The American West Portraits

"Chris Perez" 16" x 20" (40cm x 50cm) Black Glass Ambrotype - Denver, Colorado, USAMaking photographs, for me, is sometimes a painful and difficult ordeal. It creates anxiety in my life. When you want to see what's in your head on glass and metal plates, and can't quite get over the last hurddle, it can be very stressful. I’m in one of those times now, but working through it.

I’ve been making 16” x 20” (40cm x 50cm) Wet Collodion portraits (currently titled, "The American West Portraits"). I started planning this project almost 18 months ago by ordering a 20” x 24” camera, it's been non-stop ever since. And now, I’m struggling to get the look and feel on these large plates that I want. It’s 99% technical mostly a lens issue. I need a lens that will cover the plate and allow me to compose the image in a way that I’m happy with it. It’s more difficult than it sounds.

Normally, it wouldn’t be a problem. I would have plenty of time to resolve any technical or aesthetic issue I might have. However, I’ve got an exhibition opening on March 14, 2012 in Paris, France at Centre-Iris Gallery. I find myself anxious and preoccupied regarding how the images will look for the exhibition. I see them in my mind, I just need to get them on the glass and metal! 

Having been in Denver for six months doesn’t help me either. I need time to build connections and find the right people to photograph. And now it’s winter, the days are short. At best, there’s about three hours of good light to work with. I will say that there would be no better place to be than in Denver for light this time of year, when it’s shining, the bright blue sky is amazing. It means that the sitter I want to photograph must come to my studio within a certain window of time (1000 – 1300). That gets complicated and stressful, too.

These issues are forcing me to rethink how I work and what I work with. And how "exact" things have to be. I have a “King’s problem” and I understand that. I keep thinking, maybe in the end, I will make a far better body of work than if I had a year to work on it. We’ll see. 

This is a "working idea" - these will collect in my studio and I'll look at them over the next couple of months.

Here's a "taste" of what the show will be made up of - all 16" x 20" (40cm x 50cm) Wet Collodion plates.

The Evolution of a Salt Print

I've been working with wet collodion negatives a lot and doing a lot of different kinds of printing. This is a quick overview of the evoliution of a Salt print. I'm going to wax this print, I'll post the final image when it's finished. 

 

The Evolution of a Salt Print - Studio Q / Quinn Jacobson Photography 2011

Denver Arts Week, Nov 4-12, 2011

I have some public events planned for Denver Arts Week. The First Friday (Nov 4) I will be in my studio offering some artificial light demos and then on Second Saturday, I will offer the public a rare glimpse at witnessing an ultra-large Wet Plate Collodion image being made with my 20"x24" Camera, aka, "The Mighty Quinn". CBS Denver (Channel 4) will be doing a piece on me as well. They are featuring three of us in the RiNo Arts District; Jonathan Kaplan (Ceramics), Yoshi Saito (Bronze) and me. Thank you, RiNo!

If you're in the area, please drop by. If you have any questions, feel free to email me.

Wet Plate Collodion Negatives - October 2011

Robert shows off his beautiful Albumen print - printing out in the contact printer!It always feels like good things end too soon. The Wet Plate Collodion Negative Making workshop was one of those good things ending too soon.

 I had a great group of people in my studio for the last three days. Doug Winter, Kathryn Mayo Winter, Robert Krawiec, Kyleigh Morgan (assisting) and Jeanne; they truly impressed me with their ability, passion and excitement. If you wanted to be surrounded by motivated and encouraging people, this group would rank high for those attributes. A big “thank you” to everyone! Jeanne kept us fed and made sure things ran smoothly - thank you!!!

Negative making is a fussy, unpredictable endeavor. It takes awhile to feel comfortable with it and “get the rhythm down.” However, once you do, it’s very rewarding.

The group I had here was incredible. Not only did they get it going, they got the mojo going fast! Almost every plate and every print was a success. And they were even doing some beautiful, creative portraiture work. It was very enjoyable for me to assist and watch the magic happen. There were tears and Goosebumps from this beautiful process. I don’t understand why more people aren’t working in this process!

We started on Saturday with introductions and conversation about art, life and the Wet Plate Collodion world. Saturday afternoon I demonstrated how to make a negative, redevelop it and then made a Salt and Albumen print from it. I showed them how to make Negative Collodion and Negative Developer and we talked, at length about chemistry. At the end of the day, they prepared glass (Half Plates) for Sunday.

Sunday was a great day. They all made Negatives, portraits of Kyleigh. I could see they were going to have some really beautiful prints.

And yesterday, Monday, we made Salt paper and Albumen paper and printed like crazy! Really impressive stuff! Remember, these guys had never made a Wet Plate Collodion Negative before or printed one on Salt or Albumen. How could you not be impressed? I hope to see them all again real soon!

 

Lef to right, Quinn, Jeanne, Kyleigh, Robert, Kathryn, and Doug.Some of the Salt and Albumen prints made from thier negatives! Impressive work!!

One of Kathryn's prints - toned Salt print - unwaxed. 

 One of Doug's prints. Toned Salt print - I apologize for the digital replication - the prints are really gorgeous in your hand!

One of Robert's prints - toned Albumen - Half Plate.

One of Kathryn's prints "printing out".

Doug dries one of his Wet Plate Collodion Negatives down while Kathryn takes a photo with her iPhone. 

Southern Utah University Art Insights Lecture

 

Last Wednesday, I traveled to Cedar City, Utah. Southern Utah University asked me to be a speaker for their Art Insights program. 
My wife, Jeanne, joined me and helped me with the Wet Plate Collodion demonstrations during the day. And Thursday night, she had to listen to another 45-minute talk about my work and process (thank you, Jeanne!).
It’s always a huge honor for me to do these kinds of things. I’m both encouraged and humbled by the response and comments from people.
Southern Utah University has a beautiful campus and I was surprised how nice Cedar City, Utah is – I’d never been there before – gorgeous views of the land and bright blue skies. The students and faculty were very kind and seemed to enjoy what they saw and heard from me. 
They had me give my lecture in the Great Hall. The references to Harry Potter they made about the space were spot-on. It’s big, elegant and holds a lot of people. I’m not sure how many people were there, but it was full (200+?). 
I’m always amazed that people come out to hear (and see) someone like me when they could be doing a thousand other things. It’s very humbling to me. I always try to be as sincere and honest (authentic) as I can be when talking about my work and my intent for the work. I think that most people want to listen about (and see) work that’s authentic and not gimmicky or made for consumption (shocking, crude, etc.). That’s what I try to give them – honest and real – like the people I photograph.
We would like to say, “THANK YOU!” to Deb and Harold Snider for hosting us in their beautiful home and for all of their wonderful hospitality.
Thanks to Jeremias Paul and Rheana Gardner from the photography department – I appreciated all the help and encouragement. I look forward to working with you again. And I would like to give a big thanks to all of the students of SUU and the general public that attended my “performative lecture” (Wet Plate Collodion demonstrations) and/or my Great Hall lecture. 
All photos by Jeremias Paul and Harold Snider (thank you!)

The Southern Utah University Photo Group! Half Plate Black Glass Ambrotype by Quinn JacobsonHarold watches as I flow the plate with Collodion - his image.Harold's Half Plate Alumitype in the wash pan.Jamie's in the sitter's seat and waits as I explain what I'm going to do. Getting ready to make a Half Plate Clear Glass Ambrotype.Fresh out of the wash - against my black t-shirt, I show the group how thin negatives appear as positives against black.Jeremais shot this - I love the shadow of the image!Kallie (forgive me if I spelled that wrong) sits for her portrait - the texture of her hair looked very cool!Do you see what I mean?Getting her "dialed in" as Jeremias makes a crack about Muybridge ;-)My brother in the blues, Steven Swift, sits for his portrait. (http://www.stevenswift.com/)Steven on metal!A closer look - Steven.This was the test plate to start the day. It's a portrait of Rheana.The Bunny Girl's work, Jamie - I was asked to look at some of the students work. Jamie's work had Gummo written all over it - she's from Ohio, too!

 

Cadmium & Mercury: Check Your Levels!

It's been a while since I've had a complete physical. Last week, I went for the entire checkup.

I requested a heavy metals check when they took my blood. I asked them to check my cadmium levels (CdBr) and mercury (Hg) levels. 

After almost a decade of handling a lot of heavy metal, I wanted to get a baseline for my new life in the states with a new fume hood and improved safety features in my darkroom. 

I've always been extremely safe when I handle heavy metals. I get it, I know and understand the danger but still want to live my life and make my art. 

Long story short: my cadmium (none at all) and mercury levels are normal - no problem at all. If you work in these processes and have never had the test, I encourage you to do so. These are dangerous and deadly metals, if you've been exposing yourself and don't know it, you could have a very grim future with diseases and major health problems. It's better to be safe than sorry.

University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder)

I was invited to do a lecture for the History of Photography class at CU Boulder in Boulder, Colorado. The students were very receptive and impressed me. It was mostly about my work and the processes that I use. Of course being a history of photography class, I gave my perspective on what's happened, what's happening now and what I think wil happen in the future. 

I packed some Ambrotypes, Tintypes, Albumen prints, Salt prints and even a faux Daguerreotype for them to handle and look at - they were like kids in a candy store. It was fun.

I'll return to CU Boulder soon to do another lecture. I had a good time and really enjoy sharing my work and talking about these processes. I hope to offer the students/school something very unique in the future, we're working on it now. 

A big thanks to Jeanne for helping me and listening to my lecture for 1000th time! I love you! And thanks for the photos, too!

Quinn starts his presentation at CU Boulder's History of Photography class. Photo by Jeanne Jacobson

Back In The Saddle

After almost six years, I'm back in America and teaching Wet Plate Collodion to Americans, again. It feels good.

I held the first (of many) Wet Plate Collodion workshop in my studio from September 3 - 6, 2011. It was a great feeling to be back and to speak the language, understand the culture and have people laugh at my jokes. I had some fantastic people in the workshop, too. A big thanks to Chris Kirk, Rob Perisho, Jeff Graves and Izah Gallagher. They're great people with a great Collodion future ahead of them! I hope to see them all again in my studio soon!

 Summer preps varnish while the rest of the crew are cutting and cleaning glass, (left to right) Jeff Graves (Broomfield, Co), Rob Perisho (Chicago, Il), Chris Kirk (Austin, Texas), Izah Gallagher (Denver, Co), and Summer Jacobson (Denver, Co).

 This was just a joke. I thought it was kind of funny. Herr Graves drying his Clear Glass Ambrotypes.Summer helps Chris with varnishing. Chris did some of the finest varnishing I've ever seen (not kidding). "My GrandDaddy's Hat" Izah shows off her wonderful self-portrait. Whole Plate Black Glass Ambrotype.Chris makes a portrait of Summer as Jesse watches. The EXTREME Denver UV made using natural light a no brainer - really gorgeous images!"Cowboy" 7x5 Alumitype by Chris Kirk"Cowboy" 5x7 Alumitype by Izah Gallagher.

Summer Jacobson, September 4, 2011 Denver, Colorado - photo by Chris Kirk

Rob Perisho, September 3, 2011 Denver, Colorado - photo by Quinn Jacobson

 

If you're interested in joining me for a workshop/course in a historic photographic process like Daguerreotypy, Calotypy, Wet Plate Collodion, Albumen Printing and/or Salt Printing, keep your eye on this link or send me an email and we'll get you in! I have a nice big (safe) well lighted studio in the RiNo District in Denver, Colorado.