As a part of our final major project research, we are given artist talks from our tutors. The artists may not relate to our projects but it is interesting and useful to learn about them. Today we were shown photographer, Ian Ruhter.
Ian Ruhter has gone from being a commercial photographer to a fine-art photographer and has found his place somewhere between the two. He makes portraits and explores landscapes using the wet plate collodion process, he has become internationally known for creating the world’s largest photographs with this historical medium.
Ruhter discovered photography at the age of 25, as he learned about photography and progressed his skills with the medium, he began to think that using it as a means to make a living would benefit him by allowing him to both express himself and provide for his life. It was at this point that he set out working commercially and quickly picked up the clothing and shoe brand, Vans. This kept him quite busy, shooting catalogs and ad campaigns, which eventually led to other editorial jobs. Including being a staff photographer for Transworld snowboarding magazine. However, the commercial practice became unfulfilling over time, and Ian began to explore other options within the photographic industry. On Ian’s search for a creative and unique outlet he soon discovered the wet plate collodion process, a 19th century photographic process using raw materials, such as silver nitrate, to make your own light sensitive film to coat either a metal or glass plate.
“Once you do what is within you, it will be so unique and so different, that it truly will be yours.”
Ian decided to put all of his commercial work behind him and dedicate his energies to working in this medium, starting with his new project, Silver & Light. This project started with shooting 4×5” and 8×10” plates, Ian quickly felt that more could be accomplished, and immediately found a desire to make images as large as he possibly could. He soon realised the difficulties of photographing plates with this process at the desired size needed both a massive camera and a darkroom space large enough to develop them. After telling his father about the ideas he had, Ian’s father felt that a box-style truck of some sort would solve both problems. It could be used to mount a lens at the rear of the vehicle and hold an unexposed plate inside during the actual shooting time, and then use it as a darkroom. This also accomplished the basic need of mobility in getting this massive camera from one place to the next.
Over the years, Ian has taken on many special projects in the pursuit of his passion. One project he created called “American Dream,” is a multi-media project based around Ruhter’s travels meeting and photographing Americans from all walks of life. Ruhter says the response to this project has been overwhelming, with strangers from all over America offering words of encouragement or telling him their story in the hopes of becoming part of the project.
Although Ian Ruhter’s work does not necessarily relate to my final major project, I have learnt from researching him that photography is about the process, and that there is more to photography than just the final images. Ian Ruhter teaches that making an image is a collaboration and through his work he proves that working together creates a bond and gains a deeper meaningful insight into people’s lives. His photographic career is a story about a journey, this reflects on our final major projects being a journey.
Final Major Project 