Alternative Process Photography Then and Now
with Christina Z. Anderson and Cotton Miller
November 2 and 5, 2026
Course Description
Alternative photographic processes have undergone transformation over the past few decades. Once considered a niche or historically bound practice, they are now part of a growing and evolving field shaped by both traditional methods and contemporary digital-based photographic workflows.
In this live online webinar program, Christina Z. Anderson reflects on the development of alternative process photography from the 1990s to today. Drawing from her experience as an artist, educator, and author, she shares insights into materials, techniques, and the expanding global community of practitioners working in these methods.
Throughout her work, Christina has been engaged in rethinking how these historically rooted processes function in a contemporary context, not simply preserving them, but adapting and extending them through new approaches and ideas.
Christina is joined in conversation with Cotton Miller throughout the four hours of this special program. They explore how artists are learning and working today, how digital tools intersect with historical processes, and what it means to build a sustained, process-driven practice. Together, they consider not only how these processes are used but how working through them shapes creative decision-making, personal vision, and the final image.
An open Q&A session with the attendees concludes each evening.
Additional Information
WHO SHOULD ATTEND:
What You Should Know:
The workshop is open to all who have an interest in Alternative Process Photography. No level of photographic technical ability is required since this is not a workshop to make new images.
Special Notes:
Class will meet 6:00 – 8:00 pm (Mountain Time) on Monday, November 2 and Thursday, November 5 (two online group sessions).
Zoom Video Conferencing software (available for no charge from Zoom.com) will be used to facilitate the class sessions. Further details will be emailed to registrants.
These live online sessions take place in the standard Zoom meeting format. Students can use their microphone and camera, see and hear the instructor and other students, and participate in live discussion and interaction throughout the sessions.
Santa Fe Workshops always aims to produce a high-quality experience for our online attendees. That said, variables including regional and local internet provider speeds, traffic on Zoom's servers, and your own computing hardware can contribute to a less-than-ideal streaming event. While we do our best to minimize the impact of these variables, they are outside the control of Santa Fe Workshops.
Policies:
View Withdrawal and Transfer Policies for online programs.
Recording class sessions using personal devices or third-party tools is not permitted. Session recordings are provided by Santa Fe Workshops and are available to enrolled students for two months after the class. This policy helps protect the intellectual property and privacy of both instructors and students.
about
Christina Z. Anderson’s work focuses on the contemporary vanitas printed in a variety of alternative photographic processes, such as gum and casein bichromate, cyanotype, salted paper, chrysotype, platinum-palladium, chemigrams, chromo, mordançage, lumen prints, and combinations thereof. Christina’s work has been shown nationally and internationally in over 130 shows and 90 publications. She has seven books in print, which have sold in over 40 countries. Christina is Editor for Focal Press/Routledge’s Contemporary Practices in Alternative Process Photography series and Professor of Photography at Montana State University.
Website: christinaZanderson.com
Instagram: @christinaZanderson
about
Cotton Miller received his MFA in Photography & New Media in 2013 from Lesley University College of Art and Design, in Boston. In addition to being honored by The Boston Globe as one of six artists to watch in 2013, he had multiple exhibits in Boston and has won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association in 2007. Cotton has also assisted with projects for Time Magazine, ESPN Magazine, Athleta, and Highsnobiety.
Cotton is the Web Manager for Santa Fe Workshops and does web and exhibition consultation projects for a variety of artists, and is Adjunct Faculty for the Glassell School of Art at the Museum of Fine Arts – Houston. He has designed websites for Nevada Wier, Christopher James, Alison Wright, Elizabeth Opalenik, and Santa Fe Workshops. Cotton’s personal work combines traditional printing methods with digital, alternative process, mixed media, and multimedia. He worked as a master printer for Blazing Editions in Providence and Cotton was a research assistant for The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes (third edition) by Christopher James. Cotton collaborates with many artists for not only web design, but also digital retouching, graphic design, exhibition design, exhibition production, and printing fine art editions.
Website: cottonmiller.com
Instagram: @cottonmiller
