Dry plate experiments

This week saw me take delivery of the glass plate negatives that I had exposed in my workshop at Streetlevel Photoworks, Glasgow.

Although I had prepared 5 plates I was only able to expose 2 of them because the class had over run and I had to catch my train home or sleep on a park bench!

Very excited to view my glass plates I was disappointed that exposure in both is incorrect. The element that is perfect though was my model Mr Donald Tainsh.

Even though I am unhappy with the exposures I must conclude that I have learnt all that is required to continue my dry plate experiments in confidence and now that the summer is upon us I also have the time to play and perfect my new found skills.
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Mr Donald Tainsh

Since writing this blog I received an e-mail attachment from Donald of a professionally scanned version of the above negatives.  Because we had sat for each other in the dry plate class we had agreed to swap negatives so that we might take ownership of our own portraits.  When I snapped the above photograph I had just laid the plates onto a light box. The scanned glass plate however does much better justice to the image.