Elemental Photography and the Cameraless Print

Imagine photography moving beyond the lens, transforming into an alchemical journey of light, chemical reaction, and form. Join photographer and visual artist Brianna Tadeo for an immersive deep dive into the magical world of light-sensitive materials and uncover what’s possible through cameraless printmaking.

Over the course of four days in Santa Fe, we embrace the hands-on process of crafting cameraless imagery from the ground up—journeying backward in time to explore the chemical foundations from which photography all began. We begin in the darkroom, where Briana introduces us to the tactile world of chemigrams, botanical printing, and lumen prints—cameraless processes where sunlight, chemistry, and natural materials interact directly on photographic paper. Harnessing these processes, we craft painterly abstractions and luminous images that reveal the delicate traces of nature. Participants are encouraged to integrate foliage and other natural found objects into their hand-crafted imagery, and have the opportunity to collect botanicals on-location surrounded by the beauty of spring in Santa Fe.

Building upon these analog foundations, we then transition into a hybrid digital-analog practice, learning how to create digital negatives from pre-existing scans or photographs, and explore how to reproduce images in the darkroom as silver gelatin contact prints. With Brianna’s guidance, participants bridge the digital and analog, reintroducing touch, tone, and material depth into digitally derived imagery. We then move into open studio hours, with time for participants to experiment and combine processes learned throughout the workshop. Participants discover how these historic photographic processes can be used to hone their unique vision and, by combining the traditional and the digital, elevate their images to new creative heights.

Throughout the workshop, we ground our experiments in the traditions of photographic abstraction and alchemy, studying artists who work across material, digital, and material exploration. This workshop invites play, curiosity, and exploration—transforming and reimagining what a photograph can be.