Last month I went on a little mission to Utah. The aim was to spend a few nights camping around Moab with a good friend, and, over a period of four days, for both of us to make 8x10 tintypes of at least a few of the stunning landscapes. Having traveled through there on multiple previous occasions, I knew of the limitless compositional possibilities that await around every corner in that state, and this time we spent a concerted effort to explore just one such region in depth.
Shooting 8x10 wet plate in the field is always a bit of a challenge, but it becomes exponentially more arduous when combined with an unexpected heat wave and long, steep, rocky dirt roads, which seemingly wind forever through otherworldly canyon scenery of towering red monoliths and plateaus. While truly spectacular to marvel at through polarized lenses of one's sunglasses, the true majesty of these expansive landscapes, which consist of predominately deep coral and red tones, presents another fun opportunity for problem solving, as collodion is not very sensitive to those colors. Some days were definitely better than others, but I think we both learned a lot from this experience, as well as carried away some plates we both can be happy with. Each day we spent shooting at one or two locations, while also scouting potential spots for next day. It's easy to fall into the camp where happy accidents are central to the theme of most images, but I'm glad my friend shares my passion for chasing perfection. After all, Nature's Glory deserves one's best effort.
Below are the nine plates I deemed worthy of keeping from this memorable excursion. They were copied while being held in hand, and very slight adjustments in saturation and so forth were made to match the already varnished plates as closely as possible. These original, signed and dated plates are offered for purchase, and are priced at $750 each. All interested parties are welcome to reach out via email - thephotopalace@gmail.com
