Saturday & Sunday

November 15 & 16

10 AM - 6 PM

Class Size Max: 8

In this hands-on workshop, participants will photograph directly onto silver gelatin paper using 4x5 and 8x10 cameras, reimagining these traditional photographic tools as printmaking devices.

Emphasizing experimentation and tactile image-making, participants will photograph still lifes, portraits, and collage-based compositions as paper negatives in Penumbra’s northlight studio, then immediately process them in the darkroom. As the workshop progresses, participants can incorporate these paper negatives into their compositions, rephotographing them to render as positives within a negative image.

The course covers practical skills, including handling a large format camera, loading paper in film holders, metering and exposing for the paper’s characteristics, developing, and creative interventions such as double exposures, solarizing, masking, and hand tinting. Paper negatives are approached as final photographic works, opening conversations about photography's malleable boundaries.

Basic darkroom experience is required. Prior large format experience is helpful but not necessary. Please note: the use of stairs is required for this workshop.

Tuition includes a $100 materials fee.

If your desired tuition option is unavailable, please email info@penumbrafoundation.org and we will do our best to accommodate you. If the entire class is sold out, we can add you to the waitlist.

Pat Garcia Jr. (He/him)  is a Chicano artist based in Brooklyn, NY. His practice pushes the possibilities of photographic processes through darkroom experimentation and material manipulation. Through these various processes, he explores themes such as cultural authenticity, constructed memory, and his queer experiences. After earning his BFA from Humboldt State University in Northern California, he received his MFA in Photography from the Yale School of Art. His achievements include the Lightwork Residency in Syracuse NY, The Yale School of Art Endowment Fund, the Brooks and Suzanne Ragen Scholarship, and the Richard Benson Award.

Images © Pat Garcia

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