We were back at the collectors‘ meetup / regulars‘ table / Club Daguerre gathering in Bad Wörishofen (Süddeutsches Fotomuseum Bad Wörishofen). Honestly, it defies easy categorisation — it’s just a recurring Saturday where camera-obsessed people get together, share a meal, and then let museum director Stefan surprise them with whatever exciting programme he’s cooked up this time. This time, the programme was us. 🙂
Last time I had a long conversation with Jan about wet plates, brought some along, and showed him a few. Afterwards Stefan remarked — rather pointedly — that maybe that would have been interesting for everyone? And so it was decided: we’d set a date and simply demonstrate it live.
We had originally planned to arrive with a darkroom tent, a campervan, and heavy flash equipment in tow… but one by one, all of that was taken off our hands. Stefan had casually converted his garage into a full darkroom, and the sun kindly stood in for the flash. So we arrived with light luggage, and after lunch we made a few portraits — and at the end, even a group photo. Six whole seconds of keeping still were required!
There was also cake, coffee, and sparkling wine — and for those who wanted it, a short tour of the museum. The stereo photography section in particular got its hooks into me. Ever since I got a Sputnik and made my first enlargements to view with a stereo viewer, I’ve been well and truly caught. Stefan, however, described the Sputnik as a blurry box with crumbling Bakelite bits (or words to that effect), then proceeded to show me what I really need from the collection. And yes — I see it, I understand it… but do I really want to start yet another collection? Seriously? We shall see…
On previous visits I’d always been gifted a small, old camera — in my mind that had already become tradition (1st and 2nd), and I’d even brought films along just in case, you know how it is. But this time I came home with something rather different. Absolutely fantastic, beautifully stored photographic paper — two packs, still sealed. And others had also passed things my way: ancient dry plates (possibly already spent…) and glass plates — very thin and delicate, perfect for medium-format wet plates. I was absolutely over the moon.
And just like that, the day was over. We then zipped down the motorway for a leisurely two-and-a-half hours, before flopping into bed lazy, full, and very content.
One small note: the original tintypes all stayed at the museum, so what you’re seeing here are phone photos. Some of the pictures were also taken by other club members — since I just saved them as I went, I can’t say exactly who shot what. But I think that’s alright. It’s nice that I actually made it into some of the photos this time around — usually I’m the one running about with the phone camera. A shame, though, that C.-P. didn’t make it into the group photo — but someone did actually have to be at the camera.
