My Grandfather Kenny Robbins and his Harley Davidson

While cleaning the studio today I stumbled across a creased and aged envelope….tucked inside and marked in my Grandmother’s steady hand, were B&W 6×9 negatives shot by my Grandfather, Kenneth Robbins. Sadly my Grandfather died long before I was ever born.

He was a major Photography enthusiast and often made movies as well of my family, many date back to the 1920′s. It is quiet a legacy he left us with his imagery. It was through his images that I learned how to observe light and to appreciate Photography as a Fine Art.

So today, while wet mount scanning these delicate old negatives, it struck me how incredible it is that here I sit in the year 2011, scanning and revealing images that my Grandfather shot in 1937. Photos that give me a peek at the early days of my Mother’s life…of my own eyes.

Last weekend we had the pleasure of participating in the Accessible Art Fair at the Conrad hotel in Brussels, Belgium. It was a exciting fun filled weekend and we met and spoke with at least 3000 people in those two and a half days.

This year we brought our Wet Plate Ambrotypes and Albumen hand pulled Prints along to showcase. The public were very receptive to this historic techniques and enjoyed very much looking through our 100+ year old Charten Whole Plate camera.

We demonstrated the Collodion Wet Plate process in a dry manner due to the fact we were inside a very swanky hotel, but I believe the concept came across to everyone.

Here are a few images from the event and we hope to return again with something new again in 2011.

Thank you to everyone who came out in support to see us in Brussels!

I had a nice visit with Mannheimer Morgan journalist, Hans-Jürgen Emmerich a few days before our Vernissage (opening) of the Ladenburg exhibition.
Here is a translation from the interview above:

When and how did you get into photography?

In 2003, While working as a museum designer for the US Army in Würzburg, my bosses saw some of my  and they gave me an amazing opportunity.  For 2 weeks I was a reportage
Photographer in France documenting 1st Infantry Division soldiers as they performed Memorial day ceremonies around France.

Since when you live in Europe, since when in Ladenburg?

I have been lucky enough to live in Germany and Belgium on and off since 1991.   I have lived in Ladenburg for the past 4 years.  That is why I decided to give this exhibition now with all the local Military leaving we have no idea if we will be here next year.  I did not want to miss the chance to say Thank you to Ladenburg.

Which camera do you prefere?

I can’t really say I have a favorite camera. Each camera teaches me something new, each camera shows me a different way of seeing.  If I have to pick I would say I love my Rolleiflex 2,8 GX….but I love working with my Ansco Large Format Studio Camera as working with a camera that large, it is like dance.  We must be in harmony to produce a great image.  I guess that is with all cameras.

How often do you use the iPhone to take pictures?

EVERYDAY!! I love my iPhone….it is wonderfully freeing to not have to carry heavy gear.

Which images you selected for your exhibition at Ladenburg?

A German friend of mine used the word AUGENBLICK to describe the images I chose for this exhibition.  Moments  where the light  was magical, a feeling of fantasy or a touch of the fairy tale that is present in the daily life  here in Ladenburg.  At least in my American Perspective.  Presently I have 30 images chosen, that can always change in the next two weeks as I never stop working, 15 of them are hand printed using the historic technique called Albumen printing.  This process was invented in 1850′s, where you coat paper with a mixture of egg whites and salt and then later sensitize the paper with Silver Nitrate.  The prints are then produced using UV light or the sun in a contact print frame.  The result is a rich print with an amazing finish.

Is there a favorite motif in Ladenburg?

There is so much to love about Ladenburg that picking one motif is difficult, but if I must pick, for me it is the Landscape that captivates and inspires me.  The ever changing light and vast sky, each day pulls me out of my studio and into the streets and fields.

The exhibition will hang in the Ladenburg Rathaus from 15 October until 29 November.  The Vernissage or Opening is 15 October at 19:00.  The idea behind this exhibition is to say THANK YOU to all the wonderful people of Ladenburg for making me feel at home these past 4 years.

After beating my head to design a proper Poster to market the collection an amazing college friend from Ringling stepped in and created this incredible marketing package for me. Curry Mendes’ skills are endless and to him I am ever grateful.

You can catch “Eine Amerikanische Perspektive” at the Ladenburg Rathaus from
15 October thru 29 November 2010.

So many people have been saying, “Oh those iPhone image are so cool but what can you really do with them?” Well, that is simple you use software called Genuine Fractals to enlarge them. It is simple.

OK so…I have created the larger image files, now what? Well, you create digital negatives. Another thing I have been in love with. After getting much backlash in the world that Digital Photography is some how a lesser craft…but that is another story.

While creating all this…my husband AKA “Mad Photo Scientist” was mixing up a batch of Albumen
. We are now well known at the local farm for buying flats and flats of eggs for our “Experiments.” We then “Float” the paper in the Albumen mix, remove all air bubbles and hang to dry. We use our furnace room so the paper dries in minutes. Now you have your own handmade Photosensitive paper.

Now with the introduction of classically made paper and modern negative….throw in a dash of UV light and Voila….You have an Albumen print.

It’s all very exciting. I find the possibilities are endless in Photography…as they say you are only limited by your creativity…and how long you can stand the smell of eggs.

We loaded all the chemicals, cameras, dark box and other incidentals into my husband’s Classic Land Rover, (Landy) and drove out into the fields. After finding an interesting location we started to set up. There has been an issue all along with the used dark box we purchased from another Photographer who was giving up Wet Plate…though it saved us a lot of trouble of building one ourselves, we discovered the vast difference in size and height between my husband and I really played an issue when it came time to using the box. The legs affixed to the box were just too short for him so he decided to try and mount the box in the back cargo area of the Landy.

It worked perfectly!! We both were able to produce 2 plates each before the heat and thirst chased us back home.

OK, so it has also been raining in Biblical proportions  for weeks now and my wandering has been cut short, but these process’ are turning out to be great rainy day projects.

Simply put I am being positive about all this negative weather and turning some of my digital images into negatives that I can use to create contact prints.

So far the experiment has been a load of fun and not that tricky at all.  Here is the result of my first attempt…of course there are some kinks that need to be worked out, but….isn’t that really the fun part?

I liken the experience to a “Fish Tale”. I had the first two beautiful plates float away in the fix bath, BUT I was smart enough to get a digital snap of it…since there was no one there to witness the event.

After using black glass for the first 2 pours and having lost those images I switched to black aluminum. I had no issues with the glass inside the silver bath as they are heavy but apparently the metal floated on me and the silver coating stopped an inch from the top. I exposed it anyway and it turned out to be one of my favorites.

Two hours into it, I was finally getting into the rhythm of working inside the dark box….even with the low light I was still able to see properly to develop the plates, when the skies opened up and chased me speedily for cover. That is after I raced the camera indoors.

I just submitted my contribution to the event…too bad you can call a rain date.

Here is “The One That Got Away”

Due to time constraints, my husband and I shot in tandem, while I was developing a shot or preparing a late he was exposing a plate and visa versa. This process seemed to work well and we were able to, with a very patient model, to produce 4 plates in 2 hours. A very happy Herman was able to leave for Belgium with a varnished plate in hand.

He and his lovely wife did a small slideshow presentation of us at work and well….Herman just hanging around.

http://picasaweb.google.fr/h.riachuelo/AmbrotypePhotography#slideshow/5459213582537943090

I hope you enjoy it…and while I have your attention, make sure to check out some of Herman’s amazing work on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogWIAszSF78