THE ORIGINAL RECIPE
POE BOY from 1852
A leap back of more than 150 years to rediscover the ancient wisdom and ingenuity.
THE POE BOY RECIPE FOR WET PLATES
The Poe Boy uses simple ingredients and is among the safest recipes. The name, that probably derives from a simplification of “Poor Boy”.
It has the advantage of not needing additional Ether compared to the one already contained in the Collodio. The disadvantage, however, is that it takes about 15 days to “mature” and become operational. It also has a relatively short life of about a month so it requires careful planning of the shootings to avoid staying dry of the main ingredient.
FROM 1852
The recipe uses Collodio 5% mixed with 96% alcohol and a few grams of iodide and potassium bromide. Mixed in the right quantities and left to rest for about 15 days, they will produce a liquid of highly variable color, depending on the ambient temperature in which it matured. Once immersed in a Silver Nitrate bath it will make the slab on which it has been applied slightly sensitive to light.
It is called “Wet” because the sensitivity remains active as long as the collodion remains wet. Once dried, the slab definitively loses its power to react to light.
THE CHEMISTRY
One of the many interesting aspects of this technique is that, if you want, you can prepare everything by yourself. This introduces a further characteristic element into the photographs which you create.
Each Collodist has his own rituals and personal recipes with proportions between the ingredients that vary slightly according to the artistic peculiarities of each.
Once a month, therefore, the preparing the Collodion ritual, checking the density and acidity of the Silver Nitrate is repeated while the development is prepared session by session before starting so as to always have it fresh and reactive.