Making Tintypes: Introduction to Wet Plate Photography
SEPTEMBER 28 & 29
Regular price $390.00TOTAL COST: $390
Course Fee: $350
Non-refundable Materials Fee: $40
DATE: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 & SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2024
TIME: 9:00AM – 6:00PM PDT
LEVEL: Beginner to Advanced
AGE GROUP: Adult (ages 18+)
LOCATION: Building 308, Fort Worden, Port Townsend.
DESCRIPTION
In a world full of increasingly digital imagery, the wet plate collodion process, virtually unchanged since its invention in 1851, is about as analog an endeavor as one can embark on. The utilization of this process to make imagery requires practitioners to hand coat either glass or tin (the plate) with a photosensitive emulsion, expose said plate inside of a camera as if it were film, and then develop the exposed plate by hand in a darkroom — all of which must take place before the emulsion on the plate dries. The result of all this is a one-of-a-kind, hand crafted image, the aesthetic of which is simply unmatched by any other photographic process.
In this workshop students will spend two days learning how to use large format cameras and the wet plate collodion process to hand craft photographs on tin. Aside from the slightly more modern subject matter they will contain, these photographs, called tintypes, will be identical to their historical counterparts from the late 1800’s and will each be one-of-a-kind objects.
In order to create tintypes, students will learn the basic skills necessary to operate a 4 x 5 field camera in natural light settings, as well as the techniques involved in the coating, developing, and fixing of their own tintypes in the darkroom. Additionally, presentations about the historical context of the process, how modern practitioners are utilizing it, and the ins/outs of mixing one’s own chemistry will give students some food for thought as to how they’d like the process to fit into their existing practices.
Students will all have the time to photograph a variety of subjects and, with any luck, will experience several of the many ways in which plates made can go both weirdly right and horribly wrong, because that, after all, is where the most meaningful lessons come from. All students will go home with some tintypes and a new repertoire of bad jokes. Several students will undoubtedly leave addicted to this weird and timeless way of making images.
SUPPLY INFORMATION
Students should bring clothes that can get stained and anything they would like to photograph.
All other supplies and materials, including chemistry, plates, and darkroom equipment and use of 4 x 5 cameras, are provided with the materials fee.
COURSE DETAILS
After registration, course details are available via the Northwind Art School learning portal, including course syllabus and supply information. Learn more
Jono (pronounced Jah-no not Joe-no) is a desert-dwelling photographer and writer that spends most of his time in a tiny purple pickup truck with his dog, Leonard. The first thing he remembers wanting in life was an olive. Next, it was a dog. Then it was to go anywhere and everywhere, so much so that his parents had to put up a fence to keep him from wandering into traffic. It’s been over three decades and that still says most of what you need to know about him.
…but, in case you need to know more - Jono has a BFA in Photography from the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, and an MFA in Collaborative Design from the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon. After decades of using almost every kind of camera to shoot almost every kind of subject that isn’t a wedding, Jono has found himself using the Wet Plate Collodion process, a historic photographic process from the late 1800’s that is used to make tintypes and glass negatives, to explore the American Landscape and the people that populate it.
Artist website: Jono Melamed, @yoneland
DISCOUNTS
This course is eligible for a 10% member discount at the Supporter level and beyond. Get a membership today!
Don's Pharmacy offer Northwind Art School students a 10% discount on art supplies.
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CANCELLATION POLICY
If Northwind Art has to cancel a course for any reason, all enrolled students will receive a 100% refund (including any materials fee).
Students who withdraw from a course at least seven days prior to its first meeting will receive a 90% refund (less any materials fee).
Students withdrawing fewer than seven days from the first day of class are not eligible for a refund except in the case of illness or injury, in which case they are eligible to receive a 40% refund (less any materials fee).
Please note that 10% of every course’s registration fee is considered to be a non-refundable deposit in cases of withdrawal to cover administrative overhead. All refunds will be applied to the same credit card that was used for enrollment. No credits or transfers will be granted.
Please email registrar@northwindart.org if you wish to withdraw or for more information.