Joni Sternbach on the 2020 Wet Collodion Workshop

When did you first begin using the wet collodion process?

I began working with wet plate collodion after a workshop with John Coffer in 1999. When I went to Dundee, NY to study with John I had little memory about the process and little information about what exactly was involved with the process.

(If I had only known!)

It did not take long to gain a strong interest, as this process is extremely hands-on and fun, especially in good weather! John’s 19th century lifestyle (no electricity, running water, plumbing) gave us city slickers a slowed down version of life as a photographer in the good ole days.

What are some of your favorite creative benefits of using wet collodion?

Because the ISO of collodion is extremely slow, capturing movement with time is one of its best characteristics and one I like to work with while shooting. It’s a versatile medium, one that can make a negative or a positive. If am shooting a tintype or ambrotype, the actual image is a direct positive and is reversed, making text and logos appear symbolic rather than literal and obvious landscape imagery [iconography] is suddenly facing a different direction.

Who should take this workshop?

Anyone with a love of photography, process and being outdoors. It is helpful to know how use a large format camera and tripod but not necessary. I will be guiding students through each step.

What can participants look forward to in your San Diego workshop?

I will be sharing the secret formulas and techniques I have gathered over a decade and a half of photographing at the beach and in the desert. Each participant will come away with several images, either a landscape and/or portrait made at each location, gain a better understanding of the medium and learn what goes into making a small, large-format kit to take on the road.

What do you love about working with a labor intensive process like wet collodion?

For me, the idea of chance and process can come together in one location and make it possible to see the world anew.

Tell us what you’re most looking forward to about teaching this workshop?

I am looking forward to spending time with a creative group of people interested in looking and learning a new process or refining what they already know.