Foundation
The History of the Camera
During the 16th century renaissance many artists became intrigued in representing nature truly for the beauty it is therefore camera obscurer was invented. Camera obscurer is when you have a hole in a wall of a dark room where light passes through and projects the image upside down with light and respective. Mozi, Aristotle and Alhazen where all said to have involvement with it, even famous artists including Leonardo Da Vinci used the process for tracing in 1490. The camera was such a popular method that by the 1700s it was a common process. However There was another process called camera lucida (light room), first thought about in 1611 however the first evidence a fully working model was in 1807. The process was different to camera obscurer it did not require a dark room or a light, it used a prism to reflect the light on to a piece of paper which could then be traced. The benefits where that you did not require special paper, it was more easily portable, the image is presented on the paper the right way up and it is a much simpler process and requires less time and equipment. These processes where used by artists to present the reality of their surrounding as they create a accurate image, another reason could have been that the artists did not trust their eyes to present the true image.
The problem with camera obscurer was that it couldn't be moved or the image would completely disappear therefore people began the search to find a way to do this. Johann Heinrich Schluze in 1724 discovered that a substance mixed with silver nitrate reacted with light so the image could be printed onto paper although the image faded completely very soon after. So the search to hold the image continued and a race between Britain and France began. French inventor Joseph Nicephore invented Holography the making of holograms and took the first picture. Then followed Louis Daguerre a French artist who invented the first photographic process Daguerreotype which used silver plated copper, it was released to the world in 1839 and greeted with great success. This then resulted in the first photo of a human made possible by the fact he was having his shoes shined making the 7 minute exposure possible to capture him. Then scientist Henry Fox Talbot invented the calotype camera which could produce the first negative allowing paper copies to be printed however fees to use it saw it to never kick off. Therefore Frenchmen Louis Dagurres camera was a much more poular technique than Henry Fox's negative camera as you needed a licence to use it. These inventions would never have existed if the industrial revolution had not of taken place which provided materials and chemicals necessary for the cameras development. The industrial revolution also made travel possible which meant people could travel to places and document everything using a camera. The word photography (light drawing) came from Englishmen Sir John Herschel whom made many photographic breakthroughs including taking a picture on glass. The exposure time needed for development meant mobile photo studios had to be invented in 1850 so that the photos could be developed before they where lost. Then Englishmen Richard Leach Maddox created gelatin dry negative plates Which where smaller and did not require tripods. Eadweed Murbridge in 1878 used 12 triggered cameras to track the movement of a horse to determine if all 4 hooves leave the ground which they do a groundbreaking discovery for motion photography. Then in 1885 Gregory Eastman of Kodak invented the first roll film which once used you send to the factory to be developed and they send the photos back. Then Oskar Barnack in 1925 created the lica 1 35 mm lens camera which created many iconic photos we know today. At the end of the 19th century artist developed many different styles due to the development of photography, Expressionism used to express emotions, Cubism which rejects the renaissance and the idea art has to be reality, Futurism which concentrates on speed, movement and dynamism, Surrealism which is the functionality of the mind, Constuctivsm which focused on making the viewer concentrate on an interpretation of the art.Then the digital camera was developed soon after the first digital image in 1975 which eventually bankrupted kodak in 2012. Today we have a camera accessible to us on our phone which means photos can be uploaded to the internet in seconds. |
Photograms
Photograms are creating a photographic image without a camera, It is done in a dark room to prevent light exposure before necessary. You then place objects on photographic paper and expose it to light the objects then either partially or completely blocks the light and the shadow is recorded on the paper. The use of different chemicals is what brings these images to life first the developer, I left my image in there for 2 minute. Then the stop which stops the image from developing and turning completely black I left the image in there for 1 minute. Next is the fix Which is perhaps the most important it prevents the image from fading when you bring it out into full light, I left it in there for 3 minutes. Finally I placed the image in water for 5 minutes before drying. Using different, light intensities, objects and methods creates varied interesting images.
In this image I used a lemon and ivy leaf to try and present the different light tones created by different objects. The opaque leaf created a sharp contrast to the backdrop. However the lemon had less contrast as it was more transparent.
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Here I used the method of solarisation which is when you expose the paper to light twice but you let the image develop halfway in-between exposures. I used this affect to try and portray the plants clearly with a white background from the record.
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In this I was experimenting with the stop chemical by painting it onto the photo paper before exposing it, therefore the areas painted will remain white when developed. I therefore found a way of creating an interesting pattern on the backdrop of my images.
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In this image I used the painting method by exposing the photographic paper. However instead of putting the whole image in developer I painted a pattern on which created a splattered effect. This was inspired by the famous artist of the stone roses John squire.
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In these photos I used the double exposure method which is when you expose the paper to the light twice however in between exposures you rearrange the object so that the objects appear to be two places at once. I therefore used as many see through objects as I could this meant that all the objects displayed on both exposures where visible. Furthermore with the chemicals I left the image in the developer for a shortened period of time this gave a faded effect and meant all objects where visible and the double exposure was clear.
Pinhole camera photography with sandwich print
Pinhole photography is when you use the theory of camera obscurer to create an image on photographic paper. This is done by poking a hole in a hollow object which lets no light in whatsoever, otherwise the paper will be exposed before intended and the paper will be ruined. By pointing the hole towards a place which you want to capture and depending on the level of light intensity you leave the hole open then close it to create an image on the paper. If the light level is a lot then you usually let it be exposed for shorter however if the light is less you need to give it longer. After you have exposed the paper you have to prevent any light to enter the dark object interior until you get to the dark room which is where you will develop your image. I used a pringal pack with black duck tape covering it to prevent light to enter it with a hole on the side covered by a flap which can open and closed. This image was taken outside therefore I exposed the paper for 1 second as the sunlight was very bright, then after fully developing the image and drying it I used the process of sandwiching using black paper, glass and another larger piece of photographic paper which created a black outline around the image making it look like it is in a frame. I believe pinhole photography gives and excellent psychedelic effect reminding me of some of the cures black and white photography, I also got a human in this picture on the right centre of the picture to try and present isolation.
Brutalist Architecture +2
With this project I was trying to express my interest in brutalist photography by using different methods. The places I have included spreads around the world, The first two photos are taken in Copenhagen Kastrup sea bath which uses both brutalist and white architecture styles and is on the coast looking out towards Malmo which gives a dramatic backdrop to the harsh concrete. Then the next two photos where taken in the barbican centre London which is a residential and entertainment centre built in 1982 in an area badly bombed in WW2. I really love the contrast in the consistent nature throughout to the harsh exposed concrete and tried to capture that in my image looking down one of the tunnels. The next three photos are all taken around the south bank, the hayward gallery and queen Elizabeth hall which was built in 1967 as a concert hall. With these images I was really trying to capture the wet stains on the buildings from the rain which gave an excellent effect on the concrete changing the tone. The next photograph was taken in covent garden of the space house designed by Richard Seifert in 1966 whom was heavily influenced by London architecture. In my image i was trying to capture the way in which the building was designed that as it rounded the windows disappeared and the sides looked covered in spikes.The next photo was taken of the brunswick centre near kings cross which is another residential area with a shopping centre in the middle It was designed by Patrick Hodgkinson in the mid-1960s. In the image i was trying to capture the ventilation pipes swell as the light s extending down the building. my next photo was of a brutalist church in Lisbon called Sagrado Coracao which was incredibly striking with the harsh shapes carved into the concrete with incredibly high ceilings and extremly bare interior, i was trying to capture all this swell as the light spreading across the church through a roof window. The next two images where of the university of Lisbon which where not brutalist however fitted in well with the consistency and portrayed a similar style. the architecture style was really interesting in my opinion the way it portrayed different slats and holes on the building which presented an idea of openness. Finally the last two images where in Lisbon also of Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation which is very similar to the barbican the way it uses nature to contrast to the harsh exposed concrete, the whole building is built for the 5% man whom had an extreme collection of art and money therefore this was built to house the art using his money after his death. It also has a modern art museum and an amphitheatre with brutalist concrete seats presented in the last photo. All of these photos are shot in black and white which is used to present the effect that was available at the time they where built.
The Film Camera
Film cameras are the same as the pinhole, in the way it lets light through a hole which hits light sensitive paper, creating an image however the difference is that SLR cameras have lenses on them which helps focus the light and control the aperture the amount of light entering the camera. The shutter mechanism on the camera allows light to hit the light sensitive paper for a period of time necessary for the light in the surroundings of where the picture is being taken. The light in the camera is controlled by the aperture ring I found the right amount of aperture needed by using a light detecting devise to give the best image. The type of camera we where using was an SLR 35 mm lens this camera allows you to look directly through the lens due to the mirror, the shutter in the camera both allows you to view and let light hit the film for the right period of time. Another example of a film camera is the compact film which is much smaller and light. there are different types of focal lengths which determined how wide the image will be, I used a 35 mm lens but you can get a 50 mm lens which is the same as the human eye however you can go down until a fish eye lens which gives a odd perspective commonly used in skate videos. Different exposures can give different effects, under exposed will cause a darkened effect however a over exposed image will cause a very light image. to help give the right exposure time you can use different shutter speeds to let different levels of light in however long shutter speeds can cause blurry images because of the camera shaking during the long period, unless you use a tripod. you can use different f-stops for different levels of aperture low for low levels of light because it opens the shutter for longer and high for high light levels as it shuts the shutter sooner.
The Contact Sheet
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With a contact sheet you try to create a story or a common theme through a series of photos, then the photographer would look thought he images and choose the one which best represents his idea and develops it into a negative the other photos remain unseen expert to the photographer. The contact sheet was known as the photographers sketch book they gave the opportunity to portray ideas through a series. Ian MacEachern was a photographer whom i really appreciate because he really captured human expressions and behaviour which i think looks great with film photography. I tried to mirror some of his work in my work by capturing people in their day to day life. Contact sheets where also commonly used to present different expressions of people to capture the meaning of their album or idea.
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Film photo enlargement
This is my final print of enlarging film photography the process was putting the film in the frame with the shiny side facing up then when the light was on it enlarged onto the deck. By using the focus dial and focusing sense I got the photo into focus by seeing the grain with the right focus i then cut a slip of photographic paper on the deck and covering the paper with black paper I exposed the photo two seconds at a time moving the black paper down each time. I ended up with different shades of exposure down the photo shown on the print below. I then had to choose how long the exposure time was which gave the best image eI decided it was 5 seconds. Therefore i experimented with the 5 second exposure on a strip of paper shown at the bottom however this seemed to be too dark and a bit out of focus therefor with my final print I used a four second exposure and made sure it was in focus which produced a clear image.
With these photos I tried to capture people in their day to day activity and the emotions They have during these activities. I went to the pub at lunchtime where you can see lonely men drinking at 1 on a Monday afternoon expressing sorrow and regret, and the friends bonding over a pint and lunch. then I went to sainsburys where people where either in a frantic rush to get food in or pondering over the different types of beans. I also took a picture of builders taking a lunch break around a workbench for a table their faces showed joy of the break and being in the company of friends and also fatigue from the heavy manual labour. I also walked the streets trying to get as close as possible to peoples faces to show their varied expressions, One teenager had her headphones in and she was expressing much delight. These different emotions people are feeling all depend on what they are experiencing and the environment around them.