Author Archive
A short clip from yesterday’s Photo-fair in Šempeter pri Gorici, Slovenia, EU
Boris Primožič, a photographer, portrayed in wet plate collodion technique by Borut Peterlin
Gregor Cokan, a photographer, portrayed in Wet plate collodion technique
On Saturday there was a photo-fair in Šempeter pri Gorici, Slovenia, EU and I presented my work and promote the revival of Studio Pelikan. It was fun, I’ve sold two cyanotypes and wet wetplate portraits, but more then that I’ve met many colleagues and friends. Here are two portraits that I’ve done on the location and on the bottom there is a short 46 seconds video how I was sharing my love.
A giant leap in my Wet Plate Collodion process / negative and ambrotype
I’m still working hard on Wet Plate Collodion process, but negative on glass, not positive – an ambrotype. Two days ago I gave myself a challenging task. To do a nice wetplate negative in challenging conditions. I set up my darkroom tent in a park near my house, choose one motif, two view cameras and devote eight hours to make a good ambrotype and a good negative. It’s still winter in this corner of the world (Slovenia,EU), so I mixed my chemicals for -1⁰C temperature, but in my tent there was + 5C, so developing was quite demanding. Nevertheless it was a good day. Very good!
Print for sale. Size 30x40cm, FomaBrom baryt paper, toned with sodium sulfide and sellenium toners. Bidding auction on ebay. [/caption] Today I’ve printed the wet plate negative, format 5×7″, on a classic gelatine photographic paper. I was doing tests what combination of paper, exposure and toning works best. I decided to go for split toning with sodium sulfide for highlights and selenium toner for shadows. The toning increases stability of silver, so it will remain like this for at least a century. This print was done on FomaBrom fiber based paper, size 30x40cm (12×16″). All process were done by museum archival standards. I’m selling this print on ebay – LINK. Still learning how this ebay works, so I’m opening a bidding auction. This goes for the first print in edition of 12. Rock and Roll!
How to locate a leaking problem in a view camera
My camera had a leaking problem and I’ve successfully locate it and fixed my camera. Now it’s working perfectly again! I lost lots of time with fixing my camera, but the hardest is to locate the leaking problem. I hope this video saved some time for you and for your camera’s leaking problem.
A portrait of a writer Irvine Welsh (Trainspotting)
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Two weeks ago I was commissioned by Mladina weekly to do the portrait of a writer Irvine Welsh, a Scottish novelist, playwright and short story writer. He is recognised for his novel Trainspotting. For the whole interview a termin of 30 minutes was reserved, which with other words mean, not time for photographer. I’ve stole 30 seconds for the portrait in the chair, before the interview and the rest was shot during interview. I used medium twin-lens camera Mamiya C330 and EFKE 100 film (I should use ISO 400, I know…). I’ve done also portraits on digital camera, just as a back-up, but those portraits were so boring, I’ll not waste Internet’s space with them. The concept of those portraits was the following. I took a straight normal portrait, I took all classic portraits that are usually done during interviews, then I said OK, let’s make few portraits that will smell like Trainspotting. What do you think?
Two outdoor ambrotypes in 35 min
Kodak Folding Brownie 3A, f/64, t= 8s. Check solarization effect on the sky. So cool!
Kodak Folding Brownie 3A, f/64, t= 8s
Today I was driving from work through a forrest with beautiful light! True fairy tale scene. I got home, pick up my wetplate stuff that was still packed from yesterday and I head back. I’ve done two ambrotypes (or winter ambroice) plates in 35 minutes and the time start counting from stepping out of a car, setting everything up until sitting back and driving away with two plates. I’m experimenting how fast can I work, how much time and preparations do I need. I love it. Very relaxing, very spontaneous!
We have so much snow, it’s hard to park a car, so this was mine today’s workplace.
Unfortunately the sun lost it’s power after my plate was ready.
Wet Plate Collodion at temperature 0C
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Today I’ve made two plates while it was snowing. We have 84cm of snow and it was still snowing. I put chains on wheels of my car and off I went! It was a good day! Oh I forgot to mention in the video that second plate had better contrast not so muvh because of developing time, but I was sensitizing it for 6min while the first one was sensitized for 5 min.
Digital and analog manipulation by Collodion Bastard
final result, portrait of a band Napravi mi dete
In Friday’s Mladina weekly there will be published my portrait of a band Napravi mi dete (make me a child). I’ve done their portrait on Mamiya C330, on film format 6×6. Then I develop the film and exposed a wet plate collodion plate, but with chemistry of Miša Keskenović (based on receipts of J. M. Eder) that was meant for contrasty wetplate negatives. We’ve made few tests with different developers and we got results that somewhat might be opalotypes. I’ve scanned the plate and it was alright but I’ve took a step forward and hold it over flame so it broke. Cracks are more controllable then you might think, but still very unpredictable. Plate literally exploded in my hand, since I hold the flame too much in the middle of the plate. You can see the hole where all cracks are coming from. Left bottom corner. I’m attaching how pieces of the plate looked like on my scanner and then I digitally sew them together. Is this a digital manipulation? I decided to sew the pieces together digitally, because I already scratched the surface of my scanner while scanning plates. It’s a though job, being a collodion bastard, but someone have to do it…
Post Scriptum:
Today I’ve bought a table saw. Before devoting completely to photography, I’ve made a secondary school for carpentry and now I’m getting in touch with my inner carpenter. I’m planning to make my own frames, silver and fixer baths, copying frames,…
every Colodion Bastard need a good table saw!
Exhibition of my creative portraits in IJS, Ljubljana, Slovenia, EU
Yesterday I had an exhibition opening of my creative portraits in Inštitut Jožef Stefan. With curator Tatjana Pregl Kobe, we decided to exhibit my portraits from 2006/07 on ground floor and on first floor my portraits from 2012/13. For Mladina weekly I’m making every week at least one creative portrait of a creative person and although I love making this work, it’s no easy walk, I tell you! I remember that many times I woke up in the middle of the night, because I didn’t have the concept how to do a portrait later the day. Or I was dreaming about it. Nevertheless it’s such a nice feeling to view back on your work and you know it was worth the pain, sweat and stress. And most importantly it’s still worth to continue. Last year I switched my style of portrait photography from vibrant color playful portraits (LINK) to collodion portraits (LINK). I had a feeling that I had to move on. The fact that everybody liked my wicked humor and saturated colors, was just another reason to reinvent my style before going stale. And the change was not easy or comfortable whereas discrete! From digital camera with studio lights (link to the making of video) to old view camera on a tripod and with darkroom. Also the layout of the rubric changed completely. In year 2006 the portrait was published on about 1/3 of a page and now the rubric is published as a spread with a serious text about the person being portrayed. HERE is the link from national TV.
What am I trying to say. Two things. I’m proud on this body of work. And I feel an urge that I want some more of photography. I’m really obsessed! I feel very clearly that I’m on tipping point of my career. I crossed the point of no return.
What has changed? I will not describe my feelings, just actions and then you’ll get the picture.
1) Last week I quit my job as a photojournalist. I will still do gladly portraits for my Mladina weekly magazine, but I can not afford to waste my life on news photographs that have expiry date faster then diaria! I really lost all my interest in politics. Totally. Gone…
2) Revival of skylight Studio Pelikan is one the things I feel so connected with. I feel that although we’re running on no-budget and making small tiny steps, the direction is correct and we just need to continue
3) I’m receiving a huge support in my quest in Alternative photography from all sides. From different continents even!
4) I’m taking part of the workshop of Klavdij Sluban and although I participates at workshops of really famous photographers like Saudek, Oliviero Toscani, Ralph Gibson, Martin Parr, Stephen Gill, Paul Graham, Joel Peter Witkin, Duane Michals, and who knows who have I forgot, Klavdij Sluban is the best mentor. Perhaps I’m taking part in his workshop in a particular moment of my life, but he opened many windows to me and my photography! He does magic. I sensed how he is doing it. I can’t do it yet on his level, but I understood the principle, I mapped the path I need to take. Don’t believe me? You will see the results in few months.
5) Invitation for exhibitions are raining! First one opened yesterday. Next one is in my town of Novo mesto in April. In May I have an exhibition in Krakow / Poland and then in Novi Sad / Serbia. In November I’m having a solo show in the best photography gallery in Ljubljana / Slovenia and also our workshop group under Klavdij Sluban will exhibit in Novo mesto / Slovenia.
6) I’m selling prints. I know, I know, I’m selling it in very unorthodox way, for a small price, but I don’t care. I’m worker, an artist, but I’m definitely not a salles man. I prefer to get 50 EUR now, then 5000EUR when I’ll be a retired old fart!
Last but not least, let me tell you an anecdote. I felt like this before. It was after I’ve done all the exams at London College of Printing and I was chatting with my mentor. I’ve told him how I feel so strongly that my life will change dramatically. I’ve described his how I have all this knowledge that I’ve gained and now it’s the moment when I will confront it with real life, hitting it hard, like a tsunami. Literally few hours later my girlfriend called me and told me she is pregnant 
Darkroom topshit tricks – split toning with sulphide and selenium toner
I’ve done a video upon my experiment on split toning technique with sulphide and selenium toner. I’ve also record myself doing a selenium toning, but that part is recorded with such a bad English that I’ve decided to klip it out. When you have a split toned print with sulphide toner, you can either keep neutral gray of normal silver or you can dip it in selenium toner and get purplish tone in shadows. Again, with Foma Tone paper, selenium works as witnessed, with Ilford warmtone paper works in chocolate brown and with Efke Varycon paper goes into cold blue tone. It depends.
Concerning the purchase of the print, I’m selling this one in edition of 36 prints for 50 EUR each, so if you need a gift for someone, send me an email.
Self-portrait like a cave photographer
In Friday’s issue of Mladina weekly there will be an article about my portraits and I’ve made this self-portrait today with the help of my wife Alenka Peterlin. The inspiration for the portrait was a couple. First I’ve heard many times, that in wetplate technique I look like a native American, second inspiration was to include an element of exploration and third was that it should look raw.
That’s my aim in photography to explore, search and learn. I know I’m doing it in primitive, raw way, but that’s exactly me, having a hell of a good time. Photography is for me what for some people religion is. A mean to become a better man, to transcend boundaries that were set, to change the world. I hope this (blind) faith is captured in the image 
Technical side: It was pretty cold, like -2C and to work at this temperature I’m using a normal developer, I’m just developing longer. Usually about 30-35seconds. I extend also sensibilisation of a plate from usual 3 minutes to 5 minutes. And that all there is. Sometimes I add two drops of nitric acid in 100ml of developer, but that’s not so important at working bellow 0C. It was a lot of light so the exposure was 3sec, f/11. This portrait was taken with Kodak Folding Brownie 3A from year about 1905.
I couldn’t have done the portrait without my lovely wife Alenka Peterlin, she is also a photographer. Thank you
You can see this and many other of my creative portraits on the exhibition in the gallery of Institut Jozef Stefan. Opening Monday 18.2.2013 at 18.00.
