Since the last test I added some light to my tintype test, about 25% more than I was using before. This was with prepared collodion that was about a month old, so I think this same lighting with fresh collodion will let me use a soft box and back the lights off some. This was taken with bare bulbs just out of frame. 

If you're in Denver and interested in having a tintype taken let me know. I shooting 8x10" and 4x5", this was a 4x5" plate. 

Special thanks to Jeff Mentzer for not only being a sea captain in the freezing cold "rain" but also for staying up until 3am modeling for tintypes. 

Getting Late

Inside the Camera

Here's one of the first tintypes with my new camera/darkroom setup, taken on a 4x5 black metal sheet. This is the last of just three shots taken using the bright California sun and no additional strobe lights. While there was still a lot of set up time to get everything ready for the first shot, it's much less than with my previous setup, the 10'x10' camera tent. See previous posts for a recent progression of the camera system. This week I'll be running some lighting tests with lower power lighting that I've used in the past, but I think it will still work well to capture a crisper image. onto the metal sheet. I'm also working on some framing/mounting options with exotic woods for the 4x5 and 8x10 sheets.