Frustrated by her dyslexia, learning in an academic setting, and the emphasis on the looming digital age which held little interest to her, Vanessa dropped out of her college photography program after one semester and bought herself a Mamiya 645 medium format film camera. "When I found wet plate collodion I couldn't believe it was even a possibility to shoot and develop this way."  She searched the internet and found a workshop at Brooklyn's Pioneerworks, followed by an 8 week program at NYC's Penumbra Foundation and is still learning many years later.  "This process has restored my joy of working with my hands creating photographic work." She works primarily in wet plate process but also states she works playfully in other historic and alt processes as well.  "I feel so lucky I can share this process with other people through the magical collaboration that it is."