If you live in Pittsburgh and Need a Drink, Billy is one of the Best Bartenders around! Give a good tip and Say Hello at the Squirrel Cage!
This dag was made on 5/4/11 at Hopewell Furnace, PA. I was there with Argentine Productions helping film the parks new visitor orientation film.... so why not make a daguerreotype crew photo! Exposure was 15 Sec. at f2.0. Such a shame, my xenon dag portrait lens shows its lack of flare resistance and image coverage with such a large landscape. Bad choice of lens for such wide composition, but it's all I had packed in the case. The edges look really good in person and very sharp. The center just gets too too blown-out, but not quite as bad as this scan portrays. Conclusion...EH...It's Not Horrible.
What a bummer... This process is just so freaking humbling, the hoops you must go through just to get the plate ready and then look what happens in the end. The dag looked much better prior to guilding, but the heat brought out the solarization in all the wrong places. Too much light, Too much time.
My brother Sean & his wife Sara! They posed for Darcy and I while running late enroute to their far away home. Thankfully they did postpone their departure, because this dag really looks nice. Sean sat still as a rock for the entire minute which gave much joy to assure sharp focus with my newly calibrated ground glass. Sara flinched just a bit, but she still looks gorgeous nestled on Sean's shoulder just behind the plane of focus. The plate is pretty good.... although I am always very critical on myself... little over developed, smear next to Sean's left eye, etc.... (the dust spots seen here are mainly do to the poor digital scan, and poor quality glass doesn't help the cause any... The glass will be replaced once fitted in a case.)
Taken on 4th of July Weekend of my father. This Dag seems to be a bit over developed and just slightly over exposed. Due to imperfections, I did not guild this plate. What great detail & tonal range in his hair and face. I was really disappointed with this plate at first, but it continues to grow on me... I like it better as time goes by.
This plate has the beauty and character of lovely Darcy in so many ways. Taken on a beautiful evening at the rocky edge of Sandusky Bay (Darcy's favorite place.) All kinds of new variables have arisen on this plate. Scratches.... Lots of them, Luckily they sort of add some character, almost placed intentionally on the bottom and top. We made 4 plates total in Pittsburgh the day before we left and found that Plate 1 had no scratches, 2(This Dag) & 3 many scratches, and the 4th none. I think something got picked up in the buff and then tossed out after the next plate. This was also the first time to use my sinar with xenon f2.0 lens. Focus is extremely critical at that aperature and it seems i need to spend a day calibrating ground glass. The next dag won't be so artful... on too the newspaper for a good focus check. Rouge was a little to liberal as you can see from the spotting.
|
Categories
All
Chad DjubekThis historic process, invented by Jaques Daguerre in 1839, provides a unique depiction of important people, places, and moments in life. After training with Jerry Spagnoli, one of the most notable Daguerreotype artists, we have gained a love and appreciation for this medium that can only be realized by experiencing final pieces in person. This is especially significant due to the hallographic visual quality provided by these artistic representations. The final product is a mirror image of the subject captured on a silver coated copper plate, beautifully enclosed in a case built specifically to display the intended image. Longevity is certainly an asset to this art, as dags have proven to last well beyond 100 years. Archives
May 2012
|