Photographer Luther Gerlach will share how he uses the alchemy of the past to create his haunting, contemporary images, at the Museum of Ventura County on Sunday, October 16, from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. Gerlach will demonstrate how to make wet-plate collodion negatives and albumen prints from authentic mammoth glass plate cameras. He will also give a historical and technical overview of this early photographic process, which dates back to the mid 1800s.

Seating is limited to 60 people. Admission is $10, $5 for museum members, and includes entry to all museum galleries, including the exhibition In the Light of Blue: New Works by Luther Gerlach. For reservations call 805-653-0323 x 7.

Gerlach’s use of the wet-plate process and his collection of antique and artist-built mammoth glass plate cameras, reflect a love for what he calls “the truly handmade photographic image.”

Since 2006 Gerlach has given more than 125 on site demonstrations, lectures and workshops in wet plate collodion, albumen, platinum and photo gravure processes at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles and the Getty Villa in Malibu. He has instructed at Brooks Institute of Photography and at Art Center in Pasadena, as well as presenting lectures and demonstrations at the Natural History Museum in Santa Barbara, the University of California Santa Barbara, and Westmont College. His work is included in the collections of the Prague National Museum, the J. Paul Getty Museum, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, and President Barack and Michelle Obama, among others.

The Museum of Ventura County is located at 100 East Main Street in downtown Ventura. Hours are 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Admission is $4 adults, $3 seniors, $1 children 6-17, members and children under 6 are free. For more museum information go to www.venturamuseum.org or call 805-653-0323.