JUNE 04-08 JUNE 15-16 JUNE 18-22 JUNE 21-22 JUNE 25-27 JUNE 27-28 JULY 02-06 |
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The Art of Wet-Plate Collodion Frederick Scott Archer introduced the wet-plate collodion photographic process in 1851. Its relative simplicity, cost, reproducibility, and versatility led it to supplant the popular daguerreotype. Collodion was used to produce fine-grain glass negatives, ambrotypes, and tintypes. The ambrotype, like the daguerreotype, is a unique negative/positive photograph. It is a thin negative on glass that appears as a positive when viewed against a dark background. This archival 19th century process enables you to make your own photographic emulsion. This class will cover the basics of the wet-plate process and several ways to create images using collodion. You will make unique in-camera ambrotypes and tintypes, as well as ambrotypes and positive transparencies made from your positive slides and negative film using an enlarger. You’ll learn how to cut and clean glass, pour, sensitize and process plates, burnish and hand-color final images, apply a protective varnish, and house your photographs to complete the process. Wear old clothing as silver stains are likely. Participants should bring their own large format camera and tripod if available. Jenn Libby is an installation artist with a penchant for tactile, antiquated processes such as wet-plate collodion photography and hand–processed 16mm film. She teaches historic photographic processes in the graduate program at the Visual Studies Workshop and works as a photography instructor at the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film. |
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   images by Jenn Libby |
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