We are offering a subsidised introductory wet plate collodion workshops in Moretonhampstead with Nicky. This Introduction to Wet Plate Collodion Workshop will take the participants through the basic steps of making glass plates from start to finish. The materials, chemicals and equipment will all be explained and you will then spend the day making your own plates to take home.
There are limited spaces, and they are designed for people that have already have some photography knowledge. The small group sizes will ensure all participants receive quality tuition and support. All the workshops are currently focusing on the making of ambrotypes, direct positives on glass.
Nicky Thompson is an artist who lives and works in Moretonhampstead. Her main practice is Wet Plate Collodion Photography (Ambrotypes). This Victorian process involves coating plates of glass (or tin ) with a chemical known as collodion, which is then sensitised to light by submerging the plate in a silver nitrate solution. Using a traditional large format bellows camera and while the plate is still wet, an exposure is made and a latent image formed. A developer is used to bring out the image and lastly the plate is bathed in a fixing solution to remove the unused silver particles. To make a single plate takes about 30 minutes.