In this vacation workshop, participants shoot handmade 4x5″ gelatin dry plate glass 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 eastern wilderness. test.
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 for the Vanderbilt family. This secluded camp set the stage for development of the Adirondack style of architecture and furniture. The room and lodge interiors hark back to another time. In the basement of the main lodge, one can find the remains of one of Seneca Ray Stoddard’s darkrooms built specifically for a body of work he shot to document the site upon its construction. Many of the buildings are situated on Sagamore Lake or near picturesque streams. Our group will stay at a secluded lodge with a rustic balcony overlooking a stream. Canoes are available for guests’ use and the lake is also great for fishing. All meals are prepared on site and served cafeteria-style in the camp dining hall, where our group will mingle with other groups staying at Great Camp Sagamore.
On the first day, the group will attend an illustrated lecture on the chemistry and technique of making and coating an 1880s-type gelatin emulsion. Glass plates coated with the same emulsion will be used in this workshop. Daily hikes through the woods and around the lakes and waterways in both morning and afternoon sessions will give the group ample time to shoot the natural scenery. Plate development will be done immediately after lunch and in the late afternoon, allowing plenty of free time in the evenings to relax, canoe, fish, or sit around the campfire. If you have a musical instrument, bring it along. On Friday morning, we will critique the negatives made during the workshop, and in the afternoon we’ll go to the Adirondack Museum to view actual glass negatives, prints, and drawings by Seneca Ray Stoddard.
Negatives can be photographed on a light table and inverted digitally. Bring a USB drive if you want to share images with others. 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 photography experience necessary, though this is an outdoor workshop that involves some hiking over rough terrain. Only those who are confident of their fitness should consider attending.
Important Note: This is not an emulsion making workshop. For those who want a hands-on emulsion making workshop, we suggest taking Dry Plates in the Woods or the Gelatin Dry Plate workshop at the George Eastman Museum.
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. Limited basic Wi-Fi is available in the camp office for e-mail and other communications.
Learn more about Great Camp Sagamore and the Adirondack Museum.