Demonstration of
portrait in large format camera
Would you like to discover how portraits were made in the 19th century?
I travel with a technical camera and a small darkroom to give you this unique experience and collodion portrait.
I can organize a customized intervention for:
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Specific events as part of the bicentenary of photography
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A private event
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Introductory sessions on large format photography.
Demonstration
Collodion portraits
For events such as trade shows or festivals, I travel with my technical camera and all my equipment to carry out portrait demonstrations like in the 19th century.
Portrait sessions
over 1 or more days
For private events or festivals, I travel with my technical camera and all my equipment to organize collodion portrait sessions at preferential rates.
où réserver une démonstration de portrait au collodion ?
Il suffit de contacter Marjolaine Vuarnesson sur le site Vaunbarts pour organiser une séance de démonstration de portraits au collodion.
Où puis-je réserver un atelier photo à Paris ?
Vaunbarts propose des ateliers sur mesure et sur rendez-vous à Paris et en région parisienne.
Où trouver des démonstrations de portraits au collodion en France ?
Vaunbarts propose sur rendez-vous des démonstrations de prise de vue à la chambre, au collodion sur plaque d'aluminium ou sur plaque de verre. Des évènements sur mesure en fonction de votre budget.
Collodion Portraits
A 19th-century experience
Experience a unique portrait session using the wet collodion technique, a handcrafted photographic process invented in 1851.
Wet collodion is a photographic process invented in 1851 by the English photographer Frederick Scott Archer. Used primarily in the 19th century, it allows for the creation of images with exceptional detail and unique intensity. The process involves coating a glass or metal plate with a collodion solution sensitized with silver salts, which must remain wet throughout the exposure and development.
For portraiture, this technique requires a relatively long exposure time, which gives faces a particular, almost timeless gravity. The result is distinguished by:
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profound contrasts,
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a rich and subtle range of greys,
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imperfections and chemical accidents that become an integral part of the aesthetics.
More than just an old method, a collodion portrait session is a true artistic and artisanal experience, combining chemistry, patience and creativity.
At Studio Baxton, located in the heart of Brussels, we create portraits using the wet collodion process on glass or aluminum, with period cameras dating from 1860 to 1920.
We manufacture our own chemistry and our mission is to preserve this primitive photographic process as well as the more than 100-year-old cameras that we are fortunate enough to operate in our studio.
How does the wet collodion technique work?
The wet collodion process is an old technique invented in the mid-19th century. Here are the different stages in creating the image:
- The plate is coated with the collodion solution (cellulose nitrate diluted with alcohol and ether)
- It is then immersed in a silver nitrate bath to make it photosensitivity
- After a few minutes, when the plate is photosensitive, it is inserted into the frame, away from the light.
- The shot is taken with approximately 6 seconds of exposure time and a flash.
- The plate is developed in a darkroom, under safelight; a negative appears.
- You can turn on the light and witness the transformation of the negative into a positive in the final fixing bath.