Rob Gibson is one of six photographers in the nation practicing wet plate collodion, the photographic process popular through the late 1860s that used cyanide and other dangerous chemicals to create glass plate negatives, positives and tintypes.

Gibson, of Rochester, N.Y., will demonstrate the trade from 1: 30 p.m. to 3 p.m. tomorrow in back of Peterson Hall at Western Maryland College. In case of inclement weather, the exhibition will be moved to the college's Art Studio on Uniontown Road.

Dressed in period costume, Gibson and his assistant Raymond Davenport will work out of a photography wagon, nicknamed a "what's it wagon," similar to the kind used by Matthew Brady and other photojournalists of the 1860s.

His authentic equipment includes a head clamp stand used to position subjects, and a lens from 1862 that was used by Richard Walzl, a Confederate photographer from Baltimore.

Gibson also will help students experiment with the collodion process, and take and develop a portrait of WMC President Robert H. Chambers, who will dress as the college's first president, James T. Ward (1867-1886).

The demonstration is free to the public.

Information: 410-857-2290.

Police

Westminster: A Family Center employee told police Monday that someone entered the building after 6 p.m. Saturday and took a Sega play station. The loss was estimated at $130.

Pub Date: 11/18/98