Willie Osterman will demonstrate the wet-plate collodion process. This is a hand-applied method where an emulsion is poured onto a plate of glass or blackened aluminum, sensitized, exposed, developed, and rinsed. The plate is then fixed before the emulsion dries, and finished with a varnish. This process was invented in 1852 by Frederick Gardner.

Having earned a BFA and MFA in photography, Mr. Osterman is the former Director of Fine Art Photography at RIT and Professor Emeritus. He assisted Alan Ross in producing the Ansel Adams Special Edition Prints and worked as a contract photographer for the Eastman Kodak Company. A recipient of a Fulbright Scholar Award, Mr. Osterman developed a Masters Degree program at Croatia’s University of Zagreb. Over 80 exhibitions in the US, Italy, Turkey, Austria, China and Croatia feature his work.