Wet Plate Positives, Wet Negatives, Dry Plates & Salt Printing

30 September – 4 October 2026
5-day intensive workshop — 40 hours

This intensive five-day workshop offers a complete immersion into nineteenth-century collodion photography.
Beginning with ambrotypes and tintypes, you will first learn the essential principles of the wet plate collodion process before progressing to wet collodion negatives, dry plates, and traditional salt printing.
Throughout the workshop you will complete every stage of the historical photographic workflow—from preparing glass and metal plates to producing finished salt prints—using reliable, repeatable techniques that can be applied independently after the course.
Studio sessions are combined with outdoor field work in the medieval town of Castelbuono, allowing you to experience both controlled portraiture and landscape photography using historical materials.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
The complete wet plate collodion workflow, from positives to negatives and final prints
Creating ambrotypes and tintypes on glass and metal
Producing wet collodion and dry plate negatives
Studio and outdoor exposure techniques
Redevelopment and negative refinement
Traditional salt printing from your own collodion negatives
Practical troubleshooting for consistent, repeatable results

OUTCOME
By the end of the workshop, you will have completed the entire nineteenth-century collodion workflow—from creating ambrotypes and tintypes to producing wet and dry collodion negatives and printing your own images on salt paper.
You will leave with a collection of handmade photographs, together with the practical knowledge and confidence to continue exploring historical photographic processes independently

LOCATION
The workshop takes place in my studio and darkroom in Castelbuono, in the Madonie mountains, approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes from Palermo.

HOW TO GET HERE
Nearest Airport: Palermo (PMO)
By car: Palermo Airport → A20 motorway → Castelbuono exit → SP9
By bus: Direct routes from Palermo and Cefalù
Train + Bus: Train to Cefalù → Bus to Castelbuono
Private pick-up may be arranged depending on availability

WHO IS THIS FOR
Beginners interested in learning the fundamentals of wet plate collodion
Photographers transitioning to historical processes
Artists preparing to move toward negatives and printing
No experience required.

LIMITED SEATS
Maximum 4 participants.

PRICE & BOOKING
€ 1.000 — all materials included
Reservation: €500 deposit required
Balance: due one month before the workshop

CANCELLATION POLICY
Deposits are 50% refundable up to 5 weeks before the workshop
After that period, deposits are non-refundable