Fernando Ramirez

On Saturday I had the opportunity to join the photographic alternatives class to meet with two photographers from the San Diego area that have been practicing the art of wet plate colloidon photography. Dave Smith and Nick Hidek, of Nick and Dave Photography, invited us to spend the day with them and learn a little bit about their craft.

Doc Smith

Capt. Nick Hidek

The photographic colloidon process was invited by Frederick Scott Archer in 1851 and is still in use today. However, with the convenience of sheet film, roll film and digital, there aren’t a lot of people practicing these old photographic techniques anymore. With the dangers and limitations of the colloidon process some might say this is rightly so. Nevertheless, when in the hands of the right person, the process can leave you with a breathtaking, unique image that cannot be duplicated.

A tintype of Dakota that I poured and developed.

Hector in the dark room pouring colloidon before the silver bath.

In the dark room with safety lights on, the plate goes into the silver nitrate bath

After the silver nitrate bath, the plate is loaded into a light sealed box that mounts to the camera

Preparing the plate
A tintype or ferrotype is typically a piece of blackened metal or japanned tin that has been treated to become sensitive to light. The colloidon solution is poured over a clean plate and as solvent evaporates, a film is created. The plate is then submerged in a tank filled with silver nitrate, and a chemical reaction is caused which makes the silver sensitive to light. With a safe light, the plate is removed from the silver bath and loaded into a film holder for immediate use. There is a window of roughly 15 minutes for the plate to be exposed to light and developed before the chemicals dry up.

The camera we used for our tintypes. Scoville wet plate from about 1875. Lens is a Dallmeyer 3B, patented about 1868.

One of our setups. Exposure time was 4 seconds for this light.

Exposing the plate
Outside of the darkroom, a large format camera has already been set up and focused and all that’s missing is the light sensitive plate. Focus is then double checked and then the plate holder is inserted onto the back of the camera, blocking any further viewing through the ground glass. With an ISO of about 1, it’s not uncommon for exposure times to fall in the 5-10 second range, even in broad day light. Smiling is not recommended for these long exposure times.

Under the dark cloth, looking through the ground glass at Carlos. The image is reversed and upside.

With a large format camera, the lens cap can be used to prevent light from exposing the film/plate, and the film holder also has a dark slide, which is a piece of metal that protects the light sensitive film/plate while the lens cap is off. To take a photo, the lens cap is put on and the dark slide is removed, and then the photo is taken by removing the lens cap and counting out the seconds, and reapplying the lens cap.

Making an exposure. The Litedisc was used to shade the lens, preventing lens flare.

Developing the plate
After the plate is exposed, it’s immediately taken back into the dark room and developer is poured on. When exposure reaches desired levels, water is used to rinse the developer off, and then the plate is fixed in a bath of potassium cyanide. The lights can now be turned on but the final step is a varnish in order to prevent tarnish.

Back in the darkroom with safety lights, developer is poured onto the plate.

Watching the plate develop.

Tintype of Alexa after rinsing off the developer, ready for fixer.

Fixing the tintype of Alexa in potassium cyanide.

Here are some of the results we had from the day of shooting:

The first tintype of the day.

Liza

The tintype Dakota took of me.

A glass negative – me on the left.

Carlos

Hector

Tintypes ready for varnish

Many thanks to Nick and Dave!

If you want to see more tintypes, check out Nick and Dave’s website.

Two tintype videos:
1. Photographer Robb Kendrick explains the process behind photographing and developing tintypes.
2. Ian Ruhter, Silver & Light

When I got into photography in late 2005, I went straight to a digital SLR and I didn’t look back, until now. Last November I bought my first real film camera. I purchased a used Pentax 67, skipped the traditional 35mm film format and went straight to medium format.

My new (to me) Pentax 67, metered prism and SMC 105mm 2.4 lens.

At first I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of using hand held light meters and writing down exposure details in a notebook but I’ve actually grown to enjoy it. Everything down to the focusing is accomplished manually, which can be tricky if you’re in a rush. In addition to this, there are only 10 photos per roll of film since the Pentax 67 shoots 6×7.

View from the top

Changing out an exposed roll of Portra 400

The result is a methodical process that makes you think about composition and dialing in the focus and exposure before taking the photo, rather than fixing something later on the computer. It’s not a camera I shoot with every day and it definitely helps that I have access to a dark room/chemicals and a digital lab with scanners on campus this semester. Overall it’s something that I wish I had tried sooner, as it’s a process I’m really enjoying.

Here are some photos I’ve taken with the Pentax. The color photos were scanned/developed by North Coast Photographic Services and the black and white I developed and scanned on campus.

Steve – Ilford Delta 400

Chula Vista Salt Works – Kodak Portra 400

Chula Vista – Kodak Tri-X 400

Chula Vista Salt Works – Kodak Portra 400

Josiah – Kodak Tri-X 400

Chula Vista – Fujicolor Pro 400H

Old Town – Ilford Delta 400

Fernando/Nondo (me) – Kodak Tri-X 400

This spring I signed up for a beginning photography class at Southwestern College to fulfill my general ed art requirement. The department was just remodeled last year and the beginners class is completely digital. For one of our first assignments, we had to go out and take some photos that would demonstrate the difference between fast and slow shutter speeds. I immediately thought of my friend John and his woodturning lathe.

Below are some photos I took of John working on a bowl made from a piece of eucalyptus wood.

See some finished bowls on John’s website: www.ticklingmedusa.com.

My site has been awfully quiet lately but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been taking photos. Instead of excuses I offer photos. I normally limit myself to small number of photos to show at the end of the year, but I thought’d I’d use this post to show some of my favorites that I’ve been neglecting. It’s hard to believe another year has already gone by.

New USFW building, Chula Vista

WWII Veteran Frank Wada

Sunny Jim Cave, La Jolla

Samantha

Del Mar Fair

Scripps Pier, La Jolla

Gaslamp District, San Diego

Childrens Pool, La Jolla

Hawthorn Street, San Diego

Good Guys Car Show, Del Mar

Pacific Beach

Nena. 1997 – 2011

Pacific Beach

Chula Vista Salt Works

Del Mar

Wave Swinger, Del Mar Fair

Samantha

Sweetwater Reservoir

Sunrise Highway

Childrens Pool, La Jolla

Maricopa County, AZ

The Children’s Pool in La Jolla, also known as the Casa, is a small beach partially protected by a seawall. The seawall was built in 1931 with the intention of creating a protected area for children to swim and play. These days the area is home to seals and sealions who inhabit the beach year round.

Last Sunday I made a trip out to La Jolla to take some photos after dark. I brought along my tripod and cable release and made my way down to the seawall. I was pleased to the beach was nearly deserted as space is at a premium out on the seawall. I was originally concerned as I needed the space to extend the legs on my tripod for stability in the wind without creating an obstacle for other visitors but this turned out not to be an issue.

( Click for a larger photo )

Here is a collection of nine of my favorite photos taken in 2010. Enjoy.

Wave Swinger, Del Mar Fair

Perseids, Anza-Borrego Desert

California Two-spot Octopus, Chula Vista Nature Center

Cabrillo National Monument

Tyto the Barn Owl, Chula Vista Nature Center

Downtown San Diego

Milky Way Galaxy, Anza-Borrego Desert

South Bay Salt Works, Chula Vista

The Strip, Las Vegas

In the early morning hours of December 14th, the Geminid meteor shower reached its peak. After dinner on the 13th, I met up with friends (aka party riders) and we hit the road, destined for a location far away from the city and its light pollution. All but one of us had spent the day taking finals so we embraced the open road. We drove for about two hours until we reached our first destination, the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The moon set was scheduled for about 12:30 AM that night, leaving us with an hour until the sky darkened.

The night air was much cooler than I had anticipated but thankfully I brought an extra jacket, blankets and a warm drink. Meteors were darting across the sky in every direction. After the moon disappeared behind the mountains, we began driving home, heading up the mountains past Julian to the 79, stopping again not far from Lake Cuyamaca. The skies were not as clear as they had been for Perseid meteor shower back in August but my fellow travelers and I agreed that the large number of meteors we were seeing more than made up for the hazy conditions. We must have seen one meteor every 30-60 seconds, often times many more.

We remained in the Mount Laguna area for another hour before the frigid air and strong winds got the better of us and we decided it was time to go. We arrived back in Chula Vista at about 4:30 AM, exhausted but happy. It was a great way to start the winter break.

To view more photos visit the gallery below.

Gallery: Geminid Meteor Shower 2010

View Larger Map

The Palomar Observatory is an active astronomical research facility owned and operated by the California Institute of Technology. The observatory is a scenic two hour drive north of downtown San Diego, located at an elevation of 5,500 feet within the Cleveland National Forest. The Palomar Observatory is home to six research telescopes including the 200-inch Hale telescope, the 48-inch Samuel Oschin telescope and a 60-inch reflecting telescope.

The 200-inch Hale Telescope (f/3.3) was the world’s largest effective telescope for 45 years (1948 – 1993). It remains a workhorse of modern astronomy with an average of 290 nights of data collection a year, weather permitting.

On Saturday I went up to Mount Palomar to visit the observatory. At the time I had only one childhood memory of the observatory where I waited in line for what seemed like hours on a chilly winter night to look through the 60-inch telescope. Saturday’s visit didn’t involve any telescope viewing but instead a guided tour of the 200-inch Hale Telescope.

To view more photos visit the gallery below.

Gallery: Palomar Observatory

To plan your own visit or to learn more visit the Palomar Observatory website.

Back in February a local fisherman discovered the remains of a Navy SB2C-4 Helldiver on his fish finder. The fisherman probably wasn’t the first to discover the plane, but he was the first to contact someone who knew what to do about it.

Yesterday A&T Recovery, a Chicago-based firm, raised the wrecked SB2C-4 Helldiver from Lower Otay Lake. The Helldiver had been resting at the bottom of the lake in 90 feet of water for 65 years. After an engine failed on May 28, 1945, pilot E.D. Frazar was forced to crash land the plane. Both the pilot and Army gunner Joseph Metz survived and swam to shore.

The SB2C-4 is rare. It’s an SB2C-1 but fitted with wing racks for eight 5 inch rockets or 1,000 lb bombs. According to Wikipedia only 2,045 were built but there are only maybe two or three others in the world today.

The plane could remain in San Diego until as late as Sunday before it’s ready for the drive to Pensacola Florida, where it will be restored and put on display at The National Naval Aviation Museum.

To view more photos visit the gallery below.

Gallery: SB2C-4 Helldiver

The barn owl is one of the many species of predatory birds exhibited at the Chula Vista Nature Center. The barn owl shown in these photographs is named Tyto, derived from her species’ scientific name, Tyto alba. Tyto was rescued as a chick and is now approximately 3 months old.

Tyto at 2 weeks

Since barn owls consume more rodents than possibly any other creature and subsequently eliminate pests, these adept hunters are considered to be one of the most economically valuable wildlife animals.

Tyto at 3 months

To view more photos visit the gallery below.

Gallery: Young Barn Owl