Fixing Time in Saint-Michel

Meet Pierre in the heart of Bordeaux and start your experience with a walk through the historic Saint-Michel district, where you’ll stop at a local café to get to know the neighborhood. Over coffee or tea, Pierre will share stories from his daily life and explain how his studio fits into this historic and lively area. Back at the atelier, you’ll explore the origins of photography and learn about wet plate collodion—a 19th-century technique that uses glass or metal plates, chemical baths, and a large format camera. Pierre will guide you step by step as you coat, sensitize, expose, and develop your own image. Watching your portrait come to life is a striking visual moment: deep contrasts, delicate textures, and a vintage feel that’s hard to find elsewhere. While your image slowly appears, Pierre shares family stories and his personal view of Bordeaux and photography. You can also choose to shoot outdoors and include a glimpse of the city in your portrait.

The uniqueness of this experience lies in the physicality of the process and the one-of-a-kind result. Wet plate collodion photography doesn’t aim to imitate the past—it uses an early technique to craft images that are singular, dense, and deeply present. Each portrait is shaped by light and chemistry, with a richness of tones and details that can’t be replicated. Pierre Wetzel has spent years refining this 19th-century process, working entirely with a large-format camera and mastering the subtle balance of materials and timing. His approach transforms a technical procedure into a moment of artistic exchange, revealing the tension between chance and control that defines the collodion process. Before and during the session, talking with Pierre offers a window into local creative life and the expertise of an artist deeply rooted in the city and its oldest neighborhood. You’ll leave with a tangible result: a single, irreplaceable plate created through an intimate, deliberate act.

Pierre Wetzel is a Bordeaux-based photographer known for his dedication to wet plate collodion, a 19th-century photographic process that he has mastered over years of experimentation. He lives and works in the Saint-Michel district, where he runs his studio and regularly collaborates on community-based art projects that connect photography with local stories and social engagement.

No need to bring anything unless you’d like to include a personal item in your portrait.