Before the end of 2011, I knew I had to get another custom wet-plate collodion camera to add to my collection. Last February, I secured a hand-crafted, 20 x 24 cherry wood collodion camera from Rochester, New York.

In December, Sherilyn and I made the trek north again to pick up “The Beast,” a custom 40 x 40 collodion wet-plate camera. This one-of-a-kind camera is the only one of its size and design in the United States.

{We didn't name this camera "The Beast" for no reason.}

I had seen pictures as the camera was coming together, but didn’t really grasp the sheer size of the finished camera. It took four of us — me, my wife Sherilyn, the designer Steve and his wife HA, to load the camera into our trailer.

Steve’s wife took all of our rigging and bungee cords and went to work securing “The Beast.” After about an hour, she had it tightly secured into the trailer so it wouldn’t budge during our 16-hour drive back to Kansas.

We’ll be shooting several new collodion wet-plate photography series with “The Beast” this spring. We’ll get custom trays, a table tripod and tanks to accompany the new 40 x 40 in its new home at Thomas Gibson Studio. Stay tuned to the blog and our Facebook page for bonus photographs and updates on what’s to come in 2012.

Cheers,
TG
Thomas Gibson/Thomas Gibson Studio

Thomas Gibson Studio is pleased to offer a glimpse of “The Flight” part three (check here for part one and check here for part two).

Want to see more collodion wet-plate photography? “Like” Thomas Gibson Studio on Facebook for regular updates and additional collodion wet-plate images.

From a collodion perspective, “Flight” is a unique blend of two different types of wet-plate photography processes. Each 20 x 24 photo is part of a larger series that, once complete, will illustrate the entire poem.

{Our model for "Flight," Gwen, holds the finished piece.}

We hope to complete 20 images in the fairy tale series. This series has touches of old and new mixed into a series of large-production photographic metaphors.

{Collodion wet-plate photographer and model Gwen hold finished 20 x 24 collodion photographs of "Flight."}

The ferrotypes that accompany the poem are layered with an additional ambrotype line of poetry.

First the Ferrotype is shot of the model then later we photograph a large printed mural of the poem copy onto glass a Ambrotype. The two are sandwiched together to make the finished one of a kind piece!

Thomas Gibson Studio recently finished the first 20 x 24 ferrotype in a new collodion wet-plate series called “Flight.”

Inspired by a poem written by my niece Carly, “Flight” brings to life a story of a young woman who has always had dreams of taking flight to another place.

“Flight”

Who can say what makes the soul take flight?
A breath of wind can change a spirit’s course.
On wings we seek our dreams, our selves,
That flesh and bone might take our truest form.
There’s a child born every now and then.
With a yearning that flutters and darts.
And all of the trappings and lures of this world.
Can’t capture her wildness of heart.
She’d let her heart fly free and soar,
If it grow a pair of wings.
Though it would go, at least she’d know
That it was free of earthbound dreams.
She packs for a time she can’t sense yet,
Taking little to nothing at all.
Her love is her freedom, her hope — the horizon
And to follow its sirens call.
To trilling notes she’d dance and float
Her feet as fleet as birds uncaged;
Her dream-flight dress rehearsal
For the somedays that she craved
From deep within, the skysong called:
It was Piper to her cage’d will.
And though her feet were rooted deep,
Her hopeful spirit rallied still.
And so it happened, on a twilit ramble,
Watching violets ink across the sky,
The music of the heavens filled her being.
She flexed her wings, and fluttered into life.
Darting against the deepening sky,
Pursuing-at last-the vanishing gold,
The youngling winged with rapture
And gloried in it hundredfold.
With twigs, with string, with bric-a-brac
We build a nest we’re bound to leave
Errant feathers may be left behind,
But brought along are the things unseen.

Thematically, it involves the struggles of good and evil in the reality of the young woman’s world. She grew up in nature’s world and had always put herself in many of the fairy tales she read as a child. As she matures she encounters the simplicity of nature and continues to yearn for other worlds

To help bring this theme to life, we hired Portland, Oregon, artist Geahk Burchill to design the head bust of the crow and wings. We discovered Geahk on Etsy, one of our favorite online spots for inspiration.

The wings are individually airbrushed with extreme attention to detail. He designed a special harness for our model to put on puts on; then, the wings are attached to give them a realistic shape.

Check back next week for part two of the Flight.

Thomas Gibson Studio invites you to venture to Lecompton, Kansas — just a few minutes outside of Lawrence — to spend time with us in our 7,200 square-foot natural light studio.

This fall, on September 17, we’ll host an introductory, entry-level seminar for curious artists of all skill levels and interests. “Ambrotype 101” introduces you to the history of the Ambrotype photography process. After a brief overview of the history and fundamentals of the process, you’ll then jump right in to preparing your own wet plate image.

As the weather cools down and fall finally arrives, you’ll be able to come back to the studio for another introductory seminar on classic photography processes. If you miss us in September, join us on October 21 for an overview of the Ferrotype/Tintype process and a day of hands-on learning and creativity.

Each session kicks off with an overview of past, present and future wet-plate photographers as well as a lesson in photographic chemistry and suggested inspirational reading lists before each attendee begins exposing a plate and varnishing his or her unique Ambrotype or Ferrotype/Tintype.

Space is limited to five spots per workshop so each attendee can fully experience and connect with everyone, myself included, for a more enriching session of truly hands-on learning.

For more information or to reserve your spot now, click the embedded flyer below.

In part two of the series “The Illustrated Hand,” we highlight four more collodion wet-plate photographs.

{The Promise No. 1}

The idea of “The Promise” mini-series is holding onto something special like being able to unlock a door to somewhere or taking a new adventure. It’s holding onto the strength and promise to explore new areas.

{The Promise No. 2}

“The Promise No. 2” is more about exploring the strength and hope we all possess to dream and pursue.

{The Promise No. 3}

{The War and the Rose}

“The War and the Rose” is the contrast of brutality and innocence. It’s this dichotomy that creates the power of this metaphor. This is one of the darker ones in this series.

For one of my most recent collodion wet plate photography series, I experimented with the juxtaposition of simple, everyday objects with an elegant, vintage mannequin hand. My wife has a collection of vintage mannequin hands, and I have always wanted to produce a series ever since seeing them.

Entitled, “The Illustrated Hand,” this series of tin positives, or tintypes/ferrotypes, shot using my 8 x 10 collodion wet-plate camera. The ferrotypes are one of a kind, and limited editions of the series are available upon request.

“The Illustrated Hand” was inspired by my admiration of Marcel Duchamp and Irving Penn, two creative icons of their time.

These two unique artists both had large appetites for detail and concept. Duchamp made people think more abstractly and was a progressive in the conceptual art movement. His work crossed many different boundaries from, Assemblage art to sculpture.

Irving Penn was more noted for the elegant still life work he produced for Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar in the commercial realm. His later work was comprised of odd objects he often found on the street. I will never forget when he had a show at the art school I attended, Art Center College of Design. He showed 4-foot-by-5-foot prints of cigarette butts he had found on the streets of New York. The prints were mounted on steel.

From that day on I realized the power of simplistic storytelling imagery — something that has inspired all my work, but especially “The Illustrated Hand.” Penn’s large format, simplistic use of one object often told an entire story, stripping it all down to the purest, simplest element.

With influence from these two artists’ schools of thought, I found myself taking a little sample “point of view” from both artists to create a blend of simple conceptual metaphors.

{"The Artisan"}

A simple Japanese painting brush illustrates the artist or “The Artisan.”

{"The Flight"}

The butterfly is the purest form of beauty and elegance of flight. There is something special about the fragility and color of butterflies.

{"The Obscurist"}

“The Obscurist” is one of my favorite images. It’s the raw definition of early photography. That’s an early plastic Brownie camera. It’s ironic that I am employing an early 1800s process to create this image. It also harks back to the use of Camera Obscura, another genre of early image making.

{"The Visionist"}

“The Visionist” is a metaphor about a person who walks the earth and has vivid visions. I got the idea when I was watching a brilliant older movie, “The Illusionist,” starring Edward Norton. Somehow with the vintage glasses it has a feel of the older period movie.

Check back next month to see and read about the other half of “The Illustrated Hand” series, or go to my Facebook page to get a sneak peek of the images.

Thomas Gibson Studio started the summer 2011 Collodion Workshops season off with a full class during the height of Kansas tornado season. A group of four creative photographers gathered at the studio at the end of May to get intimate with the collodion wet-plate photography, a fine-art photography process that pays homage to the roots of American photography.

The five of us — Megan, Travis, Crystal, my partner Sherilyn and myself — spent a stormy Saturday sharing the details and experiencing the imperfect beauty of collodion wet-plate photography. Teaching this workshop was a complete shift from the world of fast digital photography and photo manipulation — and what made it even better was seeing how enthusiastic this first group of workshop participants were about the process.

“It was a great experience. I learned a lot of information on the wet-plate process, while performing and practicing the process in a relaxing and inspiring environment,” Megan told me. “At the end of the day, I left with my multiple finished plates, and the knowledge and references needed to start my own wet-plate studio. Along with this came the opportunity to further experience this process and others through future workshops and sessions, which I am looking forward to attending.”

Besides going through the history of the collodion process and actually developing a few of our own plates, my goal in these workshop sessions is to have connect with other artists and emerging talent and have fun. At the end of the day, we kicked back with a bottle of wine and glasses of beer to help unleash a few more creative juices.

“It was amazing and loads of fun — a great learning experience,” Travis says. “If you enjoy alternative processes then you will love the wet-plate collodion process.”

Our next workshop, Ambrotypes 101, is slated for this Saturday. Stay on top of the Collodion Workshops schedule or give me a call to find out more information. If you can’t make it to a workshop soon, check out highlights from a recent collodion wet-plate demo below, and see even more videos on Thomas Gibson Studio’s new YouTube page.

Spring is here, and warmer weather has been making its way to the prairie lands one day at a time. With better weather and easier travel opportunities upon us all, Thomas Gibson Studio invites you to venture to Lecompton, Kansas — just a few minutes outside of Lawrence — to spend time with us in our 7,200 square-foot natural light studio.

This spring, we’ll host an introductory, entry-level seminar for curious artists of all skill levels and interests. “Wetplate 101” introduces you to the history of the Ambrotype photography process. After a brief overview of the history and fundamentals of the process, you’ll then jump right in to preparing your own wet plate image.

As the weather heats up and summer finally arrives, you’ll be able to come back to the studio for two more introductory seminars on classic photography processes. If you miss us in May, join us in June for another overview of the Ambrotype process and a day of hands-on learning and creativity. In July, we’ll work through the Ferrotype/Tintype processes as well.

Each session kicks off with an overview of past, present and future wet plate photographers as well as a lesson in photographic chemistry and suggested inspirational reading lists before each attendee begins exposing a plate and varnishing his or her unique Ambrotype.

Space is limited to five spots per workshop so each attendee can fully experience and connect with everyone, myself included, for a more enriching session of truly hands-on learning.

{Join us this spring and summer for our collodion wet-plate photography workshops.}

Everyone should take a road trip — a real, cross-country road trip — at least once. Whether you choose to set out on a road adventure during the beautiful summertime or, like we did, during the dead of a winter storm, be sure to make a few impromptu stops along the way.

Thomas Gibson Studio set out on a road trip to upstate New York a few weeks ago to pick up a much-anticipated custom-made collodion wet-plate camera from our friend Stephen of Rochester. Nearly 900 miles away from home, my wife Sherilyn and I decided to take some time to take in the sights at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. If you’ve never been and you have even the slightest appreciation for art — be it Warhol’s “Pop Art” or beyond — you should put viewing the pieces at the Warhol Museum on your to-do list. From a fine artist’s standpoint, visiting the Warhol Museum was both inspiring and uplifting. The museum houses seven stories of Warhol’s work, from his early abstract experimental films to his eclectic thrift store collections to his early sketches — which became iconic masterpieces — for major publications. It was a phenomenal experience. No matter whether you’re a fine artist, photographer, student or someone who just appreciates innovation and creativity, everyone will gain a new perspective on life and art by visiting the Warhol Museum.

Warhol’s influence on American art in the past 50 years is evident. His bold techniques — from blending silk screens with photography and painting — were way ahead of his time. Some may say that Warhol’s style was too simplistic or obvious, but that’s the irony in the work — from the marriage of commercially popular styles with a raw, blatant edge, he created pieces so catching, so unique, that they practically begged for attention — in a good way.

In addition to Warhol’s influence on the entire fine art community, his influence on my personal artistic vision is vast. The ideas of blending mediums in an unpredictable yet beautiful manner, with a daring sense of unpredictability and subtle charm, carried over into my personal fine art style — including my work with collodion wet-plate photography. I find that my own artistic process with collodion wet-plates mimics Warhol’s hands-on screening process. In collodion wet-plate photography, I produce plates, pour and mix the solutions, stage the shot, process it and varnish it. The process is repetitive, yet yields stunning new images that are obviously stylishly connected, yet can stand on their own as independent, one-of-a-kind pieces.

After we wrapped up at the Warhol Museum, we finished the last five hours of our 1,200-mile trip and made it up to Rochester, where we met our good friend Stephen and our new friend … the beautiful, cherry wood wet-plate camera. Stephen usually takes four to five months to craft a camera; I can say without doubt that he is one of the best custom-camera makers in the U.S.

Though I have experience with wet-plate photography, shooting with a new camera always reinvigorates the creative process. From getting a better feel for a fresh, custom-made collodion wet-plate camera to finding the perfect spot for it in my rural Kansas studio, I love making my way around a new piece of equipment and seeing how working with something I can truly call my own helps enliven my energy. With this new wet-plate camera, I’ll be shooting my new series, “Living Legends.” This new camera is sure to become a legend at Thomas Gibson Studio. In addition to this beautiful new camera, I’ll also have to invest in a scissor lift-type of equipment to enable me to travel with it and be able to also raise the camera higher and lower.

The shots of energy from visiting the Warhol Museum and finally meeting my new wet-plate photographer primed me for the last part of my winter road trip: a salt printing class with France Scully Osterman.

Salt printing goes hand-in-hand with the collodion wet-plate photography process that I’ve been perfecting for years. A salt print, or a salted paper print, is a photographic printing paper that is coated with a salt solution and a silver nitrate solution. The amount of hands-on work with the salt printing process is incredible. While I understand that most mainstream, digital photographers who may be unfamiliar with the process could see this process as tedious and time-consuming — can’t photo-editing software achieve the same effects? — the beauty in salt printing photography is achieved by the perfect balance of imperfection; the right amount of exposure to light, drying time and patience can produce an image so ethereal and emotional it simply cannot be replicated digitally. These types of prints require a time commitment — at least a full day — as well as an emotional commitment. The work flourishes even more when it’s obvious it’s been created with ample time and heart — and with that, the pieces could hold their own in specific gallery shows.

At France’s quaint home gallery and studio, she welcomed us with a wealth of salt print training and information. I’ll be sharing more details of France’s salt-printing lesson — including quick smartphone pictures and handout tutorials — on the blog in coming weeks.

What are your experiences in salt printing? Where would you go if you had a chance to take a cross-country road trip? What pit stops would you make on the way? Tell me about it in the comments section.