View Full Version : Whole Plate Photography Column Book Project
NEW BOOK PROPOSAL (http://groups.google.co.uk/group/wholeplate/web/whole-plate-book-project?hl=en): "Contemporary whole plate photography"
Perhaps this is an ambitious and idealistic venture, however I thought I'd bring this idea up to ascertain if there is any interest here in this proposal.
Would any whole plate format photographers [film and/or plate] be interested in doing a world-wide collaboration on a book of whole plate images?
Just looking for a show of interest to see whether it's worthwhile pursuing.
Kind regards,
RJ
Whole Plate Photographers Column (http://groups.google.co.uk/group/wholeplate?hl=en)
Clay Turtle
19-Jul-2008, 20:36
Just to put a bug in your ear but a good start might begin here . . . a brief intro as to what whole plate, etc is & why how it differs from traditional film may geneerate more interest. At least you would be gathering some feedback & doing some of the outlining neccessary to writing & publishing?
If enough people become interested it may boon into a separate section or at least subsection . . .
Many thanks for the comments. I thought it might be useful to add that 'whole plate photographers' do indeed use film. Film is cut to 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches.
With an abundance of historical 'whole plate' holders, the possibility for dry plates and wet plates also opens up, making whole plate format suitable for all kinds of alternative processes. I wonder then if it is confusing to use the term 'whole plate' as a format designation, or whether this contraction instead of 'whole plate format' is indeed confusing?
On the separate issue of the book proposal, we're tentatively working on a theme of 'destruction'; whether that be felled trees; incineration, demolished buildings and ruins. Unfortunately the summer season is possibly the worse season for photographers to set on a project; perhaps we'll all need a little more time then.
Kind regards,
RJ
wfwhitaker
24-Jul-2008, 16:17
Sounds intriguing, but I'm not too keen on the theme of destruction. There's enough of that in this world. Any possibility of something along a more positive note?
Hi Will,
Many thanks for the thought - I hadn't yet considered how nihilistic a project liike derelict or destroyed buildings and landscape might be intepreted.
I'd love to see a positive body of work included to balance things out. I've realised that the genre of flower photography which I have never had any passion for, suddenly takes on a whole new plate of interest. Did you have a project in mind?
Kind regards,
RJ
RJ and all,
I am very interested in being part of a whole plate group project. I have just finished refurbishing a hundred year old Century whole plate camera and I'm hoping to get a few dry plates coated sometime next week.
Keep in touch with us on this. It's a great idea.
Denise Ross
http://www.thelightfarm.com/
wfwhitaker
25-Jul-2008, 16:15
RJ,
I'll give it some consideration, but I don't have a theme suggestion to offer now. Personally I'm not real big on structure, prefering to respond to whatever catches my eye and my whim. But I can see where it might be preferred in this case. I can go with whatever is decided, even "destruction".
Clay Turtle
26-Jul-2008, 05:58
RJ and all,
I am very interested in being part of a whole plate group project. I have just finished refurbishing a hundred year old Century whole plate camera and I'm hoping to get a few dry plates coated sometime next week.
Keep in touch with us on this. It's a great idea.
Denise Ross
http://www.thelightfarm.com/Yes, I tend to agree with the synopsis presented by this page . . . As generations have passed, we have been brought to the point of dependency upon the advent new technological advancements & large corporate influence has produced the ideology of 'disposable generation'. The idea that anything had been produced as a long term (usable) life span is unfathomable in today's world. One doesn't repair an item, you go out & get a new one . . . which is of course better than the original.
Hmm . . . better for whom? Well, at least easier => more convenient to use? Digital is faster & easier (than darkroom work) if you are already adapted to the technology but is it better?
Clay Turtle
26-Jul-2008, 06:50
Sounds intriguing, but I'm not too keen on the theme of destruction. There's enough of that in this world. Any possibility of something along a more positive note?A more positive aspect might be in the after-effects, to look upon the burn areas, one sees the immediate perception of desolation, not seeing the continuation of the life cycle as new growth stimulates new growth that enriched soil & sunlight promote.
Yes, I tend to agree with the synopsis presented by this page . . . As generations have passed, we have been brought to the point of dependency upon the advent new technological advancements & large corporate influence has produced the ideology of 'disposable generation'. The idea that anything had been produced as a long term (usable) life span is unfathomable in today's world. One doesn't repair an item, you go out & get a new one . . . which is of course better than the original.
Hmm . . . better for whom? Well, at least easier => more convenient to use? Digital is faster & easier (than darkroom work) if you are already adapted to the technology but is it better?
Hi Clay,
Thank you for your thoughtful words and images (amidst the affective surprise of seeing colour and landscape images on a thread like this ;) ) The consequences of technological advancement also reinforces societal views on technological determinism.
As a newcomer to whole plate photography, I am still wondering whether whole plate format photography has a role or niche in this kind of worldview. In part, the Whole Plate Column project embodies that kind of exploration.
Kind regards,
RJ
Re: Whole Plate Photography Column Book Project
Hi there,
I think Will's thoughts about a theme are correct; the book project is already appealing to a very small minority of photographers who work with whole plate format (film or plate), and then with another restriction - this time, printing, requiring a standardised vertical portrait format....both restrictions are more than sufficient.
Perhaps then, the theme of 'loss'... or 'recovering what is lost' should remain a personal theme, only for those who elect, with every other contributor welcome to interpret, thematically, or stylistically, their own body of images. Then this approach would aim for a collected body of contemporary whole plate format 'diversity' for a book publication, rather than thematic consistency.
One of the fascinating discoveries about embarking on a tentative project like this, is discovering how the States has a far more prevalent interest in alternative processes and historical formats than the United Kingdom, whose contributors are under-represented. I wasn't sure if it was worthwhile translating the whole plate project request for the French forums or one of the Hanzi forums, given the already esoteric nature of this project..
On another note, do any whole plate photographers here use deep tanks for film processing? The traditional grid slots for the hangers cause developer bleed/adjacency effects from localised developer on the margins, even with semi-stand techniques. On the other hand, the more modern four prong clips leave clip marks on the rebate. Tray or rotary processing avoids these development artifacts, however others may find these appealing. I'm reminded of the stock image house attitude towards film rebates, and tentatively suggest that perhaps this should also be left to the individual photographer to decide on...
Kind regards,
RJ
Clay Turtle
28-Jul-2008, 12:37
Re: Whole Plate Photography Column Book Project
1) Thank you for your thoughtful words and images (amidst the affective surprise of seeing colour and landscape images on a thread like this ) The consequences of technological advancement also reinforces societal views on technological determinism.
2) As a newcomer to whole plate photography, I am still wondering whether whole plate format photography has a role or niche in this kind of worldview. In part, the Whole Plate Column project embodies that kind of exploration.
3)I think Will's thoughts about a theme are correct; the book project is already appealing to a very small minority of photographers who work with whole plate format (film or plate), and then with another restriction - this time, printing, requiring a standardized vertical portrait format....both restrictions are more than sufficient.
Kind regards,
RJI would apologize for the color photos except that in a real sense (at least for me) is visual communication the #1.
The consequences of technological advancement also reinforces societal views on technological determinism. I felt that they would produce a harmonic expression of the thoughts that I was trying to communicate?
As for the next two; (2) & (3), as an interested party, I question just what is whole plate photography especially as you such restrictions? I perceive an {re} introduction of a film format {?}, that bears striking resemblance to the 5x7 format.
At any rate, could not a whole plate {or half-plate} be formated to a 5x8 format? Which along with the 4x10 format formed as half-plate versions of the 8x10 format, as these film formats were created from cutting down standard 8x10 films.
Although the whole plate was derived from {either wet or dry} glass plate, it would seem that the holders were adapted to film usage. So is there a similar format to our 8x10 from a European (metric) film format?
Hi Clay,
no need to apologise at all. I appreciate photographs more than I do words, particularly when there is an interdependent and mutual reinforcement. The subtle coloration of 'entanglement' given through the branches of the first image does indeed seem to stretch out in the second image, seemingly reaching for order or light in a natural development from the initial image. As a diptych, it presents a contextual metaphor for grappling with technological advancement (1) and coming out of it (2).
In that respect, I find you've expressed yourself far more clearly than I have done. It has a pleasantly disarming effect ... that 'affective surprise' when reading the thread, making sense of this proposal.
____________________________________________________________________
On the separate issue above, your thoughts and questions on imaging formats are all strikingly relevant too. Perhaps I see this body of questions as the kind which most photographers hold towards the whole plate format. They do deserve to be answered - perhaps on a different thread rather than this one - which is more a call for Whole Plate image submissions.
I'm not sure if you intended, however I quite liked the idea (or implication) that half-plate, or traditional 5x8 (Golden Mean) photographers could undertake a parallel publishing project? ;)
When researching the whole plate format, there certainly seems to be more information available on the internet on half-plate formats. Unfortunately this isn't a format I use or know much of.
Thank you for your thoughts - they are very helpful and appreciated.
Kind regards,
RJ
Apologies to anyone who tried to access the Whole Plate Column (http://groups.google.co.uk/group/wholeplate) over the past 6 weeks.
Somehow I disabled my own posting privileges and everyone else's. The problem has been fixed now.
Kind regards,
RJ
Sandeha
21-Aug-2008, 23:16
I like the idea of the project, but the resurgence of interest in whole plate I would consider a theme in itself. The restoration (and adaptation) that is usually required is a major point for anyone setting out with the format.
I restored my own WP cam, circa 1900 Houghton Triple Victo, but rarely use it out of doors ... it's no tank, if anything it's rather fragile, and so tends to get used on special occasions.
Jim Galli
21-Aug-2008, 23:37
The fact that images are made in the 6.5X8.5 format seems rather a broad and shallow reason to collect them together. Why would anyone consider them less ordinary than all the other trillion images out there if they are made in a particular size? I adore my 6 1/2X8 1/2 Kodak but I'm much prouder of a good image made with the 5X7 or 8X10 than a poor one made in WP.
Hi Sandeha & Jim,
Many thanks for your thoughts. I think you're spot on with respect to the whole plate resurgence. There is a parallel (and greater) worldwide movement in terms of rediscovering historical processes; hand-made photographic emulsions; and alternative processes, such as the cyanotype and collodion and wet plate. The digital infractions into everyday life may merely be a catalyst in generating this resurgence of interest in historical processes which some will no doubt label as 'retro' or historical-fantasist. However whereas the cyanotype/collodion and wet plates implicate a restoration of a traditional photographic and technical process, the whole plate format revival is concentrates on the aesthetic format dimensions: 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 inch vis à vis the essentially unstable and permutating format dimensions/sizes of digital sensors and imaging. It's a more subtle reaction to modern infringement on a photographer's aesthetic awareness and I can see how senseless this is some who might question: "why adhere to a fixed format, such as the whole plate format, or even the square format? Why adhere to a fixed focal length, instead of a multi-focal 38mm - 600mm zoom lens? Why adhere to a fixed aspect ratio in an image, when 16:9, 3:2, 2:1, or any permutation of crop factors are possible? Why adhere to solely traditional optical processes when digital convenience abounds?" The list of rhetorical questions goes on: however all these questions and their prodigy are indicative of a modern tendency in photography to see photography in essence, as a fluid medium and indoctrinated by the zeitgeist of the current photographic trends.
My own reaction is that it is somewhat amusing hearing that a book project of whole plate images is a shallow enterprise. I do welcome your thoughts; no doubt countless others will feel the same way as you do, and I appreciate this feedback, given that whole plate format photographers are essentially, a handful of unknown, possibly irrelevant photographers, amidst millions of other photographers, who risk being detached and obscure, rather than just obscure ;)
With respect to the ones who feel the same way as I do, I'm not sure there is any utility in responding with an aesthetic defence of the whole plate format, suffice to say, it's been a great pleasure working with format.
Sandeha - your Houghton Victo(ry) must be one of the few working whole plate cameras in the British Isles. It's great to discover another whole plate format user here! There are generally three routes to working with whole plate format:
1. The vintage restoration route (second-hand, antique whole plate camera)
As you say, this isn't an easy route for the uninitiated. It does require a lot of
searching, woodwork or 'hacking' a camera together to use. Functionally, it may
not be very robust in view of the vintage of the camera.
2. A new whole plate camera. There are two manufacturers on the market who will
custom build a whole plate camera, and there are another two who can build a
whole plate camera, provided a whole plate holder is supplied by the client to
match the back.
3. A custom made whole plate camera back.
~ UPDATE ~
Another 3 months has passed and I just wanted to thank everyone who's shown an interest in the Whole Plate Book project.
There are six whole plate photographers planning to contribute to the whole plate book project which we're aiming to typeset by summer 2009. Thus, for now, we've closed any further request for participation in this initial book project.
If anyone is interested in a second whole plate project in the future, please feel welcome to get in touch.
On a separate note, the Whole Plate Column has slowly being building up its database of lenses for whole plate photographers:
http://groups.google.co.uk/group/wholeplate/web/lenses
If anyone has any feedback to offer, it will be most welcome.
Kind regards,
RJ
For the Whole Plate Column (http://groups.google.co.uk/group/wholeplate)
Hi Ash,
Great to hear from you again (how's your studies going?)
Have you restored a whole plate camera yet?
Kind regards,
RJ
I can't think of anywhere else to post this notice.
Some of you will know that Wephota NP15 is available in whole plate format. This classic poured single layer emulsion is the slowest fine grain emulsion available in
pre-cut whole plate format.
http://www.sheetfilm.be/film.php
For any whole plate photographers, the last date for ordering the film for delivery this year falls on Thursday 10th December 2008 (GMT+1) with a scheduled delivery by the end of December 2008.
That leaves less than a week if anyone wishes to try this film before the year is out..!
Kind regards,
RJ
Whole Plate Column (http://groups.google.co.uk/group/wholeplate/web)
ejohnson
8-Dec-2008, 05:00
Just to put a bug in your ear but a good start might begin here . . . a brief intro as to what whole plate, etc is & why how it differs from traditional film may geneerate more interest. At least you would be gathering some feedback & doing some of the outlining neccessary to writing & publishing?
If enough people become interested it may boon into a separate section or at least subsection . . .
There was such an article in a recent View Camera,
eric
[I]
There was such an article in a recent View Camera,
eric
Lol ~ was the article any good?
(j/k)
Perhaps I'll post a different question on the forum ;)
Kind regards,
RJ
Chauncey Walden
9-Dec-2008, 10:06
Eric, RJ wrote the article;-)
Just a brief reminder for all the whole plate participants in the next assignment project - can I please have the submissions by 10th February 2009.
If there is a delay beyond this date, please let me know in advance so I can work around this.
Kind regards,
RJ
Whole Plate Column (http://groups.google.co.uk/group/wholeplate?pli=1)
Michael Carter
14-Mar-2009, 18:17
RJ and all,
I am very interested in being part of a whole plate group project. I have just finished refurbishing a hundred year old Century whole plate camera and I'm hoping to get a few dry plates coated sometime next week.
Keep in touch with us on this. It's a great idea.
Denise Ross
http://www.thelightfarm.com/
So am I. Michael Carter has a new darkroom for dry plate large format photography on a Century full plate camera. I need plate holders for it. But I have other plate holders and cameras to use till I get one made or find one. Just starting now that the dark room is done and I'm still moveing into it.
Hi Michael,
That's great news. The anti-anti-halation glow of the dry plate images look absolutely unique.
Were you able to ascertain if the Century whole plate camera film holders you required were indeed non-Kodak Eastman standard?
We finished our first group whole plate portfolio project now. You're welcome to have a look at it to decide if you wish to join the second group whole plate portfolio project.
Looking forward to seeing work from your new darkroom Michael!
Kind regards,
RJ
Whole Plate Column (http://groups.google.co.uk/group/wholeplate?pli=1)
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