Ty Guillory

Making the Sliding Box Camera Ty Guillory

- I made wet plate cameras for quite some time, shipping my handmade cameras all over the world.

- The sliding box camera is a very early camera design dating back to the daguerreotype era, though it can be used for any of the plate photography methods. The all-wood construction lends it to be a beautiful piece of a working photographic tool. This book covers the entire construction phase. The camera made for the writing of this book is a 5"x7". However, included in the book is a section on measurements & adaptations that explains how to adapt the camera to fit your lens and format size.

- I aim this book to the experienced woodworker who is familiar with some traditional joinery. Some of the joinery such as the hand-cut dovetails may be substituted with box joints or finger joints. Mitered spline joints may be used in place of the mortise & tenon joints used in the book. Though aimed at the experienced woodcrafter, I feel that those with limited experience may be able modify the methods and techniques to fit their needs. In the book, I cover all aspects of the camera making process; including lens selection, adapting my measurements for your needs, ground glass, making the acrylic inserts, brass-work, and more. 3D diagrams and color photos help you to visualize the process.

- Diagrams within the body of the book are in inches; however, those same diagrams in mm are reprinted in the back of each book. This book on the Sliding Box camera and my other book, "Making the Traditional Wet Plate Camera" (Bellows version) are the only two books written on how to make historically-correct plate cameras.