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| Recording lifeboat crews with a Victorian camera | |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| A lifeboat enthusiast has set about recording the country's RNLI volunteers using a Victorian camera. | |
| Quietly spoken, Jack Lowe is a man on the verge of his dreams. | |
| A life-long love of photography and lifeboats has finally put him on the road around Britain's coast. | |
| Having given up the Newcastle printmaking business he ran for 15 years, he plans to record all 237 of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution's stations on glass plates with a 110-year-old camera. | Having given up the Newcastle printmaking business he ran for 15 years, he plans to record all 237 of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution's stations on glass plates with a 110-year-old camera. |
| "It was like stepping towards the edge of a cliff and hoping that your flying suit would work," he says. | |
| "I wanted to make things again, things that are actually photo-graphy, drawing with light," he says. | |
| "Making light interact with chemicals and having a physical object people can refer to in 100 years' time. | "Making light interact with chemicals and having a physical object people can refer to in 100 years' time. |
| "The second thing is engagement, participation. It becomes a collaboration because their time is no more or less valuable than my time and we make it together. | "The second thing is engagement, participation. It becomes a collaboration because their time is no more or less valuable than my time and we make it together. |
| "Not only that, but they see within seconds the image appear. So they get an instant bit of reward for their efforts." | "Not only that, but they see within seconds the image appear. So they get an instant bit of reward for their efforts." |
| Jack, 39, is quietly delighted by the effect the result has on its subjects. | Jack, 39, is quietly delighted by the effect the result has on its subjects. |
| "Sometimes they're moved to tears," he says. | "Sometimes they're moved to tears," he says. |
| "Tag, the Aldeburgh coxswain, we were just there together. His eyes welled up when he saw it appear out of the chemicals. | "Tag, the Aldeburgh coxswain, we were just there together. His eyes welled up when he saw it appear out of the chemicals. |
| "You pour fixer on the image and it switches from negative to positive before your eyes - magical." | "You pour fixer on the image and it switches from negative to positive before your eyes - magical." |
| Joanna Quinn, from the RNLI, says the crews photographed so far have found it an "involving and exciting experience". | Joanna Quinn, from the RNLI, says the crews photographed so far have found it an "involving and exciting experience". |
| "It's hard to articulate why the pictures are so effective but I think it's something to do with the fact that they look quite timeless," she says. | "It's hard to articulate why the pictures are so effective but I think it's something to do with the fact that they look quite timeless," she says. |
| "Lifeboat crews, though they change through the years - there are more women now, for example, than there ever have been - what they do has always been consistent. | "Lifeboat crews, though they change through the years - there are more women now, for example, than there ever have been - what they do has always been consistent. |
| "They are always willing to go out and save lives at sea and I think that continuity and that history is something that's reflected in his pictures." | "They are always willing to go out and save lives at sea and I think that continuity and that history is something that's reflected in his pictures." |
| This is the RNLI that "captivated" the eight-year-old Jack. | This is the RNLI that "captivated" the eight-year-old Jack. |
| Living on a boat at Teddington and Ramsgate harbour probably helped. | Living on a boat at Teddington and Ramsgate harbour probably helped. |
| As did visiting his dad on the Isle of Wight and seeing where Atlantic 21 lifeboats, which he thought were "so cool", were made. | As did visiting his dad on the Isle of Wight and seeing where Atlantic 21 lifeboats, which he thought were "so cool", were made. |
| Jack spends at least a day at the lifeboat stations and the Victorian process he uses is not swift, like the instant click of a digital shutter. | Jack spends at least a day at the lifeboat stations and the Victorian process he uses is not swift, like the instant click of a digital shutter. |
| An image is produced on a glass plate - coated with chemicals and still wet - when it is exposed to light through the camera. | An image is produced on a glass plate - coated with chemicals and still wet - when it is exposed to light through the camera. |
| A fixative stops the process and sets the picture - known as an ambrotype. | A fixative stops the process and sets the picture - known as an ambrotype. |
| Having converted his bedroom into a dark room at the age of 12, it is perhaps not surprising that Jack has done the same to an old ambulance, called Neena. | Having converted his bedroom into a dark room at the age of 12, it is perhaps not surprising that Jack has done the same to an old ambulance, called Neena. |
| The process has to be started and finished in about 15 minutes, unlike rolls of film which can be developed later, so he needs facilities to hand. | The process has to be started and finished in about 15 minutes, unlike rolls of film which can be developed later, so he needs facilities to hand. |
| The less light there is - specifically UV - the longer the camera's shutter has to remain open. If the subject moves, the image will blur. | The less light there is - specifically UV - the longer the camera's shutter has to remain open. If the subject moves, the image will blur. |
| "These are four, five, six, seven-second exposures," Jack says. "It makes for beautiful work because they have a peace about them. | "These are four, five, six, seven-second exposures," Jack says. "It makes for beautiful work because they have a peace about them. |
| "You have captured a few seconds in the glass. They've been thinking things and their hearts have been beating." | "You have captured a few seconds in the glass. They've been thinking things and their hearts have been beating." |
| With exposures of up to 12 seconds, willing participation is essential. | With exposures of up to 12 seconds, willing participation is essential. |
| An overcast location and the need to walk repeatedly between camera and dark room along a 150m (300ft) pier meant it took far longer than usual to photograph Cromer coxswain John Davies. | An overcast location and the need to walk repeatedly between camera and dark room along a 150m (300ft) pier meant it took far longer than usual to photograph Cromer coxswain John Davies. |
| "John isn't known for his patience," Jack says. | "John isn't known for his patience," Jack says. |
| "But there was a moment after about two and a half hours where he could tell that I was as dejected as he was. | "But there was a moment after about two and a half hours where he could tell that I was as dejected as he was. |
| "I just sat down and put my head in my hands and I said, 'I'm really sorry about this John'. | "I just sat down and put my head in my hands and I said, 'I'm really sorry about this John'. |
| "He said to me - out of the blue, I didn't expect this at all - he said 'don't worry Jack, we'll crack this'. | "He said to me - out of the blue, I didn't expect this at all - he said 'don't worry Jack, we'll crack this'. |
| "This is an eighth generation Cromer coxswain. He's been at sea since four in the morning. He's the only one in the station. He's just there for the photograph." | "This is an eighth generation Cromer coxswain. He's been at sea since four in the morning. He's the only one in the station. He's just there for the photograph." |
| Jack's intention is for the RNLI to own the completed collection of glass ambrotypes, which the organisation says "would be a remarkable thing" for it to have. | Jack's intention is for the RNLI to own the completed collection of glass ambrotypes, which the organisation says "would be a remarkable thing" for it to have. |
| It is committed to sharing them with as many people as possible, through an exhibition, book or gallery, it says. | It is committed to sharing them with as many people as possible, through an exhibition, book or gallery, it says. |
| Jack gives the first print from each ambrotype to the station or crew member and pays for the project - and "puts food on the table" - by selling further prints to anyone who wants them. | Jack gives the first print from each ambrotype to the station or crew member and pays for the project - and "puts food on the table" - by selling further prints to anyone who wants them. |
| Following a vague plan to go north when it is warm and south when cold, his next trip will be to Scotland. | Following a vague plan to go north when it is warm and south when cold, his next trip will be to Scotland. |
| And then, one day, after the four or five years his project will take, he will become a lifeboatman, he says. | And then, one day, after the four or five years his project will take, he will become a lifeboatman, he says. |
| "I will be. I know I will be," he says. |