Ian Ruhter photographs Canadian band Metric with 8×10 wet plate collodion process

The Canadian indie band Metric was in Los Angeles recently when photographer Ian Ruhter got a call from his good friend Lauren Graham asking if he’d like to shoot with band with his 8×10 wet collodion process. The band had a busy schedule, including an appearance on the Jay Leno Show, so the timing would be tight and he’d have to shoot after 5pm, but Ruhter didn’t even have to think about it. “I just answered when and where,” writes Ruhter on his blog.

“My first thought was about the amount of daylight left in the day after 5pm.” writes Ruhter. “Lauren suggested we do it close to the Leno studio which is in Burbank. She works at the Jackass office around the corner. I hesitated and said yes, but I could not think of a worse location than a parking lot in the valley. This was an opportunity that I didn’t want to let slip by, so I called my right hand man James about doing a test that night. I stayed up late in to the am shooting photos, mixing extra chemicals and prepping everything. We felt good. This was the most prepared we had been for any wet plate shoot.”

Canadian band Metric photographed by Ian Ruhter with the 8x10 wet collodion process. Copyright © Ian Ruhter.

Canadian band Metric photographed by Ian Ruhter with the 8x10 wet collodion process. Copyright © Ian Ruhter.