Mt Evans Workshops 2012

I’m getting excited for the summer. Rupert Jenkins from CPAC suggested I offer a field course in Wet Plate Collodion. Great idea! Not only for the people that attend, but also for me! I need to mix it up this year.

I’m still working out my next project idea. I don’t really like to say too much, because things change all of the time. I’m not even sure what process I’m going to use!  However, I’m excited about living in Colorado and what that means photographically. I want to get out of the studio, too.  So, for right now, I’ve decided that I’m going to offer two VERY special workshops this summer. I’m calling them the Colorado Wet Plate Collodion Field Workshops.

These will be special for at least two reasons. First, not only do you get to make photographs by hand in a wonderfully revealing process (and get away from the computer for a while), you get to spend time in some of the most beautiful landscape in America.

The details will come in a few weeks, but I’m thinking about taking a group to Mt. Evans. There’s a paved road (the highest paved road in North America, by the way) that goes to almost 14,000 feet above sea level (that’s 4.300 m for my European brothers and sisters). Has anyone make Collodion plates at those elevations before? I don’t know.  The scenery is spectacular and to spend a day making plates there sounds fantastic!

I’m going to offer two workshops; a direct positive course (not an introduction), where we will make Ambrotypes, Tintypes, and Alumitypes.  And a negative making course where will we make negatives and then spend a day back in the studio printing those negatives on Albumen, Salt and Collodion Chloride paper.

Here’s what I have so far: The Colorado Wet Plate Collodion Field Workshops: Direct Positive Images: Friday, July 27, students will meet at Studio Q in Denver, Colorado at 4PM for an overview. They will cut, clean and prepare four pieces of glass; two clear and two black. Two metal plates will be ready to go, too. Saturday, July 28, students will meet at Studio Q early (not sure maybe 0600) and depart for Mt. Evans. We will spend the day making six plates each (in portable dark-boxes). We will return to the studio late in the day and look at and talk about the images (maybe have to varnish the plates in the studio, too). This course will have a prerequisite that you have worked in the positive Collodion process before.

The Colorado Wet Plate Collodion Field Workshops: Making Negatives & POP Prints: Friday, August 10, students will meet at Studio Q in Denver, Colorado at 4PM for an overview. They will cut, clean and prepare six pieces of glass. Saturday, August 11, students will meet at Studio Q early (0600/6AM) and depart for Mt. Evans. We will spend the day making six negatives each (in portable dark-boxes). Sunday, August 12, students will meet at Studio Q at 1200 to start the printing out process of their negatives. At the end of that day, students will varnish their negatives and we’ll talk about what we did throughout the course. This course will have a prerequisite that you have worked in the positive Collodion process before and understand it well.

The Colorado Wet Plate Collodion Field Workshops: Direct Positive Images: $595

The Colorado Wet Plate Collodion Field Workshops: Making Negatives & POP Prints: $695

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Köln (Cologne), Germany Wet Plate Collodion Workshop

I spent the last couple of days teaching a workshop in Leichlingen, Germany (just outside of Köln). It was a great workshop – we had five participants: Vernon, Robert, Marcus, Artur, and Ugo. They made some wonderful images! Every student caught on fast and was up to speed making plates on their own in hours, amazing!

Vernon set up the studio space – it was very nice – ArtLight Studios. We made images with natural light and had two models to work with. I’m looking forward to seeing work from all of these guys, and Ugo, let’s talk about an exhibition in Belgrade, Serbia!

"Vernon Trent" - The first image of the workshop. This is made with window light and my Derogy lens - 12 seconds - 5"x7" Black Glass Ambrotype. 
Workshop student, Vernon Trent made this plate. A nice still life made with a Russian 5"x7" camera. This is an Alumitype. 
And another Alumitype. 
5"x7" Alumitype portrait from the workshop. 
And one more Alumitype - 5"x7"
There were about 30 plates made from the five students at the workshop.