Workshop: Modern Dry-Plate Tintype March 6, 2010

The Tintype, introduced in 1853, is an image printed on a metallic sheet. It was much more accessible and less complicated than its precursor, the wet-plate collodion process, where the image was printed on a glass plate. Tintypes became a very common form of photographic portraiture in the mid to late 1800s, and many Civil War era photographs were created using this process.

This is a two day weekend workshop in which we will learn a modern form of the tintype process. We will coat aluminum plates with a light-sensitive gelatin emulsion and allow them to dry overnight. The use of an emulsion that can be exposed when dry allows for greater options in image creation and transport of the plates. This process also allows for the opportunity to contact print digital images directly to the tintype plate. Contact printing will be the means for making images in this class.

Participants are asked to bring digital files, negatives, or photos, from which we will make enlarged negatives suitable for contact printing to the tintype plate. We will break for lunch. You are welcome to bring your own or order from any of a number of local restaurants. Please wear comfortable shoes.

The second class is on March 7.

Official Website: http://photosynthesisct.com