Join us for a hands-on introduction to the rare carbon transfer process! In this alternative photographic process, finely ground pigment creates a unique image quality and tonal range. The prints beg to be held in your hands to appreciate their texture and reflection of light.
Though carbon printing is notoriously difficult, with this class you can learn from a contemporary practitioner who has ironed out all the kinks. Dennis Collins has spent years perfecting his process, and now would like to share his knowledge with you!
The skills acquired in this class will provide you with the knowledge necessary to explore the possibilities of your artwork in this medium. This class is open to photographers of all levels, though some darkroom practice is beneficial.
Prior to the workshop students will need to provide a digital image containing highlight, mid-tone and shadow detail from which a digital image will be made for contact printing the size of a 4×5 print. More details will be provided upon registration.
Students will take home a glass and squeegee set at the end of the workshop to continue their exploration of carbon printing at home.
About Dennis
With over 30 years of experience as a Corporate Photographer, Dennis Collins’ interests now lie in the timeless beauty of carbon printing. While earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan he focused on alternative processes.
Dennis has painstakingly embraced carbon printing, a particularly difficult and rare process, and he passionately wants to share this knowledge with others in the hope this art form will continue. When not in the darkroom, Dennis enjoys spending time with his family, volunteering at Art Intersection and Infinity Hospice, and car racing.
We got experimental in the lab this weekend during our Mordançage workshop with Jace Becker! This free-form, intuitive process process physically lifts the darkest parts of a silver gelatin emulsion, forming delicate veils. The veils can be manipulated or removed, allowing for endless creative opportunities. Our participants played around with a variety of techniques, achieving one-of-a-kind results with each print.
Jace demonstrated processing silver gelatin prints in mordançage solution, water rinsing baths, and developer. The mordançage chemistry bleaches the prints as it’s lifting the emulsion, requiring the print to be re-developed to bring back the image.
After the print has been washed, the lifted gelatin emulsion can be manipulated to add visual interest, motion, or abstract shapes to the image. We used cotton balls, hypodermic needles filled with water, compressed air, and hairdryers to place the veils exactly where we wanted them to go.
This print is slowly being re-developed – the tan parts of the print were originally black!
Cesar Laure had some interesting results with this half-mordançaged photogram – the altered portion of the print is on the right.
Beautiful print by Susan Berger
Prints by Suzanne Fallender displaying a range of different colors achieved by placing developing prints out in the sunlight.
We can’t wait to see what our students make with this process!
This course provides a hands-on introduction to the fascinating 19th century bleach/etch process of Mordançage. Each student will be instructed concerning the history, process, and various techniques in which to produce engaging imagery within the medium. Mordançage produces wonderfully evocative imagery, and the possibilities for experimentation are nearly endless. The knowledge and skills acquired in this class will equip you in the development of self-expression and provide an opportunity for intuitive applications in your own artistic practice. All students must be prepared to experiment, be creative, but most importantly to have fun!
The course is intended for intermediate to advanced photographers only, as each student must possess a foundation in the fundamentals of gelatin silver darkroom printing techniques prior to enrollment. If you are new to darkroom printing or would like a refresher course, check out our 1-on-1 Tutorials.
Though there will be time to make new prints during the workshop, students will benefit from bringing at least 20 finished gelatin silver prints and a large range of negatives to experiment with this process. More details will be provided upon registration.
About Mordançage
Mordançage is a mystifyingly beautiful method of altering gelatin silver prints or negatives with endless opportunities for experimentation and creative application. Mordançage chemistry physically lifts the darkest parts of the photographic emulsion from the rest of the image, allowing it to be manipulated into veils or removed completely. This rare 19th century process was largely forgotten, but fortunately was revived by 20th and 21st century practitioners Jean-Pierre Sudre and Elizabeth Opalenik. Try it yourself and prepare to be amazed at the possibilities this process will introduce to your artistic practice!
Jace Becker
About Jace
Jace Becker earned degrees in photography and anthropology from Montana State University, and is currently a 3rd year MFA candidate in Photography at Arizona State. His work focuses on the cultural landscape, specifically social and self-exploration, issues of identity, vulnerability, and the darker sides of introspection. His area of emphasis is in alternative processes. When he is not hiding from the Arizona sun in his darkroom, he is an avid rock climber, surfer, and lover of sailing.
We had such a wonderful, colorful day with Andy Burgess during his Fine Art Collage workshop with us! Andy pushed his students out of their comfort zones and really opened the floodgates of creativity for them, and their work shows it. Bravo, all!
Printing out Paper, or PoP, makes an image by exposing a negative and paper to light without any chemical development. With a printing-out process, you can watch your image come to life during your exposure, rather than having to wait until it is processed! Used originally as a simplified field process without the need of a darkroom, today we use this handmade emulsion to create artful images with subtle and warm tonality.
This workshop begins on Friday night with a lecture and demo, where instructor Siegfried Rempel will discuss the history of collodio-chloride printing and demonstrate two different printing-out methods. Following on Saturday is a day of coating and printing your own hand fabricated, collodio-chloride printing out paper.
The day after the workshop, return to the lab to further refine your mastery of this process! We are hosting a PoP Open Studio on Sunday, March 26 from 9am – 3pm. More information here.
About Collodio-Chloride
The use of Collodion in photography for the production of photographic prints an be found as early as the 1850s, and is most commonly used in the Wet Plate Collodion process to produce tintypes and ambrotypes. The concept of an “emulsion” of silver salts in a collodion binder was introduced by Gaudin in 1853 and by 1861 he was actively producing the “Photogene” collodion emulsion.
The collodio-chloride print has a similar physical appearance to its gelatin counterparts and it can be difficult to tell them apart. In fact, modern gelatin silver darkroom papers evolved from this early printing method! Today, we still practice the collodio-chloride process because of the rich and beautiful tonality it imparts on our images.
Late last month we had the pleasure of hosting a Platinum/Palladium workshop in our Photographic Arts Lab led by San Francisco-based artist Michael T. Puff! A master of this luminous, tonally-rich process, Michael led our eleven participants in making gorgeous prints of their own images.
Platinum/Palladium printing, a photographic process invented in the 19th century, has long been a favorite of alternative process photographers for its highly archival nature and infinite variations of gray tones as highlights shift to shadows. In the process Michael uses, ferric oxalate, palladium, and sodium chloroplatinate are mixed together, hand-brushed onto 100% cotton rag paper, exposed to UV light through a digital negative, and then processed with potassium oxalate and sodium thiosulfate. The end result is a handcrafted print that is estimated to retain its appearance for a thousand years!
Thank you to all of our wonderful participants, and of course to Michael for traveling to us to share his expertise!
Michael instructs the class on mixing the chemicals and coating their paper
The participants mark where the image portion of their digital negatives will be centered on their paper
After exposing a coated piece of paper to UV light, Michael demonstrates developing the print
Participants process their exposed prints
Cyd looks at the class’s finished work at the end of the day
Gorgeous work produced by the students pinned up on the critique board
Michael talks about successes and things to work on with the students
Beautiful work by Lloyd Matthews
Luminous prints by Deb Alberty
A delicate, icy print by our very own Business Manager, Debra Wilson!
The platinum/palladium process is one of the most beautiful and archival processes, and in this workshop, you will create platinum/palladium prints from your images. Michael will teach a one-day, introductory workshop about this luminous 19th century process in the Art Intersection Photographic Arts Lab and the participants will take home two to three prints of their images.
As a participant, you will send digital files to us and Michael will create a digital negative adjusted for his process. You will hand-coat fine art paper with the light-sensitive solution and expose the sensitized paper through your digital negative using one of our UV light sources. After processing the exposed paper, you will have your photograph as a platinum/palladium print.
Art Intersection will supply all materials for this workshop. The making of a digital negative will be discussed, but for the workshop itself, please send two color or black and white image files (300 dpi at 10” on the long side), at least one week prior to the workshop. An email with details will be provided once you are registered.
Before the workshop, learn more about your instructor and get a preview of the platinum/palladium process! Michael will give a free lecture on his artistic practice on Friday, October 28 from 6:30 – 8pm.
Michael T. Puff
Michael T. Puff lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area. He’s been a visual artist since early childhood, working as a painter and sculptor. During his years in higher education studying Theater Arts and Egyptian Archaeology, Puff worked as a theater set designer and received many awards for his work from San Francisco Bay Theater Critics. Today he works as a systems computer programmer at Stanford University and builds miniatures, while also pursuing his passion of fine art photography.
Puff began photographing in 2004 and later, under the guidance of master printer Mark I. Nelson, learned the platinum/palladium printing method he uses in his current work. Puff uses modern digital image capture with the extremely permanent and hand-crafted platinum and palladium printing process, merging the contemporary with the historical to produce unique and captivating images. The time-staking printing process he uses, which incorporates platinum and palladium metals into the chemistry, allows for a unique image with a beautiful color and tonal range.
Puff’s love for the theater is evident in much of his work, as he photographs on stage-like sets, often using dancers and actors as models, with images that could function as small moments from a larger narrative. A surreal theme runs through much of his work, as he uses his strong digital editing skills to manipulate scale and mood creating complex otherworldly images.
An image that will be featured in Michael T. Puff’s solo exhibition in Ryan Gallery
Phoenix Rising by Michael T. Puff – featured in the Off the Wall exhibition and silent auction
Sometimes it can be hard to see past all the obstacles involved in learning something new. However, taking a leap and trying something different can open doors that lead to fantastic possibilities. As Photographic Arts Lab Manager at Art Intersection, providing the tools that make it possible for creative people of all skill levels to bring their vision to life makes my job worthwhile.
Our learning opportunities can provide the missing link that makes the creation of your artwork possible. With our 1-on-1 tutorials, students get the hands-on training they need to perform a process on their own, from black and white film development to making exhibition-worthy prints. Frequently, with a little instruction and enough practice, they find that the technique they’re learning isn’t nearly as complicated as they thought.
In our workshops, participants get to spend valuable time with an instructor who has mastered their craft, frequently forming relationships that lead to continued mentorship. Our Open Studio and Working Group programs provide artists with the opportunity to continue their study of a process with peers, all exploring together.
Seeing visitors walk away from their time here excited and empowered is the best part of my job. I watch people do things they didn’t know they could do. I witness appreciation for artistry and technique. I see improvement and perseverance and dedication just about every day.
This space is for you. Join us by attending one of our events, making time to learn a new skill, or using our resources to create your artwork.
Everyone is welcome here. Anyone can create.
– Caroline Hudson-Naef, Photographic Arts Lab Manager
