Archive for the 'dyi photography' Category
Wednesday, May 4th, 2022
Building a Wet Plate Frankenstein Camera and Capture a Ghost
Corrine of www.corrinewestmedia.co.uk booked a wet plate workshop before the pandemic started. Two years later we were finally able to do it. The main subject was to get comfortable with the wet collodion process and to create images similar to the ones of spirit photographer William H. Mumler. Mr. Mumler created images (probably double exposures) where his clients could take a picture with their deceased relatives. The photograph of Mary Todd Lincoln with the “ghost” of her husband (Abraham Lincoln) was his most famous one. Corrine found my double exposure wet plates and that was the reason she contacted me in the first place. About two months before the workshop Corrine surprised me with a question: “Can we build a wet plate camera together?”. I talked with a friend and after a long visit at a DIY market I was sure that we can do it. A DIY Camera and capturing ghosts, that sounds like a fun workshop for me 🙂
I could not capture everything in the video, because I was focused to deliver a great workshop experience. So let me explain a bit here. I build a diy camera kit so to say. But I did not want to build everything. It was important for me that we put the major parts together in person, to really create a camera and an understanding how a camera works.
It took me a long time to figure everything out, I wanted to create a diy camera, that is adaptable and upgradeable without any special parts. It also should be able to shoot portraits and landscape and if something breaks, just go to your diy marked and get a replacement part. The only thing needed is my self designed camera back. I wanted to invent/adapt something that you can get in the market, but I was without luck finding such a part. The 3D printed design took many hours and a lot of filament to work as expected.
For the lens I went for a 150mm Leitz Dimaron (F2.8), Elmaron (F2.8) or Hektor (F2.5). These lenses have three things in common. 150mm is kind of a “normal” lens for the 4×5 large format and they all have the same diameter and not too expensive if you buy them online. All of them are pretty sharp as well as you could see in the video (this was a Dimaron)
The camera and lens support is build like this one in that posting: Camera and Lens support
For the Film/Plate holder I decided to go for the std international 4×5 holders. I had them water jet cut for a clean look and we modified it with silver wires, because these are more resistant against acid and fit into the silver nitrate workflow
We were super happy with our first result. The portrait looked awesome and the resolution of the lens is great. When you look closely at the video you will see, that we used two boxes for portrait distance.
https://blog.markus-hofstaetter.at/2019/12/ho-to-make-a-ground-glass-for-a-large-format-camera/
Here is a detail scan of Corrine’s eye – pretty impressive result of a 4×5 plate shot with a self made camera and a projection lens.
For the spirit photographs that are inspired by Mr. Mumler we wend for wet plate double exposures.
To make our live easier, we marked all positions with sticky tape on the ground.
We decided to use my Dallmeyer 3B Petzval lens for the first double exposure, because it fits better to the time when the original images were captured.
The second double exposure was a bit more modern, but also should get the ghost look. For that we used a Zeiss 300mm F4.5 Tessar lens. This lens is pretty new (about 2ß-30 years old) and is very crisp. I thought that makes more sense for this kind of image and also fits to the story (see caption of the image)
What a great 3 Day workshop that was. We created so many different portraits. (more in the gallery) and time flew so fast. At this point I want to say thanks again to Corrine for visiting my workshop and trusting me with the camera design. I looking forward to see what she will do for her PHD with the wet collodion process.
Tuesday, March 8th, 2022
Varnishing Wet Plates with Lukas Varnish
At an external event I had once the issue, that I could not get rid of the dust on the varnish. So I worked out this solution with Stefan Schubert. You can find the links to all tools here: list.mhaustria.com
Wednesday, December 22nd, 2021
3D Printing for (analog) Photographers – Artillery Sidewinder X2 faild edition
Because I got asked a lot about 3D printing, I did this short introduction into it, or like I call it: let the fails continue.
It’s about the Artillery Sidewinder X2 and some broken parts. Very different to all these unboxing where everything works out of the box. I will show you also why a 3D printer can be very cool for photographers. Here you can find all tools I use for wet plate, 3D printing and filming: http://list.mhaustria.com
Tuesday, December 14th, 2021
Never give up – a 300mm Zeiss Tessar project with lots of fails
In todays video I documented my fails (wood working and 3d printing with sidewinder x1 – also building plate change of the sidewinder x1) while I tried to mount my new lens on my camera. I got this lens, because I do more and more wet plate family portraits and for that I wanted a sharp affordable lens. Normally I would show you guys how I did a family wet plate portrait(its online now, scroll down for the second part). But I couldn’t do it, because of our lockdowns. So I worked on a self portrait. To make this easier, I turned my studio into a darkroom, so I can move without getting a ghosty image on the plate. Because I put metal sheets into the ceiling during my studio renovation, I could mount the red light easily with magnets. To see the whole story, watch the video 🙂
First Part
Second Part
To find all the tools I used, check list.mhaustria.com
Tuesday, September 7th, 2021
Mobile Darkroom: Advanced Eskimo Quickfish 3 modification
I did a darkroom tent review some time ago and I still like that one, but after using a quickfish3 at the camera obscura festival I fell in love with it, because it’s much easier to setup. I also enjoy the extra space I got in this tent.
Maybe some of you may ask why I do a video about it. Let me explain: I talked with others how they modified their tent to make it light tight and got lots of great feedback. But I wanted to go for a more final solution, so I started digging. Lots of people use normal acrylic spray to close the little holes in the tent. Others use paint made for rims. To cover the zipper, people use a black reflector or a big towel to cover it. But this things are always in my way and I have to take them with me. After talking with professionals I figured that screen painting ink should be a final solution to cover holes, because it is designed to grab onto the structure of a fabric. A call with https://www.siebdruckladen.de was super helpful and brought me the final solution – thanks a lot for that. For the zippers, my girlfriend had the idea to get some kind of zipper cover, like you have it on your jeans. For that I went to a shop that sells tons of different fabric (https://textil-mueller.at) and got some stiff one. First I was thinking to sew it somehow to the tent, but then I went for glueing. There is so much different glue for fabric out there, most of must be ironed and that was something I did not like to do on my tent. So I called https://www.henkel.at and asked what glue would be the best. They forwarded my question to a technician. He called me back and explained in detail what to use and how I should use it. What a great support, thanks a lot guys! There is no sponsored content here, I just show you guys what worked well, so you guys don’t have to figure it out by yourself. Find all the links on the bottom of the post.
Check the video for a more detailed explanation how I did everything.
Affiliate Links
my old growtent lighthouse max
My used one: http://gear.mhaustria.com
On Amazon de: https://amzn.to/3DObCOJ
Eskimo Quickfish 3
https://amzn.to/3tgLya0
I ordered mine here they ship to Europe: http://www.moreoutdoor4u.com
Peelable paint Abziehlack
Similar Version worldwide: https://amzn.to/3DOWm4f
Germany: https://amzn.to/3h5OpxY
Screenprinting Paint – Siebdruckfarbe
Shop in Germany:
https://www.siebdruckladen.de/Aqua-tex-Schwarz.html
https://www.siebdruckladen.de/Cold-Fix.html
If you can’t order there, get similar items here:
Amazon international: https://amzn.to/3BPwMub
Amazon.de: https://amzn.to/3yM4dvB
Glue for the zip covers:
International: https://amzn.to/3h688gR or https://amzn.to/3yKXli1
Germany: https://amzn.to/38IerCD
I would not suggest to buy the fabric onlien, go to a local store and look for a stiff one.
Pondliner – Teichfolie for the windows and the bottom of the tent
International: https://amzn.to/3DOg4gp – https://amzn.to/3BMdcPu – this should be big enough for the tent and the windows.
Germany: https://amzn.to/3zSfyvE this should be big enough for the tent and the windows
Lee color filter 106 primary red – Red color gel – Rote Farbfolie
International: https://amzn.to/38GktDX
Germany https://amzn.to/3jNtAsQ
Don’t get a cheap one, you will regret it.
Velcro – Klettverschluß for the windows – calculate for 8 windows
International: https://amzn.to/3n4BShZ
Germany:https://amzn.to/3yN71ZA
small foldable table – mine is made of wood and I can not recommend it anymore, thats the one I will get after mine is totally gone
International: https://amzn.to/3n7Lo3G
Germany: https://amzn.to/3h7fksV
Water canister with
International: https://amzn.to/38HusJd
Germany: https://amzn.to/3kXwg6z
I will get a foldable version soon too:
https://amzn.to/3n7f2WX
Rugged Erxplorer or pelican cases
International: https://amzn.to/38K75yI
Germany: https://amzn.to/3jMWZmP
Traveling Tanks:
https://www.lerouge-camera.fr/en/shop/dip-tanks-for-wet-plate-collodion-process/
Coleman Extreme cooler – choose the size you like
International: https://amzn.to/38KGQIk
Germany: https://amzn.to/3kVHM25
Lifetime Table 60kg:
International: https://amzn.to/3n8lTQ2
Germany: https://amzn.to/3h3KLog
The more rugged version:
https://amzn.to/2YxyIck
Jiga wireless powerbank:
International: https://amzn.to/3DR5Dsl
Germany: https://amzn.to/3n3gJER
Led strips with remote and blutooth control:
International: https://amzn.to/3h8WPo5 or https://amzn.to/2WZwdyT
Germany: https://amzn.to/3BOrm2f
Clips to mount the led strip on the tent:
International: https://amzn.to/3h6sK8I
Germany: https://amzn.to/3DJKyQC
Wednesday, July 21st, 2021
How to create Waterhouse stops for antique lenses
Large format photographers who work with antique Petzval lenses know the hassle. You get a pretty new brass lens, but there are no Waterhouse stops included. “Hey I don’t care, I shoot anyways wide open all the time” some might say. With some, I also include me. But then you find yourself on a very sunny day and struggle with doing a very quick exposure, like here https://youtu.be/nStEK3zV5tA?t=438 (and you will end up anyways with an overexposed image, even with the not so light sensitive wet plate process). Oh yes, and there is also the creative point of stopping down your lens – but wait, who really does that if you can have a dreamy, swirly Petzval bokeh, right? 🙂 Just kidding, I would have needed these Waterhouse stop more often than I thought of. That’s why I finally 3D printed them (there is also another option) and did a tutorial for you guys, so you can make them too without having to much trouble. At the end I also decided to make carrying case for them, to have them in a safe place. If you don’t want to make them by yourself, check out http://gear.mhaustria.com – where I will make them for you (Dallmeyer 2B and 3b Waterhouse stops are available right now, but you can contact me here https://www.markus-hofstaetter.at/pages/kontakt/ and we will figure something out for your lens).
Highend Waterhouse stops: https://camera-obscura.photography/ (you need to ask for it)
Thingverse: https://www.thingiverse.com/mhaustria/designs
Another Waterhouse stop Project on Thingverse: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4731495
Affinity Photo and Designer: https://affinity.serif.com/ Image
Vectorizer: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/image-vectorizer/id789656124?mt=12
Free online image Vectorizer: https://www.autotracer.org/
Morphi App: https://www.morphiapp.com/ Ideamaker: https://www.raise3d.com/ideamaker/
PETG Filament I used: https://www.extrudr.com
Get yourself a beautiful print here: http://prints.mhaustria.com
Get cool analog shirts here shirts.mhaustria.com
For online wet plate workshops, visit this http://online.mhaustria.com
For private wetplate workshops (Nassplattenworkshop contact me here: http://www.markus-hofstaetter.at/pages/kontakt/ (German and English available)
Tuesday, June 29th, 2021
Bringing a 50 year old Linhof tripod back to life – quick and dirty version
I have already one big tripod with a huge ball head from the large format manufactura Linhof. Linhof also produces their famous large format camera “Linhof Master Technika” which I own also one. So it was quite obvious that I couldn’t resist to repair this tripod I got. Somebody had a bicycle accident with it and therefore it was in a rough shape. But that did not stop me to give a repair a try. If you look how well these tripods are build, it would have been a shame to throw it away. This tripod was made in the 1970s and later. Thats another reason it fits good to my other cameras. Thanks a lot to Foto Koeberl from Graz who send me pictures and a video from a working ball head. Otherwise it would have been much more difficult to reverse engineer the function of it. Check out the video where you can see the whole process of the tripod repair.
Get yourself a beautiful print here: http://prints.mhaustria.com
get cool analog shirts here shirts.mhaustria.com
for online wet plate workshops, visit this http://online.mhaustria.com
For private wetplate workshops contact me here: http://www.markus-hofstaetter.at/pages/kontakt/
Wednesday, November 11th, 2020
Connected – a 5 minute wet plate exposure with 7000 km distance between us
click or scroll down for the English version
English version
Connected – a wet plate art project about the bonds of friendship
with Shane Balkowitsch
This is not about a technical perfect wet plate. This is about building connections from thousand miles away. Overcoming obstacles and being there for each other.
This 5-minute exposure captured more than just an image, it’s a short movie where the plate captured our thoughts and movements. Thanks to Shane Balkowitsch to be a part of it.
We couldn’t do a lot of things because of the pandemic, but I won’t let this get me down.
I also didn’t want to wait for some things I wanted to do. That’s when I came up with the idea to do things differently. With that I finally could meet Shane in a more direct way and we also were able to shoot a wet plate together. For me it was important to show, that there are always ways to do something. The only limits we have are in our head. At this point I want to say thanks to Pro-Digital in Vienna who lent me this wonderful Dedolight light head with the projection kit. This is an amazing tool! Without that it would have been much tougher to make this happen.
Darken my studio
First I had to darken my studio, because the tiniest lightleak would be visible in a 5 minute exposure.
I have blinds, but they were not enough. With a 5 minute exposure a tiny light leak could make problems, thats why I covered my windows behind the blinds with cardboard.
Background
I wanted to have Shane’s background in my studio. That’s wehre things got a tricky.
As you saw, I used the projector on a gray wall to not overexpose the background and Shane.
During the test shots I thought for a moment I could use the projector light on me too, because on a digital image I looked as bright as shane. But the wet plate process fairy was against me – The uv light just sees it differently.
So I knew I needed an additional light source to get the exposure right.
I have a Hensel spot adapter for a strobe and tried this one first. But with the modeling light the light was to uneven (it’s a 20 years old strobe), it just works with the strobe.
Then I tried it with the light blaster. This is a projector for speedlites where you can mount lenses on it to project images on as a background. But here I had the same problem, as soon as I used a flashlight, the light was to uneven.
Then I remembered a workshop where the guy there used a dedolight and that’s when I called Pro Digital and asked them if I can have one. Some days later I went to their shop and Andreas explained all the possibilities I have with the light and showed my also the projection kit. From there I knew this is the right tool. Good to have local shops like that!
As soon as I got home, I made myself a gobo that looks like me. A gobo is a Graphical Optical Blackout.
I printed it and then I used a cutter to cut it out.
And with that I could make a projection on myself that does not brighten up the Shane and his background.
Exposure
5 Minutes is very long for a portrait. And yet it was as short as I could get it.
I used my Century 8×10 camera with my Dallmeyer 2b Petzval lens – it’s a F3 lens by the way.
I could only shoot 13x18cm plates, because the camera would have been in the way of the projector for 8×10 plates (I had to go closer).
Using a longer lens would also have been an Issue, because then I would have an aperture of F4.5 or even F6. With that the exposure times would have been twice or four times as long.
Aa you could see in the videos, I set the timer on my watch and released the lens cap with a string that I squeezed between the lens cap and the camera. An then it was only us two and 5 minutes in front of the camera.
Manny of you have seen the apron I am using but only a view know that this apron is from my grandfather who used to have a shoemaker shop in this house. Thats the reason I like to wear it, because it is part of our family.
It was such a great experience and so much fun. I will for sure do it sometimes again. Maybe some people even want to do a portrait like that. It’s a great way to get memories during that time where we have to be at home
For private wetplate workshops contact me here: http://www.markus-hofstaetter.at/pages/kontakt/
Or book other ones here http://www.markus-hofstaetter.at/pages/workshops/
Fine Art Shop http://www.markus-hofstaetter.at/pages/front_store/
become a Patreon and support me: https://www.patreon.com/mhaustria
If you guys want to experience yourself how a tintype is made and own a one of a kind wet plate, please contact me via my website http://wetplate.art
Don’t forget to subscribe to my Newsletter: https://blog.markus-hofstaetter.at/Newsletter/
Wednesday, October 28th, 2020
Shooting Wet Plates with Autofocus (FAIL)
click or scroll down for the English version
Ich hatte ja schon mal Freihand mit einer Nassplattenkamera Fotografiert. Diesmal war der Plan mit Autofocus auf Kollodium-Nassplatte zu fotografieren. Dazu habe ich das Mamiya 645 AF AFD Polaroid Film Back HP402 an meiner 645 AFD II verwendet. Leider wurde meinem Vorhaben ein Strich durch die Rechnung gemacht. Warum genau zeige ich euch im Video. Vielen Dank an Jasmin fürs Modeln: https://www.instagram.com/real_better_me/
Zum Lichttest habe ich ein iPhone Foto erstellt – das einzig Scharfe in der Serie 🙂 Manche Platten schauen ok aus, aber im Scan sieht man wie unscharf sie sind.
Nächste Nassplattenworkshops: http://www.markus-hofstaetter.at/pages/workshops/
Fine Art Shop: http://www.markus-hofstaetter.at/pages/front_store/
become a Patreon and support me: https://www.patreon.com/mhaustria
Wollt ihr immer auf Letztstand sein, benutzt einfach meinen Newsletter ein Newsletter: https://blog.markus-hofstaetter.at/Newsletter/
English version
I shot already wet palates handheld, but this time I wanted to shoot them with an autofocus camera. For that I mounted the Mamiya 645 AF AFD Polaroid Film Back HP402 onto my Mamiya 645 AFDII. Sadly it didn’t work out like I imagined. In this video I show you why. Thanks a lot Jamsin to for modelling: https://www.instagram.com/real_better_me/
For testing I shot one iPhone photo – the only sharp one 🙂
Some of the plates look ok for, but in my scans you can see they are way off.
For private wetplate workshops contact me here: http://www.markus-hofstaetter.at/pages/kontakt/
Or book other ones here http://www.markus-hofstaetter.at/pages/workshops/
Fine Art Shop http://www.markus-hofstaetter.at/pages/front_store/
become a Patreon and support me: https://www.patreon.com/mhaustria
If you guys want to experience yourself how a tintype is made and own a one of a kind wet plate, please contact me via my website http://wetplate.art
Don’t forget to subscribe to my Newsletter: https://blog.markus-hofstaetter.at/Newsletter/
Wednesday, October 21st, 2020
Bringing a 140 Year Old Photographic Relic Back to Life
click or scroll down for the English version
“Gleich kommt’s Vögelchen raus”. Das haben meine Eltern immer gesagt, damit ich beim Fotografieren in die Kamera schaue. Viele von euch werden sich sicher auch noch an diesen Spruch erinnern können. Mit dem heutigen Video zeige ich euch den Uhrsprung dieser Aussage und bringe ein 140 Jahre altes Relikt wieder zum leben.
Diese Webseite berichtet, dass die erste Erwähnung dieses Fotografischen Relikts 1879 statt fand.
In einer Ausgabe der „Photographic News“ wurde ein Artikel von C.W. Davis veröffentlicht, der auf einen mechanischer Vogel verweist, welcher zwitschert wenn man einen pneumatischen Balgen betätigt.
Ich habe mich gegen die pneumatische Lösung entschieden, da ich eine Hand für die Objektivkappe und die zweite Hand für den Blitzauslöser benötige. Das Auslösen des Messing-Vogels mit dem Fuß war mir zu umständlich.
Oscar Schwarzkopf hat sein Patent 1445362 von 1923 als „toy bird songster“ benannt. Zur selben Zeit wurde auch ein “Victory Canary Songster” mit der Patentnummer 2073922 patentiert. Mehr Patente und Illustrationen gibt es hier: http://www.luminous-lint.com/__phv_app.php?/f/_watch_the_birdie_01/
Es würde auch Sinn ergeben, dass die ersten Modelle dieser Vögel sich nicht bewegt haben, damit längere Belichtungszeiten eingehalten werden können.
Je mobiler und kleiner die Kameras wurden, desto weniger „Vögelchen“ waren im Einsatz. Aber bis zum heutigen Tag kennen trotzdem noch viele diesen bekannten Ausdruck. Wenn euch diese Geschichte gefällt, teilt sie um das „Vogal“ (öster. Vögelchen) am Leben zu erhalten.
Momentan hat Covid19 wieder Hochsaison in Österreich, deshalb muß der Messingvogel noch auf seinen Einsatz etwas warten – irgendwann wird er mit Sicherheit bei einem Nassplattenshooting ein Kind zum Lachen bringen.
Nächste Nassplattenworkshops: http://www.markus-hofstaetter.at/pages/workshops/
Fine Art Shop: http://www.markus-hofstaetter.at/pages/front_store/
become a Patreon and support me: https://www.patreon.com/mhaustria
Wollt ihr immer auf Letztstand sein, benutzt einfach meinen Newsletter ein Newsletter: https://blog.markus-hofstaetter.at/Newsletter/
English version
“Watch the Birdie” – thats what my parents told me, to make sure I look into the camera before they took a photo of me. I guess lots of you guys remember this saying. With the renovation of a 140 year old historic brass birdie, I show you the origin of this phrase. Check out the video bellow.
As this website reports, the earliest sightings of this kind of photographic “tool” was found back in 1879.
An issue of the “Photogarphic News” contained an article from C.W. Davis, that mentioned back then, that photographers were able to buy a mechanical bird that chirped when a pneumatic bulb was squeezed.
I decided against that bulb, because I need one hand for the lens cap and the second one for the strobe. And I didn’t want to use my feet for squeezing.
Oscar Schwarzkopf labelled his patent 1445362 from 1923 as “toy bird songster”. A “Victory Canary Songster” was also patented that time with the patent number 2073922. More patents and illustrations can be found here: http://www.luminous-lint.com/__phv_app.php?/f/_
It also would make sense if early birdies had no moving parts, so the photographer can achieve a longer exposure time without the kid moving.
As more portable and smaller cameras were invented, the less “birdies” were seen. But until today most people still know that famous phrase. Lets spread the word to keep this great phrase alive.
Covid19 is again spreading a lot in Austria, thats the reason I had to postpone a wet plate shooting with the brass birdie. As soon as everything gets better, I will catch up with it.
For private wetplate workshops contact me here: http://www.markus-hofstaetter.at/pages/kontakt/
Or book other ones here http://www.markus-hofstaetter.at/pages/workshops/
Fine Art Shop http://www.markus-hofstaetter.at/pages/front_store/
become a Patreon and support me: https://www.patreon.com/mhaustria
If you guys want to experience yourself how a tintype is made and own a one of a kind wet plate, please contact me via my website http://wetplate.art
Don’t forget to subscribe to my Newsletter: https://blog.markus-hofstaetter.at/Newsletter/