Backstage Of The Aspen Trucks Photo Shoot!

Here is the making of the Aspen Trucks photo shoot. (With some juicy details).

Hello!

I have been waiting for a long time to show you this.

By this, I mean...

Marco's Outdoors Camera Setup.

Marco's Mobile Dark Room That May Or May Not Be An Ice Fishing Tent.

and Extra Pictures Of The Trucks In Their Natural Habitat!

So, without further ado..................

“Marco is definitely not a technical photographer, however...”

Here's a picture of Marco's outdoors setup. The camera for this photoshoot was his reliable Deardorff 8x10" and the lens was a 190mm Voigtlander & Sohn made in Vienna in 1884 – yes! the year is correct! Marco is definitely not a technical photographer, however for the connoisseurs out there, (or should I say tech geeks?) this lens has 4 symmetrical elements (a formula released in 1866 to correct most optical aberrations called Rapid-Rectilinear or Aplanat) that spans 93 degrees and covers the 8x10" format.

This particular lens doesn't require the earliest form of adjustable stops named Waterhouse after its inventor. Most likely because it's such a small lens, it features a convenient aperture wheel with five apertures available - wide open at ƒ/11. These antique lenses were uncoated, that means they need to be shaded to avoid major glares.

“Once these simple changes are made, you can handle collodion plates instead of frozen fish!”

That red tent in the camp pictured above, previously an ice fishing tent, has been modified to become Marco's mobile darkroom. The collodion process is a complicated one. It requires the plate to be coated, sensitized, exposed and developed all while still wet in order to secure an image, therefore a mobile darkroom is needed to shoot outside the studio.

How did he modify the tent? Just by putting red Rubylith masking film over windows and black liquid electric tape over seams. Once these simple changes are made, you can handle collodion plates instead of frozen fish!

“Marco keeps a detailed log of every single image he shoots”

Now, if you are really curious, I can even disclose some confidential details about how the image of the old Ford truck pictured below was shot. Marco keeps a detailed log of every single image he shoots which for this backstage report I was granted permission to consult. This image was indeed shot on a cloudy and rainy afternoon in May; the altitude was about 8,500 feet; the temperature was 75ºF; the aperture was ƒ/45, the exposure was 3 minutes and 40 seconds long.

Curious about how to measure the exposure for collodion? Collodion's sensitivity to light is close to 2 ISO, a setting too low for most light meters. So, the answer is empirical: test your lens and keep a log.

“The homestead was bought in the 1874 by a legendary pioneer who built lumber mills and hoped to sell timber and lumber to the nearby mines. There were trees and water so his lumberjacks could skid the timber and drag it into the mills. One of his sawmills was located right where Marco's cabin stands today.”

The Aspen Truck photos were taken at a historic ranch near Marco's mountain cabin. Marco discovered these trucks bearing the scars of time and the patina of history sitting on the land of a homestead that belonged to the same family for almost 150 years. The homestead was bought in the 1874 by a legendary pioneer who built lumber mills and hoped to sell timber and lumber to the nearby mines. There were trees and water so his lumberjacks could skid the timber and drag it into the mills. One of his sawmills was located right where Marco's cabin stands today.

Notice the writing on the truck? Collodion direct positives will always deliver a mirror image. If the image is on glass, you may flip the glass and by looking at the side without emulsion, the image cease to be reversed and writing can be read correctly.

Likewise, once the direct positive is scanned into a digital file, you may flip the image digitally. Marco likes to keep the writing reversed, just like Leonardo's writing!