Van Dyke Brown Photography Workshop with Jill Enfield
Monday, November 2 | 10:00 AM–4:00 PM
$110 per person | Includes lunch and some supplies
Join exhibiting artist Jill Enfield for a special one-day workshop exploring Van Dyke Brown printing, a historic alternative photographic process known for its rich, warm brown tones and beautiful tonal range.
Enfield’s exhibition, Visible Evidence, is currently on view at the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art through November 8. In the exhibition, Enfield combines contemporary digital photography with historic processes, transforming photographs of the Hudson River Valley into wet plate collodion ambrotypes and handmade platinum/palladium prints. This workshop offers a unique opportunity to learn directly from the artist and explore another historical photographic process through hands-on experience.
During the workshop, Jill will introduce participants to Van Dyke Brown printing and guide them through the process from negative to finished print. Students will learn how to prepare and coat watercolor paper with a light-sensitive solution, expose their images using UV light, and properly wash, fix, clear, and dry their prints.
The workshop will begin with selecting and preparing negatives suitable for alternative-process printing. Participants will create test prints before working toward their final images, with the goal of leaving the workshop with one or two completed Van Dyke Brown prints.
Whether you are a photographer interested in alternative processes or simply curious about historical photographic techniques, this workshop provides an approachable introduction and the knowledge needed to continue experimenting with Van Dyke Brown printing on your own.
Supplies to Bring
Participants should bring:
Negatives sized to your desired final image. Jill will have additional negatives available for participants who do not have large-format negatives.
Contact printer or two sheets of glass with binder clips
Hair dryer with a cool setting
Nitrile gloves
Watercolor paper; hot press paper is recommended. Suggested options include Hahnemühle Platinum Rag, Aquarelle, or Canson.
Approximately 2-inch brush dedicated to this process. Jill recommends a Sterling Edwards brush, although less expensive brushes may also be used.
Darkroom towel that you don't mind getting stained
Apron
Some workshop supplies will be provided.
About the Instructor
Jill Enfield is a fine art photographer, educator, and author specializing in historical photographic techniques and alternative processes. She teaches workshops and lectures internationally and has authored three books on alternative photographic processes.
Her work often brings contemporary subject matter together with historic photographic techniques. Her immigration series was first exhibited at Ellis Island in 2017 and has since traveled throughout the United States.
Her current exhibition at the AKMA, Visible Evidence, explores the landscape and history of New York's Hudson River Valley. Beginning with digital photographs taken from a moving train, Enfield transforms each image through multiple stages, creating wet plate collodion ambrotypes on glass before scanning and enlarging them as handmade platinum/palladium prints. Through this combination of contemporary and historical processes, the work explores change, memory, movement, and the traces of the past that remain visible within the landscape.
Visible Evidence: Jill Enfield is on view at the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art through November 8, 2026.
