Introduce Yourself!

[David Harms]

Hello My name is David Harms. I love any type of alternative process I am from the Seattle Tacoma area here in Washington State. I was a industrial mechanic for 15 yrs before I decided that I wanted to do something with my brain instead of my hands. I am a graduate of the Art Institute in Seattle in commercial photography and was lucky to be in school before the onslaught they now call digital Photography. although I have experience with new technology I always am pulled back in time. yes you can try to make an app for that but really you aren’t fooling anyone. there is no replacing history and time. I have been doing Wet plate for a year now and really enjoy it. but just doing the process wasn’t enough. I had to start from scratch and built all of the pieces for the puzzle. I started with a 12 x20 view camera building all of the parts to construct it except lens bellows and gg. . then plate holders dip tanks and trays. That is why I feel I am ready for this process and am ready for the patience it requires. Also I have the ability to listen and absorb anyone’s input. and appreciate any knowledge that I receive to forward it in the future. to the next great Daguerre typist. I am also looking forward to gain knowledge from this great site ..thank you

[77seriesiii]

Hello my name is Erick and I have a problem…I want to learn how to create Dags. I’ve not had this problem long, only a few months. My current affliction is making collodion negatives and then printing them on eggy paper (goes well with hypo and le Clerc’s). I am the technical side of marriage partnership based on harrasement, art and me finding technical things to drive my better half (Laura – she who must be obeyed) nuts.

Just starting to poke around, looking for more information on the process, especially the Becquerel aspect. I have all the chemicals, only need to source a fuming box and plates…let the pain/joy begin!

Erick

[jdanforth]

Erick, David, Nadia, Curtis, Xose, Paul, and others! Welcome!!

Erick: are you handy at all in the wood shop? A sensitizing box doesn’t have to be very elaborate. My first Iodine box was just seven pieces of wood. I bought a Pyrex 11-cup dish (jeez, can we get Pyrex to sponsor the forum?!?), set it on the work bench, and cut wood to fit around it. Bam! Sensitizing box!

Plates are trickier. I suggest buying some from Mike Robinson or solid silver plates from Rio Grande.

[Dopey]

Hi all!

My name is Mike and I’m from Virginia Beach. I first learned about Daguerreotypes in a survey of culture class in college and saw my first examples at the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, VA. I am really interested in making my own and give them my own personal touch. I dabble in photography, mainly digital with my Nikon D80 and instant with my Polaroids. I am sure I will be full of question and I hope to have them figured out through trial and error or with the help of everyone here! Can’t wait to get started!!!

[Marizu]

Hi everyone.

I’m Marizu from Manchester in England, UK.

I work in technology but have spent a lot of time during the last couple of years investigating issues of identity through the medium of photography.

I haven’t got a web presence yet but I do have a couple of bodies of work (in perpetual progress) that I could put up there.

Although I consider myself process agnostic, I do enjoy working with large format cameras due to the meditative nature of the experience. The flexibility afforded by them has allowed me, many thanks to Carl Radford, to explore wet plate with some degree of success.

I have been attempting to ignore the lure of the Daguerreotype for a long while but have now decided that I need to make at least one Becquerel Dag during the course of my life.

I don’t know when I’ll get round to it but I’m certain that I will try at some point.

Regards,

Marizu

[daniel]

Hello there,

My name is Daniel Carrillo and I have been messing around with wet plate for a little over a year now. I am getting ready to dive into Albumen printing and in the next year or so, I would like to build up some equipment so I create some Daguerreotypes. I am also a Intaglio printmaker and you can see my work at

http://www.daniel-carrillo.com/blog/

or on flickr at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vaporstew/

I feel that my background in printmaking and wet plate has driven me in this direction and I would love nothing more than to create Daguerreotypes of my own.

Wish me Luck,

Dan

[Andy Stockton]

Hello Daniel. Happy new year. For many the road is long, but I for one find it enjoyable. Welcome aboard and feel free to ask questions.

[newone2010]

Hello Everyone,

My name is Li Junyi,I am from China.I think I am the first guy who make dags in China,so I have no one can be asked for any help.

Mr.Spagnoli and Mr.Takashai Arai told me this website, and I found useful info from it.I tried hard to learn this technique and made all the equipments by myself.They are ugly but useful. 😆

I am so glad to join all of you.I think I will have much fun.

all the best,

Li Junyi from Chongqing City,China

[Andy Stockton]

Welcome to CDags Li Junyi. There are currently 184 registered site members and there is a wealth of information on the site for persons interested in creating contemporary daguerreotypes. The give and take in the forums can be very enlightening. Please feel free to share your progress, ask questions, and answer others as you learn more. Enjoy!

[Giovana]

Hello everybody,

My name is Giovana, I´m an argentinian photographer and I live in B.A

I used to work in publicity and fashion until one day I got sick of it.

It looks like as if the same pictures are being taken over and over again.

Nowadays the world is overwhelmed by the amount of pictures taken.At least,

that´s the way I feel.That´s why I decided to quit photography 4 years ago.

Last year something happened,though. Maybe because of the argentinian Bicentennary

I got interested in daguerreotypes. As a matter of fact,after reaserching a lot, I was granted

an access to the National Historical Museum Collection. Over there I was lucky enough to hold very old and important daguerreotypes.I coudn´t believe the beauty and the quality of these unique images!

This is the first time I write to you all but I´ve been visiting cdags for months searching information and also reading “The Daguerreotype Ninetheenth-Century Technology and Modern Science” and the “American Handbook of Daguerreotype” and buildind the fuming boxes I need.

That´s all for now. As soon as I have my plates I hope to get started.

I´d be grateful if you are willing to help me.

Thanks a lot! Regards. Giovana.

[Andy Stockton]

Hello Giovana, welcome to CDags. Many of us here share your feelings about the particular beauty of daguerreotypes and of being somewhat overwhelmed by the flood of digital imagery. This medium is definitely a path to unique and compelling art. The editors Alan, Jon and I are glad you are finding the site useful and hope that you will feel free to join in to the discussions in the forums as you progress.

[CrooksPhoto]

Hello All,

My name is Matt and I have been researching and toying with the idea of trying the daguerreotype process for some time now. Being completely sick of digital and having a friend who would love a dag for her wedding gift I figure now is the time to start. I already have the 4×5 equipment from a past life and access to a full wood shop I feel I’m well on my way. I’m sure I will be asking many more questions in the near future.

Thanks in advance for all your help and advice.

Matt

[Andy Stockton]

Hi Matt- Welcome. It sounds like you have a good set of starting ingredients. I hope you will find lots of experienced help here to speed you on your quest. I especially recommend the resources pages – there are articles from leading practitioners that are worth multiple re-reads. The challenges are many, but the rewards are great.

Unless you are speedier than most you may find that the wedding gift becomes an anniversary gift but please feel free to prove me wrong…

Andy

[Kaden Kratzer]

Hi Folks,

I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Kaden Kratzer. I am an artist/photographer living in the Bay Area in California specializing in a variety of 1800’s processes. I have recently taken a workshop with Jerry Spagnoli in Pittsburgh as a member of F295. I am in process of getting all the necessary equipment to practice daguerreotype making shortly. At some point in the future I will seek to also take a mercurial workshop.

You can find me here: http://www.lostinfocus.org/?author=17

[Bakody]

Hello everyone,

It’s time to introduce myself. My name is Máté Bakody. I’m Hungarian. I gradated as a photographer . After school I spent 4 and a half years abroad (England and Taiwan). I started to be disappointed in the world of digital photography. I realized “photography is changing” and I didn’t like it. I started to search old, unique processes and this time I found some informations about daguerreotype. I started to feel, I need to do this. I spent lots of time with reading about this process, but I sill need to study a lot!

A few weeks ago I moved back to Hungary. From this year I will go to school again to study something different then photography, a different profession.

I will do photography as a second profession.

Hopefully soon I can start to make my first dag…

http://daginhun.blogspot.com/
 http://www.facebook.com/DagerrotipiaDaguerreotype

[Andy Stockton]

Hi Kaden & Bakody. Welcome to the CDags forum. We hope you enjoy the resources here and find all the guidance you need to speed you on the way to making daguerreotypes. Please be sure you share your process as you progress, we all can learn more about this demanding art form. And of course feel free to ask questions.

Kaden – as a fellow Bay Area resident I will look forward in the future to seeing your work in person. We are getting quite a little crowd of practitioners out here.

[Kaden Kratzer]

Thxs Andy. Likewise I look forward to seeing your dags.

I just noticed that you are in SF. I too am in SF. The

only bayarea daguerreotype practioner I know in person

so far is Eric.

[Anonymous]

Hello,

My name is Jalo Porkkala, I’m a photographer and am teaching some alternative photographic processes at Satakunta University of Applied Sciences, Kankaanpää, Finland. I am also doing a small research on these processes (the Project Vedos), my work blog is here:

http://vedos.samk.fi

I am very interested in Daguerreotypy, and attended Mike Robinson’s Lacock workshop in August… thanks again, Mike, it was wonderful!

I am planning on making some Dags… sooner or later… and trying to get the equipment needed… just joined this forum, and I may need to ask you about a lot of things, folks! One of the first tasks will be designing a mercury heating pot. I may have a competent metal worker for making it…

You can find me on the Facebook by my name, and another FB site is for my work with early processes… just type “Natural Tensions and Mysteries” in the search field…

– Jalo

[Andy Stockton]

Welcome Jalo. Best of luck with your search. It sounds like you are off to a very good start by taking a class from Mike. The equipment is always a challenge but you will find a lot of info on the resource pages and many gems tucked away in the forums.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, Andy! I am quite alone here … no one working with daguerreotypes here as far as I know, but luckily we have this forum and you great people!

– Jalo

[vjpalsa]

I am a newbie to the forums but have received so much good information so thank you one and all. I have a question . . . I am using becquerel method and most of my images come out pretty neutral in color, however, lately they have more of a blue color. Any suggestions as to what causes this?

[Andy Stockton]

Hi vjpalsa-

Welcome to the forums. You might want to look at this set of posts:

http://www.cdags.org/dagforum/topic.php?id=155#post-2817

Andy

[vjpalsa]

Thank you Andy.

[Pollywog]

Hi to all,

I had started to invest into dag after selling off most of my modern digital gears. Like most, I began to feel the frustrations of this craft becoming more and more “off-hand” and I do missed out on the good old day of hearing running water in the darkroom & the stink of fixer.

I had taken my studies with Christopher Brenton West and made my first dag on a personal one-to-one workshop and I must say, it paid off to feel the excitement again much like my student heydays in the darkroom. He is an excellent guru in teaching the ways of the dag and very practical. The first image made with him was quite something to experience.as it had refreshed my energy to pursue this craft.

I am now travelling abroad crafting my first sensitising / fume box, I think it was built quite ok based on many looks from this website resources, with some small modifications.

Looking into the next step, which I might be playing my own copper/brass plates, I had purchased a humble amount of pure silver and still looking around the proper tools to start off to make some initial to make my own plate, as electroplating silver in the UK are costly and if I were to follow that route, it would certainly limit my image-making to less than half a dozen a year.

I hope with the help of the current members, I could make my own contribution in later practice.

Thank you for opening this board to all interested parties and hope to stay active for as long as I could.

Kind regards,

Pollywog

[Andy Stockton]

Hi Pollywog –

Welcome to CDags. Process cost is a barrier to daguerreotypy and finding a source of affordable plates is a challenge to us all. Consider using the smallest plate you can while learning the craft – and just think about all the money you are saving by not keeping up with all the latest digital gear.

Cheers,

Andy

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