Having finally finished the 16x20 / 20x20 camera recently, I finally got a chance to use it last week. Jared came into town so we seized the opportunity to make our first tests while we were together. The very first plate we opted for glass, which I think I chose because it’s more readily available than the black aluminum plates we normally shoot on, but it seems an odd choice in retrospect as that was only the second ambrotype I’ve made (the first being this plate of Shane Balkowitsch). Jared snapped some photos of the first plate, and I grabbed one of Charlie looking at him + Stephanie (see below).

After we proved we could actually pour and develop a plate that large, we moved on to a couple of tests of Jared on black metal. The first good plate is above, and I couldn’t be more happy with it. I’m shooting my first official portrait today and I’m hopeful about what comes out.