"The Passing of King Arthur" in Wet Plate Collodion Inspired by Julia Margaret Cameron
"The Passing of King Arthur", wet plate inspired by the work of Julia Margaret Cameron, circa 1875, in the same process that she used in the Victoria ero.
Thank you Kevin R Tengesdal, Kary Janousek, Ali Horner, Jesse Castillo, Shaelynn Larson, Laine Pope and Anthony Nelson for all you did for this image.
8x10" black glass ambrotype in the historic wet plate process of pure silver on glass, Carl Zeiss Tessar 300mm lens, f4.5, 9 seconds of exposure, natural light through Northern facing windows and skylight at Nostalgic Glass Wet Plate Studio.
"The Lady of Shalott" in wet plate collodion, inspired by the poem by Lord Tennyson and the painting of John William Waterhouse, circa 1888.
"King Ahasuerus and Queen Esther in Apocrypha", a wet plate inspired by the beautiful work of Julia Margaret Cameron, circa 1865.
"Standing For Us All" with Greta Thunberg in Wet Plate Collodion at Standing Rock
"Standing For Us All" is the name I have chosen for this wet plate of Greta Thunberg. This image has been shared hundreds of times with thousands of likes in the past 24 hours. Before she left us yesterday I asked her father Svante a question. I asked him "What can I do for Greta and her cause?". He explained to me that I have already done my role by taking her wet plate. His only request was that the images be shared with the world along with Greta's message.
"People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are at the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you." - Greta Thunberg
Greta Thunberg captured for the first time in the historic wet plate collodion process of silver on glass. Her message is simple. Listen to the science and then take action.
I need to thank Jen Jewett for making this happen. I am forever grateful. I also need to thank Standing Rock for helping us capture this history on their lands. My friend Chad Nodland also took the day off to be able to take some behind the scene images that I will share soon. I need to thank my daughter Abby Ava Balkowitsch for being there for me today. She helped me greatly achieve these two exposures in less than 30 minutes.
Last but not least, I want to thank Greta and her father Svante for giving us their time and trust. This opportunity means the world to me.
8x10" black glass ambrotypes, natural light., Carl Zeiss Tessar 300mm lens, f5.6, 3 seconds of exposure, October 8th, 2019.
Some Articles About the Plates of Greta (Over 75 Articles Have Been Written and Published Worldwide):
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2019/12/02/us/ap-us-thunberg-standing-rock.html
https://petapixel.com/2019/10/15/a-wet-plate-portrait-of-greta-thunberg/
https://mymodernmet.com/best-photos-of-2019/
https://apnews.com/9967e80965f84fa697bfbcd5d8f1f7e5
https://mymodernmet.com/native-american-portraits-shane-balkowitsch/
https://www.analogforevermagazine.com/features-interviews/shane-balkowitschs-historical-wetplates-greta-thunberg
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Update 11/13/2019 -
My young friend Greta Thunberg just shared my wet plate "Standing For Us All" on Instragram, Facebook and Twitter! The wet plates received over 2,000,000 likes.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4zpzsApiS4/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
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Update 11/20/2019 -
It is official! I just received confirmation that the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (Prints and Photographs Division) is going to permanently archive and curate my original ambrotype of Greta Thunberg (Plate #3328) "Standing For Us All".
It is so very rewarding to know that this work will be preserved and shared long after I am gone.
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Update 12/18/2019 -
My Modern Met selects the wet plate "Greta" as one of the Top 50 Photographs of the Year.
https://mymodernmet.com/best-photos-of-2019/
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Update 12/23/2019 -
I just received confirmation that the Nordiska Museet in Sweden has received the original into their archive. They are going to permanently archive and curate my original ambrotype of Greta Thunberg (Plate #3327) "Greta".
https://www.nordiskamuseet.se/en
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Update 2-11-2020 -
In an attempt to get large print of Greta installed in an alley downtown Bismarck, I have been met with opposition, KFYR informed me that they were doing a story with or without me.
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Update 2-12-2020 -
Threats of boycotts and threats of vandalism derailed the installation of the mural I was proposing Bismarck, but we have won, "Standing For Us All" is now being installed in Fargo, North Dakota as well as Poughkeepsie, New York. Thousands of people from around the world have shown support and come to my aid. The arts were under attack and I used my art as a weapon to drive back the hate and ugliness. SEE SOME OF THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL articles below:
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2020/02/12/us/ap-us-thunberg-mural.html?searchResultPosition=5
https://amp.sanluisobispo.com/entertainment/celebrities/article240244596.html
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/artist-scraps-plans-thunberg-mural-boycott-threats-68948097
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/02/13/greta-thunberg-mural/
https://kosmofoto.com/2020/02/greta-thunberg-wet-plate-portrait-mural-axed-after-uproar/
https://earther.gizmodo.com/trolls-force-artist-to-cancel-a-planned-greta-thunberg-1841666327
https://www.sfgate.com/nation/article/News-of-the-Day-From-Across-the-Nation-Feb-12-15051942.php
https://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/muralmalning-av-greta-thunberg-slopas-efter-kritik/
https://www.valleynewslive.com/content/news/Greta-Thunberg-mural-set-to-come-to-Fargo-567919011.html
https://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/muralmalning-av-greta-thunberg-slopas-efter-kritik/
https://shotkit.com/shane-balkowitsch/
https://www.kvrr.com/2020/02/14/front-street-taproom-to-display-greta-thunberg-mural/
https://knoxradio.com/news/local/artist-scraps-plans-thunberg-mural-bismarck
https://740thefan.com/news/articles/2020/feb/13/balkowitsch-mural-vandalized-in-bismarck/984933/
http://fargofilmfestival.org/index.php/2020/02/17/balkowitsch-receives-prairie-spirit-award/
https://www.kxnet.com/news/artist-whose-mural-was-vandalized-speaks-out/
https://kfgo.com/2020/02/14/its-the-ones-well-never-know-about/
https://hpr1.com/index.php/opinion/editorial/art-for-our-sake/
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2020/02/14/2003730990
https://www.kentucky.com/entertainment/celebrities/article240244596.html
https://www.cowboysindians.com/2020/02/photo-essay-shadow-catcher/
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Update 2/22/2020 - "The Anonymous Egging Of An Artist", self portrait by Shane Balkowitsch with the help of his children.
INTERVIEW of Shane Balkowitsch
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-87dej-d58ecc
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Update 3/21/2020 - "Standing For Us All" with Greta Thunberg is installed at the Frontstreet Taproom in Fargo, North Dakota. Mike Williams was instrumental in getting this accomplished and I am forever in his debt.
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Update: 4/5/2020 - A big thank you to the anonymous person or persons that put this billboard up. “Standing For Us All” with Greta Thunberg. She is prominently displayed in the parking lot of Menards in Bismarck. This made my day. Art will prevail. Abby Ava Balkowitsch was with me when this image was made as well as Chad Nodland.
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Update: 4/22/2020 - On Earth Day 2020, the news broke in Fargo of the egging of the Greta Thunberg mural. The mural was so damaged that it needed to be replaced.
Marcella Rose LeBeau "Pretty Rainbow Woman" Captured in Wet Plate Collodion
Marcella Rose LeBeau "Pretty Rainbow Woman", Cheyenne River Lakota, Band of Oohenupa, for my series "Northern Plains Native Americans: A Modern Wet Plate Perspective". Marcella is in the South Dakota Hall of Fame and was a nurse in World War II. She is 99 years young and it was a true honor to be able to take this portrait for her family and legacy.
Digital Behind the Scene Color Photographs by Chad Nodland
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-abHGgnRX4
https://www.sdstate.edu/graduation/commencement-program/marcella-lebeau
http://www.wisdomoftheelders.org/turtle-island-storyteller-marcella-lebeau/
https://www.westrivereagle.com/articles/marcella-lebeau-named-veteran-of-the-day/
“BALKOWITSCH” Documentary To Screen At Human Rights Film Festival at Heritage Center
The feature length documentary “Balkowitsch” will screen at the 2019 North Dakota Human Rights Film Festival. The film will screen in Bismarck, North Dakota on Saturday, November 2 at 7 p.m. at the North Dakota Heritage Center and State Museum. Directors Greg DeSaye and Chelsy Ciavarella will participate in question and answer session following the screening.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11929442/
Everyone has a purpose, but most spend their lives searching. For one man, his purpose came late in life and has been fueled with passion, spreading like wildfire across the prairies and now spanning the world.
Shane Balkowitsch has found his voice through the lost art of wet plate photography. He is archiving history, preserving bloodlines and capturing his visions in silver on glass for future generations.
"Brothers" Native American Bison Captured Wet Plate Collodion with Allan Demaray
"Mideegaadi" with Allan Demaray captured in the historical wet plate collodion process of silver on glass. The word for bison in Hidatsa is Mideegaadi. Different tribes on the plains have their own words to describe the sacred animals. I have also been informed that the word “Buffalo” is being used improperly to describe these animals in North America. Bison is the proper terminology and that is how I will refer to from them from this day forward.
Last year I chased the wild herd on the open plains for 8 hours at Standing Rock. The shot eluded me and I always knew I needed revisit the thoughts in my head. As I tell the college students when the visit my studio every year, "Do whatever it takes to get the shot, the final image in whatever form is all that matters". I applied that ideology yesterday.
Carl Zeiss Tessar 300mm lens, f11, 3 seconds of exposure outside my studio in natural light, 8x10" black glass ambrotypes.
My bond with my brother Allan Demaray is becoming stronger every time we create together. My good friend Tom Wirtz was on hand to assist on the set and he also took some behind the scene images of our adventure together.
