CONCEPT OF THE WORKSHOP
Imagine an event where, through the magic of chemistry and physics, photographs emerge from glass, eggs, gelatin, and literally silver and gold. Imagine creating them not inside a closed basement darkroom, but in the open air of a 13th century Tuscan estate. Imagine returning home not only with knowledge, memories, and artworks you have created, but also with a book that gathers your images together with the images of every participant. This book is not a simple album but a carefully shaped art story. Imagine working with costumes and a model, guided by a professional film and theater director, while living and eating inside a historical environment and, as a group, adding a new layer to its history. It’s not an ordinary workshop, it’s an experience to be remembered and shared.
WHAT IS THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THE WORKSHOP
Technical:
We will learn how to work with large format bellow cameras. We will do positives (ambrotype, tintype, ferrotype) and also wet plate collodion negatives. We will learn how to redevelop glass negatives after fixing. We will learn how to make albumen prints, salt prints, tone them with gold toner. We will digitalise the plates and prints of all the participants’ work, which will become part of the book. The book will be available as a print on demand, so you will order as many copies as you would like to. The printed book si not included as a part of our workshop. You will also witness the process of digitalisation and postproduction of the file in the preparation for printing.
Artistic objective:
Valerie Wolf Gang is a theatre and film director. She will indroduce us to her story and which are the crucial visual segements in the creation of a book. The story will call for various visual material, from wide angle landscape shots, to portraits, details of flowers, ghost images and still life. Of course with each plate we will strive for technical perfection, but surely some glass plates will turn out as a total disaster. Nevertheless that doesn’t mean they are not useful in the book. For example, totally fogged plate without a recognisable subject, could be digitally cropped, enhanced and used as a pattern for a background on the page with our biographies.
WHAT THIS WORKSHOP WILL NOT COVER
Borut Peterlin is teaching these 19th Century processes for over a decade. In his darkroom every step of the process is explained and demonstrated. Not only the receipts, but also which ingredient does what. Sure receipts will be shared also in our workshop, but we will not mix collodion from scratch, make silvernitrate maitinance and other – behind the scene – processes. To be clear, the information will be explaind, but we will not demosntrate all the steps. Borut Peterlin will guide you through the most difficult parts of the process, so you can focus on the artistic expression. This is also not a workshop on digitalising the plates and design a book. Sure you can witness all the steps of the process, but we will not teach details of say calibration.
TO WHOM IS THIS WORKSHOP INTENDED?
At the same time it is designed for participants who prefer to focus on artistic results and the experience of making images, while working under close mentorship without needing to master every chemical preparation step. Imagine a professional digital photographer, who is sick of the the office and computer editing. This is the kind of workshop that will refresh the love for photography, when an image appears before their eyes. Imagine creating in wet plate collodion instantly, focusing on framing, developing, experiencing photography as primal as it gets.
All the recipes and information will be shared openly, yet many solutions will be prepared in advance to maximise the time for image making and printing. The emphasis is on creating finished works rather than rehearsing every preparatory stage again and again.
SHORT SUMMARY:
- working with large format cameras.
- 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.
- photographing outdoor.
- salt printing, toning with gold, waxing.
- albumen printing and toning with gold, waxing.
- troubleshooting.
- digitalising glass plates and prints.
- postproduction.
DAY ONE
DAY TWO
Directed photographic session with a model
Production of plates for the collective book project
Redeveloping collodion negatives
Varnishing finished plates
Preparing albumen for printing
Digitalising the plates
DAY THREE
DAY FOUR
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?
Tenuta di Spannocchia
Vicinity of Sienna, Tuscany, Italy
Località Spannocchia, 169, 53012 Chiusdino SI, Italia
TRAVELING TIPS:
AIRPORTS
The closest airport is Florence
The second one is Pisa
TRAIN
The closest station is Siena, it’s easier if we pick you up there
Link to the train connection www.trenitalia.com
Link to the bus connection also from Florence or Pisa airport to Siena
WHEN?
From the 13th – 16th of May 2026. We start the day at 9:00 and end the day at 18:00 or later.
LANGUAGE?
English
PRICES:
RESERVATION?
Because of the intense program, the workshop is limited only to eight participants and you get your place by paying the reservation fee of 850 EUR. The reservation fee is 50% refundable eight 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 borut@borutpeterlin.com.
MORE INFORMATION
Considering the program and reservation, please email Borut Peterlin borut@borutpeterlin.com
Considering accomodation and food please contact Sabrina Losso <storyteller.it@gmail.com>
MINI CV BORUT PETERLIN
Borut Peterlin, have a BA degree in Fine Art Photography from Famu, Prague, PostGraduate Diploma at London College of Printing, he was working with Oliviero Toscani at Fabrica / United Colors of Benetton and was photoeditor and photographer at Mladina weekly magazine. He also started a festival of documentray photography Fotopub in 2001. Most of his knowledge in the 19th Century photography processes originates from workshops with Mark Osterman in George Eastman House, Rochester, USA
In the last decade he had over hundred workshops and demonstrations throughout Europe, from Barcelona, Florence, Gorizia, Rome, Berlin, Hamburg, Krakow, Kaunas, Vienna, Paris, Frauenfeld, Novi Sad, Slovenia and also Montreal, Canada.
MINI CV Sabrina Losso
Sabrina Losso is a curator and cultural producer specializing in interdisciplinary artistic projects that connect heritage, landscape and contemporary visual practices. She has extensive experience in organizing international workshops and artist residencies, creating environments where education, craftsmanship and cultural exchange can develop organically. Her work focuses on building meaningful collaborations between artists and historical locations, with particular sensitivity to atmosphere and context. Within the expedition she coordinates the spatial and organizational framework of the workshop, ensuring that the creative process unfolds smoothly inside the unique setting of Tenuta La Spannocchia.
MINI CV VALERIE WOLF GANG
Valerie Wolf Gang is a professional film and theater director working at the intersection of visual storytelling, performance and experimental media. Her projects explore narrative construction, identity and the poetic potential of image making across disciplines. She leads collaborative artistic environments where participants develop strong conceptual frameworks and expressive confidence. In the workshop she directs the narrative and performative dimension of the collective project, shaping the visual story and guiding participants in translating emotion and atmosphere into photographic form.
