Wet plate photographer Ian Ruhter has  received a good deal of attention over the past year for using  a custom camera van to create giant  collodion process metal photos. When he’s not turning large sheets of metal  into photographs, he’s sometimes working on the opposite side of the  spectrum.

One of his recent interests has been shooting pint-sized photos using a Holga  toy camera that he converted into a wet plate camera. To help other photographers play around with the same  concept, Ruhter created this 5-minute video showing the camera and teaching how  it’s used:

You won’t need to do any major hardware modifications. A simple tape-up of  the rear cover and some carefully sized aluminum plates are all you need  (assuming you have all the other necessary wet  plate supplies).

I think as photographers we get in a rhythm of playing by rules that were  written by others. I feel this applies to life as well. To live by rules that  were created by others we may never find out who we really are. — Ian  Ruhter

Here are some photographs Ruhter has captured using his Holga wet plate  camera:

(via ISO  1200)

Image credits: Photographs by Ian Ruhter