Student Wet Plates

So I dragged all my gear and chemistry into the school on Friday and did wet plates with my students. I have 12 Photo 2 students. Here is the result of a 6 hour class:

Here is my demo plate:



The following plate was poured and processed by Marissa (person on the left). The "antlers" showed up as a result of an incomplete collodion pour. I can't remember anymore who shot it. Thea, the person on the right says she thinks she looks like a coal miner.



The plate below was made by me and Sonja.



I can't remember who shot this plate, but that is Sonja on the left and my nose on the right.



Here are some mistake-plates. Thea made the one on the below, then Marissa rubbed her mouth off trying to remove something from the surface:



Ray made this one of Daniel, but I couldn't even see Daniel's face until I got home and buffed the surface a little with my sleeve:



I shot the image below of Kaylin. The image of Kaylin is a "mistake" plate because after it was finished, somebody drooled some heinous stuff onto the surface and tried to scratch it off...



I have never taught this before, and didn't realize how much there was to learn and remember. A number of exposures were made with plate holder in backwards, someone fixed before developing, someone else managed to get the plate holder sopping wet and the plates turned out a mess from that point forward. I don't think it is a process that works well in a group situation. 3 students is probably the most I can handle, considering the many steps involved, and the fact that they must also deal with the operation of an unfamiliar camera.