Another portrait before second lockdown

[Monsta]

Well I managed to get a plate of my friend Hakan before the second lockdown. 8x10 collodion onto clear glass. I slightly overdeveloped this one so burnished the face to get rid of a bit of veiling that occurred.

 

[Darren Lewey]

Some special tonal contrast there, very impressive.

 

[Ian Grant]

Interesting, you find some good subjects.

Ian

 

[Monsta]

Cheers Ian. I do like a good face and this process is quite brutal, it can bring out old scars and unseen freckles etc. Very much the opposite of all of this smoothing in software for portraiture nowadays, aaagh! I like the way the polished face has gone very silvery and the rest has stayed the warmish tone. This definitely adds to the tones and colour on this plate.

 

[Marley]

I absolutely love that image. I'm not a lover of overly processed digital portraiture either ... I like a lens that's flattering (in medium format that has always been my 180mm Mamiya lens pair for my roll film C330s) but no digital trickery please! It's that 'carved from solid material' look from collodion I adore. It really is 3D before that term was ever coined.

 

[David M]

Now that's really something. Real presence.
I hadn't heard of the burnishing technique.

 

[Monsta]

You can burnish the silver when it is totally dry and it really does pop then. You do lose the lovely warm tone though.