Nature Studies
A Portfolio of 19th Century Dry Plate
These images were made with the 19th century dry plate process. The silver is poured onto a glass plate and dried before it is placed in the camera for exposure. I use brass portrait lenses that were made in the 1860s. The camera itself is a mahogany replica of daguerrotype camera from that era. There is no shutter or light meter, so the exposure time is an educated guess. The leather lens cap is removed for a number of seconds or minutes before it is replaced. After development each plate displays unique characteristics which make it a process of constant discovery.
