{"id":515985,"date":"2022-11-18T20:55:34","date_gmt":"2022-11-18T17:55:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/this-photographer-turned-an-rv-into-a-19th-century-inspired-mobile-darkroom\/"},"modified":"2022-11-18T20:55:34","modified_gmt":"2022-11-18T17:55:34","slug":"this-photographer-turned-an-rv-into-a-19th-century-inspired-mobile-darkroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/this-photographer-turned-an-rv-into-a-19th-century-inspired-mobile-darkroom\/","title":{"rendered":"#This photographer turned an RV into a 19th-century-inspired mobile darkroom"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a4f84fa74dd4\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a4f84fa74dd4\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/this-photographer-turned-an-rv-into-a-19th-century-inspired-mobile-darkroom\/#%E2%80%9CThis_photographer_turned_an_RV_into_a_19th-century-inspired_mobile_darkroom%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;This photographer turned an RV into a 19th-century-inspired mobile darkroom&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CThis_photographer_turned_an_RV_into_a_19th-century-inspired_mobile_darkroom%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;This photographer turned an RV into a 19th-century-inspired mobile darkroom&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n                            \u201cMy photos will last for at least 200 years,\u201d says photographer Bill Hao, \u201cbut will the beauty in the photos still be there?\u201d\n                        <\/div>\n<div>\n                                                                        <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the age of cellphone cameras and Instagram filters, photography has never been more accessible or easier to produce. But photographer Bill Hao is taking a much tougher\u2014and older\u2014route to capture the beauty of Canada\u2019s Rocky Mountains.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Until the COVID-19 pandemic, Hao spent 17 years operating a tour company, a time in which he became compelled to photograph the Rockies. Now he devotes all his time to the craft using a 19th-century photo development process called \u201ccollodion wet plate\u201d photography.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The process requires taking and developing photos while in the field, and in order to pull it off, Hao transformed a 50-seat tour bus into a mobile darkroom big enough to house the antique camera he built from scratch.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2015, he began creating wet plate photos after learning about them from old books and the internet. He started off slightly smaller\u2014his portable darkroom consisted of a foldable wooden box that could be used for both the developing process and transporting materials. He then upgraded to a Dodge minivan with the back two rows of seats removed, before finally switching to the bus last summer after working on it for eight months.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-sizes=\"auto\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1241850 size-full lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Dodge-Caravan-01-e1668788615430.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2616\" height=\"1589\"\/>\u00a0<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-sizes=\"auto\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1241851 size-full lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Build-Darkroom-Bus-1-e1668788651309.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1994\" height=\"1893\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-sizes=\"auto\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1241854 size-full lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Darkroom-Bus-1-e1668788705783.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1512\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-sizes=\"auto\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1241852 size-full lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/IMG_5524.MOV.00_00_01_26.Still001-e1668788765455.bmp\" alt=\"\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1420\"\/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hao\u2019s renovations included separating the darkroom from the rest of the bus, adding water tanks, a sink, a water hose connected to an electrical pump, and red lights which allow him to see what he\u2019s doing in the darkroom without ruining his photos as he develops them. He also needed to build large developing trays to soak the panes of glass he uses in the necessary chemicals.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-sizes=\"auto\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1241853 size-full lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/IMG_5361.MOV.00_00_15_15.Still001-e1668788790557.bmp\" alt=\"\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1425\"\/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To create a collodion wet plate photo, you have to maneuver a plate of glass or metal between multiple chemicals, then to the camera, then back to more chemicals, all within minutes.<\/span><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-sizes=\"auto\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1241855 size-full lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/big-glass00-e1668788842229.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1656\"\/><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hao first sets up his camera, which rests on three <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">trip<\/a>ods instead of just one because of its size, and adjusts the focus. Then, in his darkroom, he coats a piece of glass with collodion, a clear, syrupy mixture made of raw cotton and nitric and sulfuric acids dissolved in ether and alcohol, as well as iodide and bromide. Next, he dips the glass into silver nitrate, which binds to the iodide and bromide and forms a layer that is sensitive to light. He then places it in the camera, where rather than pushing a button to engage the shutter, the lens cap is simply removed then replaced to expose the photo. He brings the glass back to the darkroom, where it is placed into two different chemical solutions: first, a developer, causing the parts of the glass exposed to light to turn silver, followed by a fixer, which fixes the image onto the glass permanently. Finally, he washes the glass off with water. This whole process needs to be completed within about 15 minutes, before the glass dries.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-sizes=\"auto\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1241857 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/big-glass01.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2667\" height=\"2000\"\/>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unlike a film negative, which can be scanned and printed multiple times and in various sizes, wet plate photos can\u2019t be enlarged or copied. The glass Hao inserts into the camera becomes the photograph itself.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI have to make a bigger camera if I want to get a bigger picture,\u201d he explains, which is why he shoots in ultra-large format to capture the details of the landscapes he aims to preserve in his photos.<\/span><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-sizes=\"auto\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1241856 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/32X48inch3002.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2667\" height=\"2000\"\/>\u00a0<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-sizes=\"auto\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1241859 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/IMG_6873.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2667\" height=\"2000\"\/><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although currently focused on the Rockies, Hao says he\u2019d someday like to photograph Yosemite National Park like his idol Ansel Adams, as well as Atlantic Canada and even Europe (although transporting his equipment there would be near impossible).\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He also wants to exhibit his work in the future, although navigating the art and gallery world hasn\u2019t been easy, especially with the amount of time he spends off-grid, in nature. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The huge amount of time and effort needed to produce wet plate photos is worth it for Hao, for the striking, shimmering effect of the silver particles that make up each image, and for the amount of creative control he can have.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI can participate in the whole process, from the production of the negative to the completion of a photo, which involves a lot of physical and chemical knowledge, as well as a lot of artistic and aesthetic knowledge,\u201d he says. Through it all, he draws inspiration from capturing a natural landscape threatened by modern industry.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cMy wet plate photos will last for at least 200 years,\u201d he says. \u201cBut will the beauty in the photos still be there?\u201d<\/span><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-sizes=\"auto\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1241858 size-full lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/MyDarkroom02-1-e1668788890664.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2220\"\/><\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async defer crossorigin=\"anonymous\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/general\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">General category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/culture\/this-photographer-turned-an-rv-into-a-19th-century-inspired-mobile-darkroom\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;This photographer turned an RV into a 19th-century-inspired mobile darkroom&#8221; \u201cMy photos will last for at least 200 years,\u201d says photographer Bill Hao, \u201cbut will the beauty in the photos still be there?\u201d In the age of cellphone cameras and Instagram filters, photography has never been more accessible or easier to produce. But photographer Bill&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":515986,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Mycamera01-766x431.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[136228,67820,124411],"class_list":["post-515985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-darkroom","tag-photography","tag-rv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=515985"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515985\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/515986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=515985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=515985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=515985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}