Wet Plate Workshop - Julia Dean @ Translight

Trying to figure out how to setp away from the crowd and shine?  Why not get back to basics?  I mean, really basic in terms of history but actually complex.

The Wet Plate Collodion Workshop
INSTRUCTOR: Allan Barnes
DATE: December 12th & 13th, 2009
2 Session(s) Sat 1-5pm, Sun  10am-4pm   
CLASS FEE: $245.00
Workshop Fee does not include $85  Lab Rental Fee to be paid to Translight Photography Center.

There is much conversation today about the changes in photographic technology, but these changes are nothing new. In efforts to advance photography in the mid-19th century, Fredrick Scott Archer, an English sculptor and photographer, experimented with collodion in the hope of producing a photographic negative on ordinary glass plates. This process was perfected in 1851. The Wet-Plate Collodion Process replaced the first dominant form of popular photography, the Daguerrotype. There were three phases of this technology: The Ambrotype, (a glass positive) The Ferrotype, (or Tintype) and the Glass Negative. Eventually, the dry-plate process replaced the wet-plate process. Then along came George Eastman and gelatin film, which made photography accessible to the masses.

In this hands-on workshop, participants will use vintage cameras to explore the craftsmanship of coating their own glass and metal plates to make a photograph, using the three sub-fields of WPC. First, we delve briefly into the history of this process and its revival. Then students will be trained in the coating of a photographic plate, exposure, development and preservation of the plate. Participants will also be provided with the information needed to purchase their own WPC equipment. Chemistry, media and cameras will be provided. Participants should come to the workshop with aprons and work clothing (materials are not overly toxic but can easily stain clothing). Students will be required to pay $85 to Translight Photography Center (TPC) for use of the facility. Upon completion of the class, all students will receive a free one-month membership to TPC, which includes a 25% discount off the regular darkroom rental rates.

Enrollment limit: 12 students

Enroll here.