Panorama

I chose to do my panoramic images with animals to add a slight challenge. Also, horse riding is one my passions so taking photos of them was a joy.

Using Photoshop, the merging of the images was quick and painless. I used 4 seperate photos to create each panoramic image. I feel that the first one was the most effective as it had the least 'bulge' in it. I did try to 'straighten' the images but this proved unsuccessful.

Lego Apocalypse...the ones that didn't make it

Here are some of the scenes that were cut from the final 10 images.

Final Assessment Project

The End Of The World


Inspired by popular culture such as the TV series The Walking Dead , Flikr images and macro photography. A Lego Zombie Apocalypse...

Mini Project

Our brief:

Take five black and white photographs of two or more unrelated objects or people. What I want you to do is carefully consider the way in which you frame and compose things within the photographic ‘window’ to create a relationship that was not previously there.

What is it about the photographic print that seems to give everything within the frame equal weight and could we call this process ‘democratic’?

My response:

 I developed and printed these photographs in the black room, trying out various effects until I got the ones I was happy with. Some were under exposed or over exposed, so it was a case of trial and error. 

I like the symmetry inherent in the order of the series: horse, cats, ducks, cats, horse. 

Black and White photography

Once the images have been selected from the contact sheet, the chosen negative can then be placed in the negative carraige on the enlarger head. Repeat the process of adjusting the enlarger to get the size you want, place the photographic paper beneath it and do a test strip.

Test Strip

Once the desired amount of exposure has been settled upon, the photographic paper can then be exposed fully.

Test strip- under exposed and unfocused

Slightly over exposed

The right amount of exposure. The image is crisp and detailed.

Very over exposed

Adding a neat frame on the photograph

You can add the neat frame by using the frame on the enlarger, or have a blurry frame by not using one. Both results can work well, depending on the subject matter.

You can also play around when exposing the film. Try double exposure to get this effect:

Double exposure

 Or using a negative as a photogram to get this effect:

Negtive overlayed onto photographic paper during exposure

Dodging and burning is when you balance the dark/light ratio with hands on manipulation. Dodging = decreasing exposure fore areas that you wish to be lighter. Burning = increasing exposure on areas you wish to be darker. Tools can be made from wire, card or even your own finger. This is an example of dodging with my finger:

Dodging by finger

 Or, you could also try collaging by placing photos on top of each other:

Making a contact sheet

A contact sheet is a positive print of all the negative images from one film, made by a contact printing process. This is particularly helpful in the early stages of deciding what images to enlarge and work with.

First, set up the enlarger and then take it down two stops so the reading should be f8 or f5.6. Using the safety light, adjust the enlarger head so that the surface of the photographic paper is covered.

Negtive Strip

The negatives should be clean, dry and cut into strips of four.
Place the photographic paper emulsion side up on the baseboard.

Remove the safety light and set the timer to 10-12 seconds. It is a good idea to do a test strip first to get an idea of the amount of exposure needed. Simply do this by covering sections of the paper then increasing exposure in increments of 4 seconds or thereabouts.

Test Strip #1

Test Strip #2

Put the exposed paper through the developer machine.

Contact sheet

                                                                    

From the contact sheet, you can now choose what images work well, then enlarge them to make a photograh.

Photograms or Camera-less photography

Equipment:
Photographic Paper
Enlarger
Processing machine
Various found objects

Photograms are immediate and honest; the product of direct contact between light, object, and photographic paper.In this age of digital manipulation, the truth of a photogram is extremely refreshing.

                                   (Ten second exposure with Aperture Value [AV] 6)

In the dark room, I placed my chosen objects upon the photographic paper then shone light from the enlarger onto it for ten seconds. Then, taking the exposed paper I ran it through a processing machine which developed and fixed my photo for me.

I experimented with adjusting the intensity and time of the light to get different results, but I found that for a sharp image with good contrast, ten seconds at AV 6 was best.

                                                      (Ten second exposure on a lower AV)


Then, using the techniques I had learnt in making a negative photogram, I tried to make a positive image. I sandwiched the negative image along with a new sheet of photographic paper between glass plates then exposed it to AV 6 light for ten seconds.

I really like the Pop Art reference implicit in the repetition of everyday objects. I then experimented to make the positive image more tonal by varying the length of time I exposed it for.

 I especially like how the blurred edges in the positive image give it a sense of movement. This works with the subject matter which is a peg being pinched open, movement is therefore inherent to the image.


Taking the idea of pegs further, I wanted to create an image that told a narrative.

 I think this above sequence works very well as a narrative as it's remniscent of pictures of evolution. Also, the properties of the final peg meant that it lets very little light through, thereby giving it the bright, white effect. This shows how different materials with different properties will give a wide range of results in a photogram.


Then, I worked towards making a selection and assembling a triptych of work. In photography, I've learnt that editing is crucial. Choosing what works, and putting aside what doesn't work is vital, and helps distill your work to its basic message instead of bombarding the viewer with a mass of images. 

My triptych displays items in a sequence that can then be repeated: Flora, Flora, Fauna. Fauna, Fauna, Manmade. Manmade, Manmade, Flora. All the items could be seen as the 'rubbish' of that category, for example; the feathers have been shed, the leaves were fallen, and the manmade product were litter. Somehow though, by presenting them in this deliberate and almost reverential way, they have ceased to be debris. Photography has given them validation, and I find that very exciting.