Sustainable Photographic Practices

Instructor: Anne Eder | Dates: Mondays, November 9 - 30 | Time: 6-8 PM

Tuition: $270 (Members) $318 (Non-Members) | Class Size Max: 10

Many historic photographic processes utilize toxic chemistry that is harmful to photographers and the environment. This four-week online course introduces participants to approaches for building a safer, more eco-friendly photographic practice.

Through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on experimentation, participants will explore processes that are naturally less harmful as well as substitutions for hazardous chemicals. Topics include personal safety in the lab, waste neutralization and disposal, metal salt recovery, homemade developers, and the use of unconventional light sensitizing agents. The first class introduces participants to sustainable practices and ideas. The following 3 weeks are dedicated to learning best practices and alternatives for silver-based processes, iron-based processes, and gum printing/ dichromates. Between class sessions, participants will gain practical experience making work using these alternative chemicals and processes before discussing results in class.

The course is taught by Anne Eder, who is currently writing a book on sustainable photography for Routledge Focal Press and teaches plant-based and environmentally friendly courses for Penumbra Foundation and institutions worldwide.

ANNE EDER is an interdisciplinary artist and educator. She is faculty at Harvard University Ceramics program, and a lecturer in the Lewis Center for the Arts, Princeton University. She holds a master’s degree in Photography and Integrated Media from Lesley University College of Art and Design where she studied with Christopher James, author of the Book of Alternative Processes. 

She has won multiple awards, including four Julia Margaret Cameron Awards, a first place series JMC, and two International Pollux Awards for alternative process. Her work has been published internationally and her images and studio practice are featured in Gum Printing: A Step-By-Step Manual Highlighting Artists and Their Creative Practice by Christina Z. Anderson and in Morgan Post's Alternative Process Photography for the Contemporary Photographer: A Beginner's Guide, both published by Focal Press/Routledge. She teaches a range of courses in experimental analog and interdisciplinary processes. anneeder.com

Images © Gesche Würfel / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn and Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York