Working in the field with the Wet Collodion process provides interesting challenges, everything from the weather, temperatures and even microclimates can cause the chemicals to be fussy and not work correctly, I’ve had days and even weekends when my chemicals just didn’t want to work.

 

The next problem, the general public, even after explaining the process, that I need to develop or transfer the sensitized plate, to the plate holder in dark room like conditions, they ask or even mistake my portable darkroom as a camera.  This has caused me to move my dark-box to a less prominent area of my camp.

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The Portable Dark Room, these came in many different designs, some were small carts, others were wagons, small tents, with others being wooden boxes of various types of configurations.

The photographer could actually purchase, what was often simply referred to as a Dark-tent, or Dark-box.  Our Dark-box has evolved, some, starting with a wooden box with a window to allow light inside.

The Design was loosely designed was based upon a dark-box that is crafted by Black Art Woodcraft.
Our Design even used a similar design stand, which proved to be unstable in part because of my physical height, and a requirement to have the dark box internal work surface as a high a the counters in Julie child’s kitchen.

The Next question I do get once in a while is did you make it?  No, I didn’t make the box, at the time I didn’t have the skills. however, I did design it and finish it. My skills with regards to woodworking were limited primarily to finishing work.  so, I stained, the exterior, painted in the interior, added the handles. the shroud, and support for the shroud.

I choose the yellow, as it’s bright, allowing better visibility within the dark-box, as well as being a color that collodion film is blind too. I eventually painted my entire darkroom the same yellow.  Also, yellow was the color traditionally used within dark-boxes  

This is one of the few surviving portable dark-boxes from the 19th century, I’m not sure it was ever actually used as silver nitrate tends to eat wood, and get on everything.  Style of dark-box, I call the suitcase style, when it’s closed, it resembled a suitcase

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As the original stand to our Dark-box provided to be unstable, I and with a realization that many dark-boxes were supported by a tripod I began designing a new stand.  – note the dark-box in the image, it’s more of the suitcase style, but it supported by a tripod support.

Here’s another modern dark-box designed like the suitcase style, built as I understand it by Mark Osterman and later sold to the photographer using it.  this photo was taken 20+ years ago when collodion artist where activity working at reenactments.

Interesting note about her garb is that she’s wearing a long coat, this style coat almost seemed to be the in style for a photographer of the period working in the field that along with a basic straw hat.  Mathew Brady, Timothy O’Sullivan, and even Alexander Gardner have been photographed wearing similar coats in the field.

back to our Dark-box, the opportunity presented itself, Ty Guillory, on his page Guillory Cameras was selling plans for a platform tripod.  I purchased the plans and adapted them for use with my Dark-box, recreating the cleat design in the bottom of the tripod, then adding a conventional sized mounting bolt in the bottom of the dark box, this allows me to effectively use a single bolt to attach the dark-box to the tripod, while preventing it from twisting on the platform.

the top is made from solid cherry – a board that I fell in love with because of the grain that I found at the store specializing in hardwood, the legs are made from oak.  The next aspect was after looking at my Zone IV wood tripod, I noticed it had two sets of bolts for the lower extension of the leg, so, I simply added another set. this prevents the leg from collapsing.

So, with the exception of smooth or slippery surfaces, tripod support is extremely solid, when used in conditions where I have smooth or slippery surfaces I either drive a stake in the ground at the end of each leg, or I use anti-skid mats under each leg.

our Darkbox is ideal for the whole plate sized plates but becomes a little tight for 8×10, it’s also not particularly portable, I’m working on a couple of different design idea for more portability, and would eventually like to build or purchase a cart such as the one Barbara L. Stevenson uses. This I feel would allow me to move my camera around to different locations at events, working more as an itinerant photographer. 

here are some different photo’s & drawings of dark tents, boxes, carts, and wagons.

 

So, is the Dark Box a Camera.. no, it’s literary just a big wooden box used as my portable dark room, the only things that my dark box has in it when it’s setup is maybe a tray, some bottles, paper towels and a bunch of silver stains.  I did add a couple of strips of LED lights hidden in the top for extra lighting when using it indoors.

late last year, I was showing some different people, some documents that I’ve put together in a folder talking about our camp.  This folder continually grows with our camp, as we add items I tend to research the item and write a little info about it.

growing up, and having belonged to the Renaissance Military Society, we often spent time researching and in some cases documenting. Items, clothing etc. to prove the historical correctness.

Within the greater reenacting circles, the American Civil War is considered entry level reenacting. Unfortunately, there is also a great number of people, who often take the whole hobby as a big cosplay convention that is focused on the American civil war. while giving them excuses to, go burn powder.  These people also often give the wrong impressions making those who spend a lot of time an energy, learning the history and taking the extra effort to share that history, while doing the best that they can to provide an impression that the person and their items walked out of a history book.  – our camp is no exception to that.  and frankly, I was insulted when someone referred to my camera, and items within our camp as props. Then, to add fuel to that fire, there are people within the hobby, that create drama by not understanding basic skills that most people during the mid 19th century would have a basic understanding.

Thus, I started writing documents about the everything within our camp, which includes caring for the canvas tents, setting up, tearing them down and even folding them.
I’ve made wood and canvas cots originally based on plans from a book published in 1859 called the prairie traveler.

The fun part is that I’ve been able to share that info and help people with setting up their tents, folding them and so on.

anyway, my goal, to finish by end of the year and with help is to take sections of this folder to create a book, targeted towards the civil war reenactor, to help them take their impressions to the next level.

 

 

 

This basically is our last major event of the year, 2 days of School days and 2 days of working. with the travel of about 6 drive, done the day before School days, and the day after.

it takes us about 3-4 hours to setup and teardown our camp.

over the two days, of school day presentations, the event hosted some 3500 students of classes ranging from 20-40 students & parents, with a 15-minute presentation.  during that time I came up with a nice patented presentation, that keeps the student’s attention while pouring them full of facts, about photography. along with some of the amazing things that were introduced with collodion photography.

I’m proud of myself, in that I was invited to give a paid presentation to a school in Fresno California, early next year.

This year, we were placed under some Monkey Puzzle trees, that dropped everything they could on our tents, requiring me to set up the tents, wash them and fold them back up before storing them for the winter. However, we were also placed in the corner of the Artisan and Civilian town, this allowed for greater visibility, and ended up keeping us so busy that, we never had a chance to leave and visit the rest of reenactment.

but, I was able to take some nice photo’s

Then Finally, I have some new idea’s that I’m developing to offer as I hope low-cost alternative for students and hopefully everyone else to enjoy as a Battle Born Historical photography exclusive item. – that if the idea goes will be expanded upon.

Here’s a teaser hint, it’s something that many photographers worked on, something that many modern collodion photographers have thought of. it was something that was popularized during the Civil War, that I’m hoping to reintroduce.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I was 1st invited and heard about this event I wasn’t sure about it. Was it really going to happen?  Was I even going to attend this event? When I was originally invited, I said I couldn’t afford the booth fee’s and was then promised to be setup as an exhibitor, which was then left there without any further contact from the event coordinator.  if it hadn’t been for the efforts of the folks who coordinate Tanner’s antiques and craft show, who invited me in the end, and provided me space with basically the same deal that they’ve done for me at Tanners, I wouldn’t have attended, this too was basically however last minute.

needless say, I was able to pull things together at the last minute while recruiting my daughter to help.  I borrowed a wonderful 1870’s military saddle, some chaps, a couple of whips, some lasso rope, that in the end was unfortunately never used, if I use the saddle again, I would like to make a saddle stand for it. I also bought some other items, that I normally have available.

I’m pleased to state, that the majority of those who had a tintype taken where re-enactors, who kept me busy on Saturday.  and had it not been for them, I wouldn’t have been able to pay my booth fees, and other incidentals for an event that had little to no advertising and was held at the Reno-convention center who charges everyone $10.00 day for parking, plus extra for an extension cord plugged into the wall behind me.

on the upswing, while my lighting is adequate, I’ve decided for these events I would like to upgrade the lamp fixtures on my continuous lights and drop my strobes, hopefully bringing my exposures from 10 seconds and a strobe pop down to about 6 seconds without the strobe.

granted I did like having the curtains and the tables with their covers, and I think adding the borrowed wire grid work to display and try to sell some of my framed photo’s added to the overall look.

I am also pleased to state my chemicals and gear worked flawlessly the only retakes were ones where I didn’t get the lighting adjusted correctly which caused weird shadows.

This is one of my more favorite photo’s that I took of one of my fellow Comstock Civil War Reenactors, he portrays Allen Pinkerton.

It’s sad, the event has a lot of potential, however as a small antique dealer or a starving artist. The booth space, the incidentals, travel & room cost of the Reno convention center and the Alantas Casino/hotel has caused a great number of the vendors vowing that if the event occurs next year, they will not be attending. For me, the jury is still out. as to Tanners Antiques and crafts show. I’ll definitely be setting up there again.  Some of the framed photo’s will be traveling to a gallery in Carson City Nevada while the others will be returning to the Churchill County offices, and if the smoke ever clears enough to let me get out, I’ll be able to do some work on the O’Sullivan project. now that I have a better idea of the collodion recipe that O’Sullivan was likely using.

 

 

 

 

Working with a lot of the public at different events, with a focus on living history/reenacting. I’ve set myself up more as a 19th-century itinerant photographer.
As part of that I carry a lot of items, that are designed and built to be reasonably historically representative and functional.  My Darkbox or portable darkroom is no-exception.

Historically, there are many different designs to choose from as exemplified in catalogs, photographs and a small handful remaining of historic examples.

Unfortunately, I’m afraid that too many people have watched too much television, leading to the most common assumption that my darkbox is my camera, along with many other questions based upon myth created out of the silver screen.

 

My Darkbox is simply a wooden box, with a window and some tenting added, that provides a dark area, with limited light, that does not affect the collodion film. a safe-light. and while I have given my dark box a nice finish, which is very Victorian. these items were commercially available or were crafted for the photographer based upon their specifications.

When designing my darkbox, I looked at historical and modern examples. with the basic caveat that it needed to be light enough for me to move and setup by myself, it also needed to have enough working space for a 5×7 sized silver bath, plate holder, and trays.

fortunitly, it’s also big enouph that I can with some careful manipulations work with an 8×10, it is however a tight space. leading to eventually updated to something more portable. but with more space

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not being terribly flush in money to invest in purchasing a crafted darkbox, with the stand and tenting. I opted to talk to a local woodworker to craft the box for me.  The basic design was is similar to some of the modern crafted darkboxes, in particular, Steves of Black art Woodcraft who makes wonderful period style cameras, and point of fact is the same person who originally crafted my camera.

 

The following year of use I crafted the tripod stand. based upon plans from Ty Guillory for his platform tripod.  The tripod stand was a vast improvement making the whole thing more stable as well as being more historically correct.

 

 

I suppose, because I often set my darkbox up towards the front of the camp and that it’s on a tripod stand that this also adds to the confusion, but again people seemingly are fascinated by it, wanting to see the inside, take pictures of it, and so on. again to me it’s not particularly special, other than being finished box. that’s been stained a dark color, and painted yellow on the inside, it now proudly displays silver stains all over the inside.

the next question, why is it painted yellow inside. the answer is actually very simple, it’s a bright color that allows us to see more easily while tucked inside, plus collodion film is basically blind to color, again one of those safe colors. additionally, the majority of the wet-plate dark-boxes were also painted yellow on the inside

 

Finally, I would eventually prefer a cart, allowing me more space along with the ability to be more mobile at events, and I just recently learned who designed and crafted this cart, that was sold to another wet-plate photographer located in the northwest. and have asked him for his basic designs. 

 

This is our primary Camera, it’s an early camera crafted by Stephen Silipigni of Black Art Woodcraft.  He calls this design the Ross 8 x 10 field camera. Today, Thousands of children and adults alike have looked through our camera, becoming one of the main attractions of our camp. It seems as if nearly everyone is astounded by the clarity of the lenses while questioning why the image is upside down.

Unfortunately,  unannounced to us when we purchased the camera used.  We learned That it had, had a hard life. It was originally crafted for someone in Europe and was severely damaged in shipping, then cobbled back together by Steve to be used as a backup camera. It was never supposed to be resold.

When I started looking for a more period correct 8 x 10 camera, I basically had the choice of looking for an antique, with an average cost of about $2,000.00 while likely needing restoration. Or purchasing a new purpose built a camera for about the same price without restoration, I chose the latter option. This narrowed my choice between two different manufacturers, remembering I wanted a period style. leaving me to choose between a 8 x 10 crafted by Star Camera Company or an 8 x10 crafted by Black Art Woodcraft.  Out of the two cameras, I preferred the Black Art Woodcraft camera. However, the average turnaround to have one crafted by Black Art Woodcraft is 6 months to a year. At the time, We choose to purchase a used one, to reduce the overall cost and wait time.

Perhaps when my skills increase, and I start earning more money with the camera, I’ll have one crafted for me. The average cost of a modern crafted Ross 8 x 10 field camera is close to $2500.00.  I find it interesting, some of the collodionist who have been working the craft for a number of years will often end up with a camera crafted for them. Then, when articles are written about the photographer, Their primary camera often receives some notoriety. None of these cameras are mass produced and are traditionally produced for the photographer, or they are using an 1860’s era wet-plate camera.

We are always open to donations to help us purchase a new camera specifically built for me.

While my camera wasn’t specifically crafted for me, and it does have some mechanical issues which Steve is willing to address. I’ve been quoted a price of nearly half the cost of what we paid for the camera, With the additional down time. At present time I have not made a plate holder or lens boards for my 8 x 10 film camera, so, basically, I would be hobbled, limiting my ability to work. Additionally, As we are on a shoestring budget I’ve chosen to work with a woodworker and machinist to craft new support structure for the camera box. Creating a new brass T-slot track, allowing me to lock the focus of the camera.  For the last couple of years I’ve been limping along using the camera, and unfortunately, it has accidentally been knocked over a couple of times.  Causing further damage, making it very difficult if not impossible to lock back standard in place holding my focus, for my most commonly used portrait lens. This last weekend, at Red Bluff Civil War days, really proved that point requiring someone to help hold the rear standard in place.

Additionally, I have encountered a few other issues, such as creating new lensboards and inserts for different sized plates. And then finally the occasional light leak, when locking the plate holder into the camera.

So, in short, by the time we are done, I’ll have a camera that’s been customized for me. with dreams of eventually ordering a new one, or learning the skills to craft my own.

as we work on the camera, I’ll update this posting.

Here are some different photos of the camera.

 

 

The Conley Camera Company of Rochester, Minnesota, was a little-known player in the arena of early 20th-Century photography. Selling their products mainly through the Sears catalog, Conley made cameras and photographic accessories from 1899 to 1927. The majority of their cameras were by no means high-end; Conley made inexpensive cameras for the masses. That does not mean that they were poorly-made–some Conley features were downright ingenious, and their hand-crafted mahogany, cherry, and nickel-plated cameras were things of beauty. Although they would never become serious competitors with industry giants such as Kodak, their influence was widespread thanks to their relationship with the Sears catalog. In the years before the Mayo Clinic’s rise to worldwide fame, the Conley Camera Co was arguably the most successful enterprise in Rochester, MN, up to that time.

Today, very little is known about Conley cameras. Their camera models are often misidentified if they are identified at all. Many people who have one of their plate cameras think that they were made in 1907 because of the date on the front. That is, in fact, the patent date of the front standard locking mechanism and bears no relationship at all to the manufacturing date. Most of their cameras can be found here, cross-referenced among the various names they sometimes sold under. Not absolutely everything is included: for example, the 700-lb Queen City Specimen Camera No 42–only one of which is known for certain to have been made–is absent (though if I can locate it, I’ll include a photo) . But for the most part, if it could be purchased on the mass market, you’ll find it here. To my knowledge, this is the most comprehensive assembly of Conley products extant. No doubt, it will continue to grow as previously-unknown models come to light.

we originally found our Conley camera at an antique yard sale. I crafted a new lensboard, added a lens, and gave the camera complete tune-up, patching the bellows, cleaning and oiling the wood and metal.  My experience showed me that the Conley cameras are nice lightweight cameras, with several movements. I did take a few film photo’s using the camera

Here are some different photos of the camera.