Waiting for the magical effect.

HAVING examined carefully the plate of glass, and removed from its surface any adhering fibre or dust, take it in the left hand, holding it with the forefinger and thumb by the upper left-hand corner, and with the bottle of iodized collodion in the other hand, pour from the bottle on to the glass, towards the upper right-hand corner, such a quantity of the solution as will run in a body freely.

Whilst pouring the iodized collodion on to the glass, tilt the glass slightly towards the upper right-hand corner, and when this is reached, incline the glass to the upper left-hand corner, but not touching it, to avoid coming in contact with the thumb of the left hand; this corner passed, run the iodized collodion down towards the lower left-hand corner, and finally incline the glass to the lower right-hand corner, at the same time holding the glass upright over the neck of the bottle (which should be retained in the right hand whilst the operation is going on), to allow the superfluous collodion to drain off into the bottle; during the time it is draining, move the plate vertically backwards and forwards over the neck of the bottle, to prevent the furrowed appearance the film is likely to assume if allowed to drain quietly to the lower right-hand corner.

To perform the above operation with certainty, requires a steady hand, and some little practice. After the glass has drained for a few seconds, and the collodion has ceased running from the plate, it should be immersed in the exciting bath; from five to twenty seconds may elapse between the two operations; if the drying is prolonged, the sensibility and evenness of the coating are injured, and the iodide of silver is liable to be thrown out from the film on to its surface.

Very often, in dry, hot weather, the plate will require to be immersed in the exciting bath directly the film has set; if the plate has been allowed to dry too much, the iodide from the upper part of the plate will most likely be thrown out on to the surface of the film, and be washed away by the liquid in the exciting bath. Care should be taken not to breathe upon the surface of the glass during the operation of pouring on the iodized collodion.

OXIDE OF SILVER.

Sym: AG + O.

Eq. 116. Silver 108 + Oxygen 8

Oxide of silver can be obtained from a solution of nitrate of silver, by the addition of a solution of pure potassa, or soda; oxide of silver is set free and falls as an insoluble brown powder; it should be repeatedly washed to remove all traces of the excess of potassa, or soda,and the nitrate of the alkali formed. After washing, it should be thrown upon a clean linen filter to drain, and afterwards dried; or it can be preserved in a moist state in a wide-mouthed bottle.

CHLORIDE OF SILVER.

Sym: AG + C.

Eq. 144. Silver 108 + Chlorine 36

Chloride of silver is most conveniently formed by the addition of a solution of common salt, (chloride of sodium,) to a solution of nitrate of silver. It falls readily as a white precipitate, and should be repeatedly washed, to free it from the excess of common salt, and the nitrate of soda formed during the process. After washing, it may be collected on a linen filter, and subjected to pressure to free it from moisture, and then dried, or it may be preserved in a moist state. It is soluble in ammonia, hyposulphite of soda, iodide and cyanide of potassium.

SEPTEMBER LIGHT ...

AMBROTYPE  1860

at the moment closed for holidays

THE SORCERERS꘠

Idylls of the King, en plein air

One of the early pioneers of photographic portraiture, Julia Margaret Cameron began her career at the age of 48.

 “From the first moment, I handled my lens with a tender ardor," she wrote, "and it has become to me as a living thing, with voice and memory and creative vigor." Cameron trained herself to master the laborious steps of producing negatives with wet collodion on glass plates, favoring slight blurs in her images and looser compositions than the polished portraits of her colleagues. She moved in the high intellectual circles of Victorian England, capturing leading academics and artists such as Lord Tennyson and Charles Darwin. Many critics praised her originality, though others derided her for slovenly technique. Drawing inspiration from historical and contemporary writers and painters,

 Cameron also staged scenes from history or literature, such as her photographic illustrations of Tennyson’s Idylls of the King, and regularly enlisted family members, friends, and domestic servants as models for Madonnas, 

Christ figures, and angels.

Julia Margaret Cameron
DIMBOLA MUSEUM & GALLERIES
Terrace Lane (off Gate Lane)
Freshwater Bay
Isle of Wight PO40 9QE

Summer Days, 1866
Albumen print from a wet collodion negative
13 ^7/8 × 11 ^1/8 in
35.2 × 28.3 cm

The Sunflower, 1866-1870

Albumen print

13 ^7/8 × 9 ^9/16 in

35.2 × 24.3 cm

Consuming Nonsense: Freshwater Circle Society Study Day

SATURDAY 4TH JUNE, 10.30AM - 3.00PM

at 5 o'clock

Continue my logbook.

between work and bird watching, 

among the Irish countryside and Agreste Romano.

Sometimes the glass was first coated with a thin layer of
diluite albumen prior to coating, which helped the collodion
adhere to the glass.

The plate was then dipped into a bath of silver nitrate for
several minutes.
Wet collodion was also used to make positive trasparencies,

commonnly known as lantern slides, as they were typically
viewed by transmitted light using a magic lantern.

But Matte Collodion printing out prints POPs

are based on the light sensitivity of silver chloride, which

is suspended in a thin collodion binder on a paper support with

a very thin baryta layer.

A solution contaning silver nitrate was added to the collodion

chloride mixture, rendering the substance light sensitive.

Glycerin or castor oil :(  was somentimes added as plasticizer

to make the binder more flexible and permeable.

... the coated papers were contact printed under ultra-violet SUN

light.

Matte Collodion papers were coated In the same way as collodion

glass plate negative: by pouring the emulsion into the centre

of the paper and rocking it is each direction to get an even coating.

Paper were produced on a larger scale beginning in 1889 with the

introduction o coating machine.

Meeting... in wet collodion and hot tea.

Inside the barn as field mice

The landscapes of the  Spa of Saturnia

Inspired me to the winter meeting.

Collodion, which is cotton dissolved in nitric acid,

Was difficult and dangerous to make and was therefore typically 

Purchased by the photographer.

The colodion was dissolved in alcohol and ether creating a viscous fluid

With a consistency similar to maple syrupe and then "salted"with iodide

...

TO BE CONTINUED

a room all for me! prisoner of Victorian conventions.

Albumen print from wet collodion negative
1864
24 X 29.7 cm
Musée d'Orsay
... admired by Lewis Carroll that he collected the work.

Albumen prin from wet collodion negative.
1862
11.0 X 6.8 cm
sepia photograph, mounted green card, of a young woman leaning against a door.
V&A Museum

Lady Clementina Hawarden, one of Britain's first female photographers

Albumen print from wet collodion negative
1862-1863
10.5 X 8.8 cm
sepia photograph,mounted on green card, of a young woman seated, hands crossed on chest.
V&A Museum

Albumen silver print from glass negative
20.1 X 14.4 cm
early 1860s
The Metropolitan Museum of Art

front cover of one of my very favourite books of my favourite photographer.

the book was published in 1974

Clementina was born 1 June 1822 at Cumberland House near Glasgow

her mother was Spanish

She turned to photography in late 1857 oe early 1858, whilst living on the estate of her husband's family in Dundrum, Co. Tipperary, Ireland.

A move to London in 1859 allowed her to set up a studio in her elegant home in South Kensington.

Willows whiten, aspens quiver,

Little breezes dusk and shiver

Through the wave that runs for ever

By the island in the river

Flowing down to Camelot.

Four grey wall, and grey towers,

Overlook a space of  flowers,

And the silent isle imbowers

The Lady of Shalott.

^ from Tennyson's Lady of Shalott ^

A since 1856, Lady Hawarden began to practice photography as simple amateur but, in a short time, he learned all the tricks and techniques. Lady Hawarden chose to immortalize themes and subjects that belonged to his world: his estate of Dundrum, Ireland, where she was photographing landscapes and especially his family.

In particular, the three elder daughters were the protagonists of "living pictures" made around 1862-1863; observing their transition from childhood to adolescence, she depicts the masked and preferably while reciting romantic scenes.

In the course of his work, Lady Hawarden tried always to enhance the female beauty in all its sensuality and expressiveness. However, rather singular fact, the artist never gave a precise title to his photographs. 

Despite the indications suggested by the costumes and gestures made by models, photographed scenes remain open to all interpretations.

 From modern photographer was like, Lady Hawarden was interested more in the treatment of light and its effects on transparency that no content properly narrative of his shots.