Video: How to Convert Large Format Sheet Film Holders for 19th Century Dry Plate Photography

In this 17 minute video I walk you through how to convert a Riteway large format sheet film holder for dry plate or wet plate photography.  I went on this journey because I started exploring dry plate photography and hit a brick wall when trying to find holders for the glass plates that would fit my field cameras.  I made several orders from e-bay with none of them working for any of my large format field cameras.  I am sure there are some out there, but I wasn’t able to find any during my search period. I should also mention that I am using modern day large format field cameras with Graflok backs on them.

The modification that I present in this video is not an elegant solution by any means, but it will allow you to use dry plates with Riteway sheet film holders.

Assumptions

In order for this modification to work you will need to use a Riteway sheet film holder and 1/16th thick glass.  Other holders may work, but I cannot verify that to be the case.  I specifically choose to go with the Riteway holders because the septum (center piece between the dark slides) is metal as opposed to plastic.  This is more rigid and I felt it was a better long term piece of material to work with.  Also, the Riteway holders have a metal rail that the sheet film slides under that I slightly modify to provide better support for the glass plate.

I went round and round looking for clear plate glass of different thicknesses.  For this specific modification to work perfectly you will need 1/16th glass.  I found the best supply available from Hobby Lobby craft stores.  Look for their Quick Frames near the custom framing department or you can order online.  They run a 50% off sale on these almost every week. You can get an 8×10 for $2 or a 16×20 for $5.  If you are making 4×5 plates then this is very reasonable as compared to sheet film pricing.

Pros and Cons to the Modification

From my perspective there are some pros and cons with this modification and I wanted to share my thoughts with you for your consideration.

Pros:

• Allows you to start working with dry plates when you otherwise might not be able to without locating a historic dry plate holder that will fit your camera.
• You can use this holder in the mean time until you find a proper dry plate holder for your camera.  The biggest challenge is in getting the emulsion down on the glass plate properly and there is no replacement for experience.
• You may be perfectly happy with the modified holder and have solved your problem.
• You could technically use the design I present for wet plates too.
• The modification process is straight forward and does not require special parts.

Cons:

• The process is time consuming and requires tools and mechanical ability.
• You modify the two sheet film holder for only one glass plate.
• Because of the mask required to hold the glass plate in place you loose that border area around your image.  In my case it was 1/4″ all the way around the plate.
• You may have to purchase tools to do the modification.
• If you are not careful you could ruin your sheet film holder.

Video

Summary

My hope is that I have provided information that is useful to you and hopefully has saved you a lot of time and frustration that I unfortunately had to work my way through.  I have been on the other side of it and it is always nice to find information that is helpful.

In the coming weeks I will continue writing about a variety of historic photography processes and techniques such as salt printing, albumen, dry plates, etc.

Tim

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Tim Layton

© Tim Layton – All Rights Reserved – 2011. You may not republish or use any information or media of any format, in part or in whole, without my written permission. For permission and more information you can contact Tim Layton on the web at blog.blackandwhitefineart.net or via email at tim@blackandwhitefineart.net or via the telephone at 636.422.0002