Ziatype

1-Day Class
Saturday, April 13, 2024: 10am–4pm

Ziatype, a modern alt process perfected in 1980 by Richard Sullivan, uses hand-painted emulsion and UV light to create a photographic image. The Ziatype process uses the “noble metal” palladium resulting in archival prints that yield a tonal range greater than traditional black and white papers. Additionally, Ziatype chemistry can be adjusted to create varying hues from warm brown-black to cool grey-violet.

In this workshop, we will use digital negatives to print to the Ziatype process. Participants will be guided through the basics of exposing, processing, and controlling tone, hue, and contrast in the Ziatype process. At the conclusion of this workshop, students will come away with a selection of their own Ziatype prints and will also be provided with written instructions, a Ziatype supply list, and a digital curve file for printing Ziatype negatives.

Digital negatives will be printed by PhotoSynthesis in advance of the workshop. Participants will be given instructions one to two weeks before the workshop in how to prepare and send them for printing.

We strongly recommend that you attend our Digital Negative Curve Demonstration the evening before the workshop, though this is optional. Click here for more details.

Workshop fee includes materials.

Non-member: $425.00
PhotoSynthesis Classic Member: $382.50
Burnside Darkroom Collective Member: $361.25
Course Enrollment: 4–6
Instructor: Jessica Somers (jessicasomers.com)

Jessica Somers is a photographer specializing in historic photographic techniques and self-portraiture.

Jessica has been in love with photography for most of her life. She was exposed to the act of picture making through her grandfather, an avid amateur photographer, and in the family bathroom-turned-darkroom after sunset. Here, she witnessed actual magic standing over the chemical trays watching an image appear where only a simple white sheet of paper was before. As a kid she received a Kodak disc camera and fell in love with the act of expressing her individual view of the world from the 4 foot high perspective of a seven year old. Her height has since increased but her love affair with photography continues.

Jessica’s work has been exhibited nationally and has been published in various periodicals. Her research on alternative processes and select photographs are published in the 3rd edition of The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes by Christopher James. Jessica is a 2020 Connecticut Office of the Arts Fellowship Award recipient. She currently teaches photography throughout Connecticut and at Lesley University College of Art and Design in Cambridge, MA.

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