Wet Plate Collodion Process
Salt printing and Albumen printing processes

WHAT?

Four day advanced workshop of wet plate collodion negative process and a workshop on salt and albumen print process. We will start with ambrotype process (wet plate collodion positive on glass) just to get the whole spectrum of collodion process, but we will focus on collodion negative and printing techniques. We will learn how to manipulate contrast and density of the collodion negative and learn which kind of negatives are most suitable for what kind of printing processes.

SUMMARY:

  • the difference between wet plate collodion positive and negative.
  • how to achieve different densities of a negative.
  • what densities are appropriate for what kind of printing processes.
  • wet plate process with ambient light and with flash light.
  • photographing outdoor.
  • salt printing, toning with gold, waxing.
  • albumen printing and toning with gold.
  • troubleshooting.

DAY ONE

  • introduction to the processes.
  • the difference between wet plate collodion positive and negative.
  • reviewing examples of negatives and prints we are expected to be making during the workshop.
  • preparation of chemistry and cleaning plates.
  • the making of the first wet plate negatives.
  • self-portraits with flash lights as a wet plate positive (ambrotype/tintype)
  • Self-portrait with flashlight as a wet plate negative

DAY TWO

  • Before lunch we will go outdoor and make some landscape plates.
  • Participants will learn how to make different densities of wet plate negatives.
  • Redeveloping. The second development after fixing, for boosting density of collodion negative.
  • What light is appropriate for wet plate negative and how to work in inappropriate light.
  • Making a portrait with ambient light and with studio flashes.
  • Varnishing glass negatives.
  • Preparing albumen for printing process.

DAY THREE

  • Floating paper on albumen
  • Albumen print process (printing the collodion negatives as albumen prints).
  • Seizing paper for salt print process.
  • Salt print process (printing the collodion negatives as salt prints).
  • Toning with goldchloride.
  • Waxing salt prints.

DAY FOUR

  • Each of the participants will mix their own batch of collodion, developer, toner, fixer and varnish used during the workshop.
  • Practicing wet plate collodion process from the start, but on your own without my help.
  • Cutting mats for the final presentation.

The program for the day four has three parts.  Firstly each of the participants will mix a small batch of collodion, sandarac varnish, developer for collodion negatives, developer for positives since there is no better memory than good old muscle memory.

The remaining of the day you will practice everything that you’ve learned on your own. I will be available, but mostly for troubleshooting, all the rest is on you to make plates and prints, test your own knowledge and boost your confidence with every successful plate and print.

NOTES

Each participant will receive notes with all the receipts and the most important points to remember. The notes will include a mind map of the process.

WHERE?

Na žago 4, Straža pri Novem mestu, Slovenia (45°47’07.1″N 15°04’35.4″E – Google maps)

WHEN?

From Monday the 10th to Thursday the 13th of March 2025. We start the day at 9:00 and end the day at 18:00 or later.

WHO?

This is an advanced course, but we will go from the beginning so if you have no experience, you will still be able to follow and make beautiful plates and prints.

LANGUAGE?

English

HOW MUCH?

For the last six years I’m charging this four day workshop 750 EUR (all materials, detailed hand out notes with all the steps and receipts included). The price does not include food and accommodation cost.

ACCOMODATION?

I recommend RaMar accommodation (LINK)  Please tell the owner that you’re coming to my workshop, he will give a better price or an apartment for the price of a room. But if you are coming by car, there are more options.  Five kilometers away, in Dolenjske Toplice there are options like camping (LINK), Hotel Pri Mostu is really nice place and in Novo mesto that is 9 km away there is also Hostel Situla. There are many other options on Booking.com.

HOW TO GET HERE?

AIRPORTS:
The closest airport is Ljubljana, Slovenia
The second closest airport is Zagreb, Croatia
Other options are Venice airport (IT), Klagenfurt (AUT)  and GoOpti from there

BUS, TRAIN

If you will come by buss or train, go to Novo mesto. From Novo mesto busses are going to Straža pri Novem mestu, but the connections aren’t that good, so I can pick you up and drop you to your accommodation place.
Link to the bus connections: https://www.ap-ljubljana.si/en/timetable
Link to the train connections in Slovenia: https://potniski.sz.si/ 
Link to the bus connection Novo mesto – Straža (On Sunday they don’t work)
It might be easier to pick you up in Novo mesto

RESERVATION?

Because of the intense program, the workshop is limited only to four participants and you get your place by paying the reservation fee of 250 EUR. The reservation fee is 50% refundable five weeks before the workshop. The rest you pay at the beginning of the workshop. The reservation fee could be paid by ordinary bank transfer, or by Paypal. Please email me for more information on borutpeterlin@gmail.com.

MORE INFORMATION

Please email me for reservations and more information borutpeterlin@gmail.com

REFERENCES

I, Borut Peterlin, have devoted all my life to photography and I have a BA degree in Fine Art Photography from Famu, Prague, PostGraduate Diploma at London College of Printing, I was working with Oliviero Toscani at Fabrica / United Colors of Benetton and I was photoeditor and photographer at Mladina weekly magazine for about ten years. In 2001 I’ve started Fotopub festival and I was an art director for eight years. Most of my knowledge in the 19th Century photography processes originates from workshops with Mark Osterman in George Eastman House, Rochester, USA and I also took color carbon printing workshop with Calvin Grier. I have great interest in education and although I have many seminars at colleges, I keep myself away from academic waters in favour of a freelancing career. I share my knowledge passionately either through seminars, workshops and also via my YouTube channel. In the last decade I might have had over 100 workshops and demonstrations of alternative processes throughout Europe, from Barcelona, Florenz, Rome, Berlin, Hamburg, Krakow, Vienna, Paris, Frauenfeld / Switzerland, Novi Sad / Serbia and of course in Slovenia. I feel deeply honoured that people from all over the world are coming to my small little town of Straža. I had a participant who came two times from Singapore, a retired headmaster who came all the way from New York City and other cities like Moskau and Kiev on the east and From Norway and Faroe Islands on the north, several participants came from the sunny Tel Aviv and just as sunny Spain, one even from Gibraltar, but most of them are coming from Italy, Germany, UK, Switzerland and Holland.