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This vacation workshop features shooting handmade gelatin dry plate negatives in the Adirondacks. This process is similar to that used by famed nineteenth-century Adirondack photographer Seneca Ray Stoddard, who brought attention to this amazing Eastern wilderness.
Participants will stay at Great Camp Sagamore for the entire five-day workshop. Sagamore is a National Historic Landmark complex built by William West Durant as a wilderness retreat of the Vanderbilt family for much of the twentieth century. This very secluded camp set the stage for development of the Adirondack style of architecture and furniture. The room and lodge interiors harken back to another time. Remarkably, the remains of one of Seneca Ray Stoddard’s darkrooms can be visited in the main lodge, built specifically for a body of work he shot to document the site when it was first built. Many of the buildings are situated on Sagamore Lake or near picturesque streams. Canoes are available for guests’ use on the lake. All meals during the workshop will be prepared by Sagamore’s chefs.
On the first day, the group will be guided by Mark Osterman and Nick Brandreth to make a basic 1880s-style silver bromide gelatin emulsion in one of the original buildings set aside for our use. Then, everyone will coat their own 4x5” glass plates. Daily hikes through the woods, lakes, and waterways will give the group ample time to shoot the natural scenery, followed by evening processing sessions and music around the campfire. Negatives will be scanned and viewed as positives for critique and review. Power Point presentations on the chemistry of gelatin emulsions will be included and all participants will receive a manual and related readings on the making of gelatin emulsions.
Audience: Limited to six, this special workshop is for anyone who enjoys the wilderness and photography. No prior photographic experience is necessary though this is an outdoors workshop that involves some hiking over rough terrain. Due to this, only those who are confident of their fitness should consider attending.
Tuition: $2,200, includes lodging, meals, and materials fee.
Cancellation Policy: Withdrawal from the workshop 30 days before the session start date will receive a refund, minus a $100 processing fee. No refunds will be given for cancellations made less than 30 days before a workshop start date. If the workshop is cancelled due to insufficient enrollment, the entire class will be fully refunded. George Eastman House is not responsible for airline ticket cancellation costs or fees. Eastman House may take and use images, still or video, for educational and promotional purposes.
Traveling to the Workshop Location: Participants may choose to fly into Rochester and accompany the instructors, who will drive to the Adirondacks on the Sunday afternoon prior to the workshop. Or, they may choose to fly into either Albany or Syracuse airports, which both offer a broad choice of car rentals. Raquette Lake, New York, is about a 2.5 hour drive from both airports. (If you happen to be coming from the Boston area there are very reasonable flights to the Adirondack Regional Airport in Saranac Lake, New York.)
Communication in the Adirondacks: Sagamore is in the midst of over 100,000 acres of designated wilderness and wild forest land so there is no cell phone service in camp and limited availability elsewhere in the Adirondacks. Basic Wi-Fi is available for e-mailing and other communications.