Jessee St. John Collodion Photographer: jessee st john

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Monday, February 4, 2013

Dickens Festival 2013

The Dickens Festival of Riverside was amazing. This was our first time attending the event and we had great weather and wonderful people stop by our booth. A great time was had by all! A big thank you to everyone who came out and attended the event. We can not wait until next year.

Dickens Fest featured article in the Inland Empire Weekly

Frank

John

Diablo the Magician

Teri McCoy

Monday, January 14, 2013

Lens mounting

When mounting a lens flange in preparation for use you need to make sure there are no light leaks. Light can seep in through the lens flange and your images will be fogged. Here is a cheap and quick photo illustration of how I make sure my lenses fit nice and snug against the lens board.

At your local hardware you can pick up sheets of rubber this one was $5.00. At Dale McFaddens they sell rubbers already cut to size, and you can take your lens and usually find the perfect fit. I used the rubber because the hardware store is down the street.

You will need screws and nuts to hold the flange tightly to the board. Take your lens board and flange to your hardware store and buy the screw that will fit in the holes. You will also need to pre-dremel holes into the lens mount so you can easily fit the screws in place.

Cut the rubber to size, dremel holes into the wood, and screw in the screws and apply the nuts and you are ready to go!

Since lenses are worth so much now a days it is best to make sure everything is on tight and securely. The rubber was only $5.00 and I can use it for two other lenses I have and the screws and nuts were only a $1.00. Simple solution that will save you a headache in the future.

Website 95% Complete!

It has been a long week getting this website done. I just need to finish one more section for the Cases and then it will be 100% done. ENJOY

Home page

Portfolio

Calendar for 2013

Pricing

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Yuma, Arizona January 28th-29th 2013 & Dickens Festival

Just got back from Vail Lake this weekend in Temecula, CA and I had a great time with all the other sutlers! Made a lot of plates and have been impatiently waiting for them to cure so I can scan and upload the pictures. After asking others which event they recommend next, everyone spoke very highly of the event in Yuma, Arizona. This event is held January 28th-29th and as a birthday gift to myself I am going to back up and head out.

The Yuma Quartermaster Depot is not only a historic site, but the living history weekend should be awesome! At the event I will be offering sixth, quarter, and half plate portraits in addition to cases accompanying each size. That is right my half cases are almost finished and ready to be sold. I have been working a long time on my cases and can not wait to have them set for January. In addition, soon to be added to the stop will be reproduction union thermoplastic frames. Stay tuned because the store is expanding rapidly and new images will be up shortly.

Charles Dickens

In addition, for Febryart 2013 I plan to be a vendor at the Dickens Festival in Downtown Riverside on Main Street. Dance classes are being held each Wednesday till February so attendees can brush up on their dancing skills. Next week I plan to attend the lessons for the first time so when it comes time for the ball down I will not have two left feet. You can visit the website for updates and I have included the form to buy tickets to the ball and different events throughout the weekend.

Now for Dickens and the ball the main question is what to wear? I have been very foruntate to meet some very talented woman and the dresses and supplies they provide to create the most gorgeous gowns make me so envious! If you are ever in need of a ballgown or period correct clothing make sure to check out Victorian Designs by Lily, (Lily is also a milliner and create any hat you desire!), Kansas Mercantile by Shelly Peters, and Truly Victorian.

The "Shelley Ballgown"

Heather McNaughton - Costume Designer

Victorian Designs by Lily: costume designer and milliner

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Moorpark 2012

Moorpark was the most amazing Civil War Event this year! It was on a huge corn farm and reenactors from all over the west coast. I had a wonderful time and can not wait for Vail Lake Temecula. See you then December 8-9, 2012.

Huntington Library

We were invited to demonstrate the wet plate collodion process at the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens in November during their Civil War Living History day. It was a pleasure to demonstrate the process to the visitors of the museum so they can understand how Mathew Brady and his crew made the photographs.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

PASADENA ARTWALK

Last Saturday was a huge success and I want to thank all the patrons of the arts of Pasadena for coming out to the 7th Annual Art WALK. It was a huge success and can not wait for next year!

A very supportive crowd counts along with me as I make an exposure

All photo credits: Rachael Torres

Varnishing a plate of my sister

Close-up of my tribute union thermoplastic cases

Thank you to my family for all of their support!

I was even featured in the Pasadena Star News the next day.

Upcoming Events: See you at Moorpark at the Underwood Family Ranch November 10-11th

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Completed Labels

This morning I finished designing the labels for my wet plate collodion chemistry. This afternoon I printed them and laminated them. I went to Office Max to have them laminated and noticed the thinner laminate works much better when bending around bottles. The thicker laminate they have is to sturdy to bend and created some issues and needed to be worked a bit more to adhere to the bottle. I used Super 7 glue and nitrile gloves. Make sure to clean the surface of the bottle you are working on.

Images of the labels being prepared and adhered:

Office Max print 35 cents and laminate is about $1.50 so all together I got everything done for $8.00.

Collodion Bottle Labels

Went with something simple I suppose for the Collodion labels. Was not sure if I should have kept the format the same to match the other bottles...

Friday, May 25, 2012

Wet Plate Collodion Logos

Hello! I have designed these labels for wet plate collodion photographers to easily mark their bottles. I have included the silver nitrate and distilled water labels on this post, but you can find all the labels on my facebook page .They are free to use go ahead and copy as many as you like and use them. I plan to print them on an aged paper and then have them laminated to then adhere them to my fixer and water tanks and bottles. I have includuded lines for amount, date, and the photographers name. I hope you enjoy them. Feel free to visit my website: www.JesseeStJohn.com.

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