The dessert of this trip

This I kept in my back pocket knowing the return home would have something special to finish with.

I wanted to make a Ferrotype (fancy term for TinType) of the Elephant’s Hide just above Halls Gap in the Grampians. It would be a special test for my module darkroom and wet plate shooting skills. The process is a bit of a ‘process’, you have to be organised and work clean to get strong results, not something normally associated with camping.

I clung to the plan, especially after lugging the equipment across two states, even after wet weather descended on an otherwise perfectly clear week. Sunday morning, my only opportunity, the rain was misting about, but the wind whipped around in a rage of sorts. A threat to any tent, let alone a standing height darkroom tent.

I’d scoped my location on the way over, a siding on the Zumstein Road out of Halls Gap, large enough to back the car down and be close enough for shelter. The camera location would be another 30 meters over rocks, but all possible.

I set up, wondering if it was a good idea, it takes around 20 minutes, everything became gradually wetter, but I continued.

I made three plates, all pretty successful except for the scene which moved wildly over the 12 second exposures. The camera was rock solid, as were the rocks featured, but everything else swam about. The result is misty and a dose of romanticism. Not what I wanted, but something I am pleased with.