Homespace Gallery
1128 St. Roch Ave
New Orleans, LA 70119
917-584-9867
Saturday, Dec 5, 2-4pm
Free and open to the public
Wet-Plate Demonstration with Bruce Schultz
Bruce Schultz, one of the featured artists in Revival: Historical Processes in Contemporary Photography will demonstrate wet and dry plate photographic methods. These techniques were widely practiced from the 1850’s through the 1880’s and are currently enjoying a modern resurgence.
Schultz’s demonstration will cover two different forms of wet-plate collodion photography: tintype, where the image is made on a plate of metal, and ambrotype, which is made on glass and initially appears as a negative. The wet-plate demonstration will include coating, sensitizing, exposing and processing the plates on site, using the darkbox he travels with to develop images on location. The dry-plate demo will use a pre-sensitized glass plate negative that Schultz will prepare in the darkroom beforehand, then expose and develop on site.
Bio:
Bruce Schultz began his career in photography more than 30 years ago while a student at LSU, working for the yearbook and newspaper. From there, he became a reporter at the Alexandria Daily Town Talk, where he also took photos. Next, Schultz was hired by the Shreveport Times as a reporter. He then moved to Lafayette, La., to head up the Acadiana bureau for the Baton Rouge Advocate, where he worked for 23 years. Schultz currently works for the LSU AgCenter Communications Department writing and photographing Louisiana agriculture.
Schultz’s interest in wet-plate photography came at the urging of Brad Bigley. They took a wet-plate workshop together under expert Robert Szabo. Schultz was instantly hooked and hasn’t shot any film since that fateful weekend in April 2007.
Schultz specializes in civil war reenactments but is willing to photograph any event using wet-plate photography and is always up for a challenge. He also conducts demonstrations of the process for schools, libraries and similar institutions.
