Wet Collodion

Workshop in Mesa, AZ

with David Emitt Adams & Joni Sternbach

Feb 14-17th, 2025

This wet plate collodion workshop brings together two renowned artists teaching in the Arizona Desert.  

This is the second year both David Emitt Adams and Joni Sternbach will co-teach a western workshop together. They offer participants the rare opportunity to deepen their practice using this historic photographic process. During the workshop we will explore all facets of the wet plate process, working with both metal plates and glass positives/negatives. Participants will learn ways to refine their skills necessary to maintain a studio practice and working remotely in the field. 

The cost of this 3 day workshop is $1,595 - Medium Photo members receive discounted registration

Should I Take This Course?

Participation in this workshop requires previous experience with wet collodion processes and large format cameras. Beginners are welcome but should understand this is not an entry level course. Cameras, 19th Century and modern lenses and dark boxes will be available for use, but you are also welcome to bring your own.

Participants in this workshop will review and refine the core steps, materials, and processes for making large-format, wet collodion plates in the field. Each attendee will benefit from the extensive combined knowledge working with this process in locations around the world. 

Registration includes workshop instruction and on-site development of wet collodion negatives/tintypes at Usery Mountain Regional Park, in Mesa AZ. A materials fee of $100 is included in the workshop registration. 

Participants will be working on location, outdoors, for approximately 7 hours each day. We will stay at the Westgate Painted Mountain Golf Resort, offering easy access to Usery Mountain Regional Park.

Workshop requires a minimum attendance of 6 participants with a maximum of 10 participants total. Workshop refunds are available based on our Cancellation Policy. Please read this carefully to understand how Medium Photo handles refunds. We recommend purchasing travel insurance prior to registration if you have concerns about your availability to attend.

Outcomes

Outcomes

Participants will learn all of the steps necessary to produce either positives or negatives in the field, as well as resources for setting up a portable darkroom and setup to use in their own practice. As part of the workshop both Joni and David will share insights into their work with large format cameras and wet collodion processes and procedures. Each participant can expect to make at least two 4”x5” or 5”x7” tintypes on each day of the workshop.

About David Adams

David Emitt Adams is a photographer based in Phoenix, Arizona. He obtained his Bachelor of Fine Art from Bowling Green State University and a Master of Fine Art from Arizona State University.

David’s photographs have been exhibited nationally and internationally including museum exhibitions at Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Phoenix Art Museum, Southern Utah Museum of Art, Tucson Museum Art, the Chrysler Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and the Portland Art Museum. He is a recipient of the Arizona Commission on the Arts Research and Development Grant, the Clarence John Laughlin Award, and the Puffin Foundation Grant.

His work is in the permanent collection of The Center for Creative Photography, The Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Museum of Photographic Arts San Diego, The Ogden Museum of Southern Art, The George Eastman Museum, and The Worcester Art Museum as well as numerous private collections. David’s work is represented by the Etherton Gallery in Tucson, Arizona, and PhotoEye Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico.