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B+WErwin Olaf, who I admire for his creativity,
the photographer and painter Teun Hocks,
Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison, and
Stephan Vanfleteren.JS: There seems to be quite a community
of photographers working with the wet plate
process and I know you have organised
workshops and meetings for fellow
collodion enthusiasts.
AT: I used to run workshops but stopped
because I needed more time for my own
work, but I still organise the EuropeanCollodion weekend each year in May. In the
whole world there are maybe a few thousand
practitioners, but we are an enthusiastic
community that likes to go public. Many of
us have become close friends, and we share
experiences and try to help each other
when problems occur.JS: Is it an area of photography you would
encourage more people to try?
AT: Many people underestimate the work
involved, even for just a single plate. I’ve
seen many begin but just as many quit afteronly a few months. It’s not just
about buying a camera and chemicals.
I would compare it to playing the piano:
if you want to be successful, you need to
practise over and over. You need to learn
how the chemicals react and what to do to
prevent failures. There are plenty of other
beautiful old processes that are much
easier to start with, such as cyanotype,
or even traditional analogue work. So my
advice would be to start with one of these
and do it step by step, otherwise it could
be a big disappointment.
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