19th-Century Emulsion and 21st-Century Fiction: Albumen Print and Promptography
A Hands-On Workshop with Mindaugas Meškauskas
In this workshop, I will guide participants step by step through one of the oldest photographic printing techniques—the albumen process, which was the dominant method of photographic reproduction in the 19th century. We'll begin at the very roots: whipping egg whites, mixing them with sodium or ammonium chloride, coating paper with albumen, sensitizing it with silver nitrate, and finally creating a contact print. We will then proceed with all the necessary steps: washing, fixing, and toning (if needed).
But this is not merely a technical demonstration – this workshop proposes a provocative bridge between eras: instead of using a traditional negative (like wet collodion or silver bromide), we will create an image using a 21st-century method – AI-generated imagery, or promptography.
What will we do?
We will write a prompt that generates an image based on a chosen (or collectively developed) idea or mood.
Using the resulting image, we will prepare a digital negative for contact printing.
Then, we’ll print the image as an albumen print—bringing 21st-century fiction to life through 19th-century technique.
This workshop is not only about craftsmanship or chemical processes—it’s about the intersection of time, medium, and creative perception.
What does an artificial dream look like in a vintage emulsion?
How “real” is a printed image if its origin lies in an algorithm?
Open to:
Both complete beginners curious about the albumen process and creatives interested in exploring links between historical and contemporary image-making techniques.
Day I – From Idea to Negative
Duration: 3 hours
Introduction to the Process (30 min)
• The albumen print: history, aesthetics, and the essence of this handcrafted process. Presentation of examples and discussion of expectations.
• Logic behind using AI-generated imagery when working with a 19th-century photographic technique.
• Collective selection and development of a theme for the workshop artworks.
Note: each participant will create two complete works during the course – two negatives and two prints.
Preparing the Albumen Emulsion (45 min)
• Separating, beating, and filtering egg whites.
• Mixing with salt (NaCl or NH₄Cl).
• Demonstration and hands-on practice.AI Promptography: Image Creation (1 hour)
• What is promptography – examples and conceptual context.
• Image generation and selection using AI.
• Each participant selects only two images for their future prints.Preparing Negatives (45 min)
• Image editing, inversion, and printing onto transparent film.
• Only two negatives will be printed per participant.
Day II – Paper Coating and Printing Preparation
Duration: 3 hours
Coating Paper with Albumen (45 min)
• Demonstration and practice of two methods: floating and brushing.
• Each participant coats only two sheets of paper (one as backup in case of failure).Drying and Basics of Contact Printing (45 min)
• Drying the paper. Discussion of sensitizing methods – floating or brushing with silver nitrate.
• Introduction to contact printing: frame logic, UV light source, setting exposure times.Individual Consultation (1.5 hours)
• If possible – sensitizing with silver nitrate begins (only if the paper is completely dry).
Day III – Printing and Final Presentation
Duration: 3 hours
Sensitizing with Silver Nitrate (30 min)
• Hands-on work with two sheets of paper.
• Drying before printing.Contact Printing (1 hr 15 min)
• Each participant contact-prints their two final images.
• Washing under running water.Fixing and Toning (45 min)
• Preparation of the fixer.
• Fixing, rinsing.
• Drying and mounting onto cardboard.
Note: toning (gold, platinum, selenium) will be discussed in theory only – no toning will be done in practice.
Mini Exhibition and Reflection (30 min)
• Selection of works for presentation.
• Sharing impressions.
• Closing: what’s next – possible directions for further work with albumen printing.
Important Information:
Each participant will receive:
• One A4 sheet of transparent film for printing two 10×15 cm negatives.
• Two sheets of 100% cotton paper (18×24 cm) for albumen coating – one sheet is enough for two prints.
• Two cardboards for mounting the final albumen prints.
• Each participant will produce two final prints only.
No additional works will be created.
The workshop facilitator reserves the right to adjust the schedule depending on group dynamics.
Mindaugas Meškauskas (b. 1971) is an award-winning Lithuanian TV director and scriptwriter, and a member of the Lithuanian Photographers Association. He has produced some of the biggest shiny-floor and music shows in Lithuania – X Factor, Lithuania’s Got Talent, the M.A.M.A. Awards – as well as cultural documentaries and reality shows.
As a photographer, Meškauskas has held numerous solo exhibitions and participated in group art projects in Vilnius, Prague, London, and Milan. His wet plate collodion portraits have been featured in Seities Magazine, The Collodion Book, various Lithuanian publications, and used as album covers.
Meškauskas’s works have been exhibited in galleries across Lithuania. His documentary films A Nineteenth-century Photographer's Legacy, about Juozapas Čechavičius (Józef Czechowicz), and The Archives Detective, which follows the remarkable rediscovery of Antanas Ingelevičius, have drawn special attention and acclaim from the cultural community.
The artist works exclusively with historical, analog photographic processes.
