV(100) values to other ISO ratings, in this case EV(0.25) or EV(0.5). Printing out the spreadsheet table and sticking it in my notebook that I carry with me, I could simply meter the EV(100) off the scene and then read off my required exposure without having to buy some God-awfully expensive meter that supports that low of an ISO.
It was the simplest way to take the guess work out of estimating exposure for plates.
My meter supports ISO 2 just fine, so it's not as important now. However, I did gain the side benefit of being able to estimate exposure in my head just by gauging the scene brightness.
Re: Fresh 4" x 5" dry plates
I can see the value of a 'cheat sheet'. :)
I will make one and lose it. All paper is lost by me.
I meter on 100 iso and use my fingers to count stops I need to compensate. Usually works...
Re: Fresh 4" x 5" dry plates
The problem with EV is that some people used "fixed" EV, always in reference to ISO 100, or "movable" EV, adjusted to the ISO in use. Various meters do one or the other - the Pentax spotmeters use a "fixed" EV, while I think one of my old Sekonics adjust it based on the ISO setting. This is kind of like fixed or movable 'do' when using solfège in music.
Anyway...can't wait to get the plates I ordered :).