Possible AMBROTOS KANATA Shooting Location

Found this place today, Fort Simpson Northwest Territories. I think it might be a good place to shoot, tell the story of the region and its Inuit culture. It is accessible by road, paved highway. Much of NWT and Yukon have limited access via roads.

Fort Simpson, NWT

Video: Lundbreck Falls, 11x14 inch Clear Glass Ambrotype

Tree Patterns, 14x14 inch Clear Glass Ambrotype, AMBROTOS KANATA, Elk Island National Park, Canada, September 2024

Gerry Collodion, Hypo, Vinegar Developer

OId Wood Frames?

I really like the look of old wood frames. I like them even better than the modern new, beautiful moulds. Using old wood to make frames also fits into the Ambrotypes 1851 vintage!! Thinking of making up my own frames in a similar style, using my new carpentry tools. We shall see how it goes; I think it's a possibility.

Shipping Boxes?

I am thinking about making shipping boxes for the framed Ambrotypes. If I am going to exhibit the work nationally, the glass needs to be protected! I think its a good plan, counting my chickens before they hatch here, but you gotta plan ahead! Plus it is fun to think this way!!!

YouTube Video: How to build a shipping box

Honey Seems the Way to Go!

I am thinking honey might be the way to go with the whole keeping my plates wet longer thing. Vegetable Glycerin works well but is more expensive than honey. I can buy 5kg (pail) of honey locally for $45 CAD. I will dilute the honey with water, not sure how much just yet, but 5kg should last a long time. Plus the honey thing goes along with my buying my wet plate chemicals form the grocery store theme, white vinegar, sugar, distilled water etc.

Note* The plan being to coat the plates with a mix of honey and water after fixing and a short water bath. I can then transport the Ambrotypes to a place where they can be thoroughly washed. You have to go from wet to dry with Ambrotypes, if you dry and rewet the collodion emulsion is likely to come off. In olden times, photogs used honey to keep the plates wet. I am following their well-trodden path!

Video: Elk Island 14x14 Tree Patterns

 Tree Patterns, 14x14 inch Clear Glass Ambrotype, AMBROTOS KANATA, Elk Island National Park, Canada, September 2024

Gerry Collodion, Hypo, Vinegar Developer

Video: Double Falls, Lundbreck, Alberta, 2024

 

Video: 14x14 Inch Plate of the Plant

 Plant, 14x14 inch Clear Glass Ambrotype, AMBROTOS KANATA, Edmonton Canada, September 2024

Centre Street Bridge Calgary

 This is the bridge I scootered to and made Ambrotypes from all day on Saturday.

Wikipedia: Centre Bridge Calgary

Baby Oil?

I am looking for a better way to keep the Ambrotypes plates wet during transfer times to washing.

I currently use a system of cement making trays stacked and loaded with plates, each tray has about 1 1/2 inches of water in it.  I can carry the trays in the darkroom trailer Fanny or on the deck of the flatbed BEAST truck. The system works quite well, thou there is splash and some water leaks out. The down side is the water sloshing about sometimes damages the sensitive collodion emulsion. This last trip I lost one plate that way.

My wet plate books recommend coating the Ambros with a 50/50 mix of water and glycerin. I tried that for the first time yesterday and it worked fine. It might become my preferred method to transport wet plates. The problem is the cost, 1000 ml of vegetable glycerin costs about $25 CAD.

Can I devise a cheaper alternative? I did that with many other chemicals in the process.

I was looking online last night for something that might work. I came up with mineral oil (baby oil). A 590 ml bottle of “Equate Baby Oil” from Walmart costs $6.20 CAD. That means it is about 1/2 the cost of vegetable glycerin. I will buy a bottle and test it next shoot. If this works, baby oil will become my “keep the plate wet till washing” method. If not I might have to go with the more expensive glycerin.

Cement trays loaded with plates.