Exhibition

On the 15th of June, we had the opening night of our exhibition where families, friends, businesses and so on came along to view our work. 

My exhibition featured a lightbox with my negatives on them, and beside that was my two moving image pieces playing on a monitor along with the media students. 

The overall presentation of my project was strong and I liked the contrast between my negatives and positives; showing the process of my work from the start to finish. I think that the negatives worked really well with the lightbox and lit them up, making them strong and powerful visually. I’m very happy with my moving image also and found that seeing it on a larger scale made it so much more powerful. In conclusion, I am very happy with my exhibit however I feel that I would have preferred my moving image on a monitor by itself like on a Mac or small monitor. 

I am very happy with my exhibit and found that it fitted well with all the other work. 

Evaluation of FMP

For my Final Major Project, I wanted to work more with analogue photography and experiment in the darkroom as I am more digitally based. I researched different photographers on Pinterest and found some interesting work that focused mainly on long exposure. I decided that I wanted to concentrate on movement, using long exposure as my medium. I decided to look at femininity and how it is stereotypically and realistically portrayed and capture this through photography. I came across photographers likes Elena Oganesyan who I found would be particularly influential as well as other photographers like Taida Celi and Miroslav Tichy. I found artists whose work were quite haunting and ghostly like Nico Nordström and Kim Kim and found interesting to incorporate.

I went onto producing work with 35mm and 120 film, photographing my friend’s movement with different format film. My friend’s had practiced ballet when they were younger, so this was an interesting concept to introduce into my work and photograph them whilst they created ballet poises. I tried more abstract ways of photographing my friends so that the negatives would be more interesting; thus working with different methods like moving the camera and changing the angles. I went onto processing the negatives and then developing them into positive images in the darkroom.

I started to experiment more in the darkroom, using different materials and methods to produce more contemporary, creative pieces. I scratched into the negative film as well as applied different materials like masking tape and thread on top of it to produce more distorted and textured imagery. I applied water to the paper to form ripples on the photos and moved the paper in a variety of ways to form different effects and motions.

I decided to show the artistic process of my work in my images as well as marks and fingerprints to show the craft of my photographs. I found that a lot of work wasn’t visually strong as they were more experimental so only a small quantity were part of my final project. I scanned my images in as I wanted to try and change the colour to make them more vibrant like Elena Oganesyan and Taida Celi’s work. I found that this development worked well and the different colours created very interesting compositions however, they weren’t as strong as my original photographs.

After developing the photographs, my tutors suggested creating moving image pieces to develop my work, so I produced two moving images using Adobe Premiere Pro. I found that going down this route and using a different medium made my project stronger and more powerful. I feel that it is a creative tool that has helped to develop and strengthen my project.

I was initially heading down the route of just producing photographs that were inspired by photographers like Elena Oganesyan and creating a collection of images to hang up on the wall for the exhibit. However, I needed up producing moving images with these photographs which I find is much stronger and has developed my work a lot more. Even though it didn’t meet my original intentions, I feel that it is much more improved and visually stronger than my original goal.

Overall, I feel that this project has gone well and even though it hasn’t gone in the direction it was initially intended on going in, my work has become a lot stronger because of it. I have found that the images produced is what I wanted them to look like in the end which I

am happy about, however I did wish that some of the images were in colour like photographer Elena Oganesyan had done with her photographs. I feel that colour may have made my images more striking and bold. When experimenting on Photoshop the images I changed from black and white to colour looked very vibrant and lucid which I found fit my project and incorporated some of Oganesyan’s style into it. I found I was getting somewhere with my images when changing the hue however, they weren’t as strong as the originals. Apart from that, I found that this project overall has been a success and has come out better than expected; especially with the moving image piece which I find has made my project even more powerful and creative. Finally, I feel I have develop my skills more and expanded my knowledge on analogue photography which was one of the initial aims of this project, and whilst doing that I have created experimental pieces and developed them in moving images.

Ideas for Holga Camera

I decided to look at what I could do to create experimental images and look what ways I could use the Holga to create visually strong images. I went onto the Lomography website and looked through the Holga 120 CFN guide to experimentation.

Long Exposure

The camera allows you to create long exposure  using the “b” setting. This is something which I will be using to portray movement of women, and capturing obscure and abstract motions through the lens. I wanted to capture something that conventional photography does not which is why I bought this camera and am deciding to use the long exposure setting on it.

Double Exposure

The camera also allows you to create double exposure, which means that you expose your film twice to the light. It’s a great way to produce creative and abstract imagery which is something that I am looking for in my work. This will allow me to develop my skills and expand my knowledge.

Other possibilities

You are able to make multiple exposures or endless panoramic shots with your Holga 120 CFN which is what I like as it allows me to be able to have endless possibilities in which I can capture my subjects. 

 

I’m really excited to try out these new skills as I have never experimented with analogue photography before and really want to try working with long and double exposure.

 

 

Costings

Cameras:

Holga Camera: £25

Canon EOS 300 / EOS Rebel 2000 35mm Film Camera: £59.99

Film Rolls:

120 film 4 rolls: £18.99

35mm film: 4 rolls: £14.95

Milage for travelling to photography shoots:

My house (Deane to Heaton): 2.5 miles by car

Bolton to Edgworth: 5.9 miles by car

My house (Deane to Heaton): 2.5 miles by car

I researched the prices of what it would cost if I had to buy all the developing and processing accessories, photographic paper and darkroom kits.

Developing & Processing Accessories:

£60 tanks and reels

£12 cylinders for toners

£15 chemical storage bottles

£24 chemicals

£11 film clips (pack of 10)

Photographic paper: 

£21.21 Ilford Multigrade IV RC Deluxe 8 x 10, 25 Gloss Paper sheets

£22.99+ £3.95 delivery Ilford Multigrade IV RC Deluxe 5″ x 7″ 100 Sheets Glossy Paper

Darkroom equipment:

£150 neg carrier

£500 enlarger

£25 enlarger timer

£3.99 printing tongs

£17.82 x3 processing trays

£2 thermometer

£12 x3 bottles

£20.97 processing chemicals

 

 

Premiere Pro // Moving Image Piece

From my crit with Jo and Shaun, I have decided to created two moving image pieces with my photographs I produced in the darkroom. I found that this would be a good way to develop the images and transform them into something other than just photographs; it allowed me to be creative and experiment with movement once more, this time making the images physically move.

I went to the STEM building to start working with Jamie, and I brought the images I was using and the order to put them into when sequencing them into the movie.

Jamie took the Jpegs and imported them into Adobe Premiere Pro CS6. I then showed him the sequence in which they went in and we sorted them out on the computer into the right order. From there I told Jamie what I wanted the clips to look like and how I wanted the images to look like; flickering images whilst it’s rolling. Jamie suggested more abstract effects to transform the images into an intricate and experimental moving image piece as he thought that the flicker wouldn’t be as effective.

For the first images, we put them into the order I had sorted with Jo and Shaun, from there we adjusted the amount of time each image would be shown. We started to experiment more; speeding up the time the images would be shown for and slowing them down as well as manipulating the images- enlarging them, reversing the sequence and repeating it again.

When we had edited and found the right sequence and effects to transform the photos into a moving image clip, we looked back at it. We felt that we could still add something to the film and Jamie felt that we could copy this sequence and then overlay it under the original sequence, but slowing it down so it was out of time with the original sequence. From watching this over, you could see the faint two layers which added dimension and depth to the moving image which I really liked about it and felt it improved a lot.

From there Jamie could see that something was missing so decided to add sound to add depth to it and bring it to life. From there he added a random song from the Mac- David Bowie and found segments which had unusual sounds like wind blowing and howling which seemed like an interesting choice. We overlapped the sound with the images and played it back; finding that this sound piece completely transformed the moving image and gave it a whole new style and outlook.

We played it over again to see if anything else needed adding but found that this final piece was finished and we didn’t see any other improvements that could be added.

Overall, I found that doing this first video and transforming my photographs into a moving image piece really changed the way I viewed my images and felt that it really transformed them into very sublime and elegant pieces that allowed me to develop my work and be creative, exploring new methods and working with new medias. It made me very excited for creating new moving images and felt it changed the way I portrayed my photographs.

 

I went onto producing the other moving image piece with the other images. We imported the images and placed them into a sequence. We then went onto manipulating the clip; speeding up certain aspects, slowing down some, repeating it and enlarging the images. We then repeated what we did in the previous clip and overlapped the clip with a duplicate clip to create layered images. We also thought that adding sound like last time would also improve it too so we added another David Bowie track to it with unusual sounds, as well as sounds from inside a moving car as it added more dimension and layers to the clip.

We yet again played it over to see whether there was any other improvements we could make but we found that this final edit was just right. We made the clip so that it was on a loop so it wouldn’t just end but keep going.

Overall, I found the second video was much more effective than the first one due to developing and adding more advanced transitions like reversing, and fading in and out. I found that this video had more depth in it as there were varieties of effects like reversing the sequence, changing the speed throughout, fading and overlapping images which made it more professional.

Generally, I felt that producing these moving images allowed me to be creative with my images and not just frame them or hang them like a photographer would typically do. It allowed me to go out of my comfort zone and go from producing a still image to a moving piece of art that I typically wouldn’t of thought of doing.

After producing these, Jamie and Brian gave me a couple of artists who I could look at that relate to my work- link below.

Artist Research for Moving Image Clip

 

 

 

 

 

 

Artist Research for Moving Image Clip

Anne Brigman

Anne Brigman, born in 1869 was a photographer who built her career photographing herself and friends nude in locations with natural beauty like at the edge of cliffs with broken trees overlooking natural landscapes. Herself and her friends showed dramatic and theatrical movement, almost dance like and with a free spirit.

After she photographed these photos which emulated the style of paintings, Brigman altered and enhanced her images through the art of drawing with pencils and paints. Her work is best known for being taken in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains which  in the early 1900s were inaccessible, taking a lot of dedication from Brigman to climb with all her equipment; seven pound 4×5 camera, a heavy wooden tripod, a number of photographic plates, as well as supplies and gear for an extensive stay.

Brigman wrote an article for Camera Craft magazine in 1929 after she had become an established photographer, in which she described her relationship with one such tree. “One day on one of my wanderings I found a juniper – the most wonderful juniper that I’ve met in my eighteen years of friendship among them…It was a great character like the Man of Gallilee or Moses the Law-giver, or the Lord Buddha, or Abraham Lincoln…Storm and stress well borne made it strong and beautiful. I climbed into it. Here was the perfect place for a figure; here the place for the right arm to rest, and even though my feet were made clumsy by boots, I could see and feel where the feet would fit perfectly into the cleft that went to its base.”

I found that my work related a lot to Brigman’s in the way that my images have a fine line between poetry, and paintings and early photography like Anne Brigman’s photographs. Our work are both very sublime and elegant, capturing nature and spiritual imagery.

 

Eadweard Muybridge

“Eadweard Muybridge was the man who famously proved a horse can fly. Adapting the very latest technology to his ends, he proved his theory by getting a galloping horse to trigger the shutters of a bank of cameras. This experiment proved indisputably for the first time what no eye had previously seen – that a horse lifts all four hooves off the ground at one point in the action of running. Seeking a means of sharing his groundbreaking work, he invented the zoopraxiscope, a method of projecting animated versions of his photographs as short moving sequences, which anticipated subsequent developments in the history of cinema.”                                                                                                                         -http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/eadweard-muybridge

Eadweard Muybridge is known as one of the most influential photographers of all time, pushing the limits of the camera’s possibilities. He created the world famous images of animals and humans in motion. Muybridge’s reputation as a photographer grew in the late 1800s as he had captured movement in a way that had never been done before. His work was used by both scientists and artists.

 

 

My tutor Jamie suggested Muybridge to me because of his work with motion which is something that I have been doing and that my moving image clips resemble; the first movie I created looked as if a girl was doing a cart wheel with the different shots I captured. Muybridge’s work resembles mine very much and is very influential and fitting for my project due to his moving images.

Overall these two artists, although are very different, both fit into my project and the moving images I have produced due to the styles and manner in which I have showcased my work. Anne Brigman, although doesn’t work with motion works with femininity and beauty which is what I portray in my images and Ed Muybridge who works with animals, mainly focuses on motion which is what I incorporate into not just my photographs through long exposure but the moving images I have produced.

 

 

Crit with Jo and Shaun

I had a crate with Jo and Shaun about how I could showcase my work and what I could do to develop it. Shaun told me that the images I had produced looked a lot like film reels of old films that flicker when moving so came to the conclusion of creating moving image mini films with these photographs.

Both Jo and Shaun helped me to determine which images to use and what order to put them in, and they came to a conclusion to produce two moving images with a section of images; some from my first shoot and some from my second shoot.

Jo went on to tell me to talk to Jamie about helping about with creating the mini movies as I am unfamiliar with movie software like Adobe Premier pro and he specialises in it.

Exhibiting my Work

When I had been allocated my space, I decided on how I would use it. My space was on an angle and I had came to a final idea of using a light box to display my work. My tutor drilled the light box into the wall, and from there I started to clean it as it had marks on, as well as retouch the border with white emulsion.

After I had cleaned the light box and touched it up, I started to get my final images and  arrange them into the right display.

I played around with the images, arranging them in different ways and fitting them together like a puzzle piece. I took all the images down and tried again to piece them together.

I included my negative films onto the light box also as it looked more effective and went well including my processes in my work other than the final photos.

After speaking with Jamie, he felt that just putting the negatives on would look better and would allow people to see the process of my work as it takes a lot of processes due to being analogue photography. We found that it would brighten up the space as having just the images on doesn’t look as powerful.

I pieced the images together to form a powerful and abstract composition. Fitting them together like a puzzle piece, I had to put up and remove film and then restart as they didn’t fit together. I was finally able to piece them all together after a few attempts and transform the light box into my exhibit space.

I went onto scotch tapping the negs onto the light box, finding this method of presenting my work a lot more effective. After that, I had decided to showcase my final images by displaying them above the light box however after consulting with Jamie and seeing the end result, I found it better to just leave the images and put them into a sketchbook.

I decided upon displaying my negs on the light box and my moving image pieces on the monitor as shown below.

Overall, I am happy with the result of my exhibition space and I feel I have executed the space well and used it all successfully and in a professional manner. Even though it took a while and had me changing ideas and attempting different plans, I finally came up with a strong exhibition space that showcases my work effectively.

 

Studio // Exhibition Space

Day One / Two

In order to start putting up the walls and painting the studio, we needed to tidy the studio; getting rid of rubbish, old art, chairs, tables, materials and so on.

We went on to clearing tables and the sinks, stacking chairs and moving everything so we can start putting up the white walls and painting. Collectively, we all worked as a team assigning each other to different jobs and making sure that we got rid of everything that needed to go and moving others to different rooms.

 

 

Day Three / Four

We started to put the walls up and drill them together; filling holes and sanding uneven areas, and then painting the walls with white emulsion. I painted the walls where the sinks are using a roller to cover the holes and fix the marks on the wall. We put newspaper on the floor to make sure that white emulsion didn’t go on the floor.

 

I went on to applying sticky brown paper where there were gapes between the end and beginning of the walls. When the paper had dried, I applied a few layers of white emulsion to cover up the brown, then covered all the walls in white emulsion.

 

Day Five

The floors got cleaned by the cleaners which meant that marks were left on the bottom of the walls resulting in them needing to be painted over again, however overall the exhibition space is very nearly done!

We needed to allow the paint to dry, apply more layers and then when they’re dry remove the paper from the floor. Whilst that’s being done, we started to move the chairs, ladders, paint pots, bags and so on.

Day 8

We’ve started to put the exhibition work up and figure out what looks best by moving things around and seeing what looks effective. It has taken a few days to do this; hanging garments, fabric, putting light boxes up, framing work; working with out surroundings and collaborating to produce a high quality exhibit space.

 

We have managed to transform this white open space into a high quality exhibit which showcases everyone’s work in a professional manner, working with everyone’s work and piecing them together so that they fit and convert into a well executed space.

 

 

 

 

 

Fifth Darkroom Experiments

Some negatives from third shoot:

Darkroom experiments:

The first image I produced was one of my friend composing a ballet pose. At first, I got a test strip and exposed the image for 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 seconds.

I found that the 10 seconds was the right exposure for my image. I went on to exposing the image onto 6×4 paper for 10 seconds, however after the 10 second exposure I moved the image right a little and exposed yet again for 10 seconds.

 

I quite liked the effect that the moving of the image created however, the image had  low contrast which I feel makes this image weak in comparison to others that I’ve produced.

I went on to exposing the image yet again onto 10×8 paper.

I think that the image looked better exposed onto 10×8 paper however still found that it wasn’t strong enough to be in my final project.

I decided to move the image when I exposed the image onto 10×8 paper to see whether it was more effective or made the photo visually stronger. I exposed the image for 5 seconds, moving the image and exposing for another 5 seconds.

The photograph came out under exposed and had very low contrast which meant that the image wasn’t clear or shown in much detail. I went on to trying different methods to produce stronger imagery. I decided to expose the image for 10 seconds, move the paper and expose for another 10 seconds, move the paper again and expose.

I liked the effect that this process caused however, the image I exposed first came out too over exposed showing clearly the outline of the negative frame. I find that this has made the image weaker.

I exposed another image, using a test strip to determine the right exposure time. I exposed the image for 5, 10, 15 and 20 seconds.

I found that between 5 and 10 would be the best exposure. I went on to exposing the image on a test strip for 7 and 10 seconds.

I found 7 and 10 seconds to be too dark when exposing them again so I went for 5 second exposure on test strips. I tried changing the contrast as the portraiture blended in too much with the background leaving the image looking flat.

5 second exposure

I still found the image flat so I continued to adjust the contrast.

I found that the contrast wasn’t adjusting well and the image just looked flat.

I decided to expose the image on 5×7 paper to see the full image.

5 second exposure

I found the image had low contrast and wasn’t very strong. I went onto enlarging the image onto 5×7 paper again this time adjusting the contrast once again.

5 second exposure

I found the enlargement of the image visually weak and the adjustment of the contrast still left the contrast low. Overall, I found this image not very strong and quite flat in comparison to the other images I have produced.

I decided to try experimenting further with this image to develop it. I moved the image whilst exposing it for 10 seconds. I moved the paper after 5 seconds so that the full image was exposed and you could see the portraiture however you could see the movement also.

10 second exposure

The experiment came out successfully however the brightness and contrast was low meaning that although it was successful and you could see the image, the image wasn’t as clear as I wanted it to be.

I wanted to change the scale so decided to expose onto 10×8 paper. For the next image,    I exposed the image for 7 seconds, moving the image from right to left for 3 seconds.

 

1o second exposure

I liked this image however, fingerprint marks were left when exposing the image which ruined the photo. I do think that this image would have worked well and fitted in well in my project if there were no fingerprint marks.

I tried movement again, this time moving the image from bottom right corner to the middle after 7 seconds.

10 second exposure

I really liked this image and felt that it’s a strong piece. I like the shadows presented that are caused by moving the paper, and the faded look they give. The only negative sides are that the contrast is low and the image is quite flat which lets the image down. However, overall I find this image very successful and fits in with my project.

I went on to exposing another image but only exposing a section of the negative to see how it would look.

1o second exposure

I found that this image came out too over exposed when I had developed it. The image isn’t very clear however, from what I can tell from the photo, the imagery is very flat and the portraiture blends into the background. I didn’t find this image strong and chose not to carry on exposing it as it would just be flat.

I exposed another image and used test strips to determine the right exposure.

This test strip shows 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 second exposures. I found that 10 and 15 seconds looked the best so went on to exposing the image on a test strip for 13 seconds.

13 second exposure

I found this exposure just right. I decided to experiment with this image as the photograph itself is too focused for my project and doesn’t show movement. I went onto experimenting and spontaneously moving the paper around to form intricate and abstract imagery.

I exposed the image for 10 seconds moving the paper fast to see the effect of this.

As a result of moving the paper too fast, the image isn’t shown through and it looks very faded and under exposed. I missed exposing the face so you can only see the back half of her which made this image unsuccessful.

I decided this time to expose the image for 5 seconds so the image would appear fully and clearly on the paper and then quickly move the paper for another 5 seconds.

10 second exposure

I found this successful and looked interesting with the faded movement of the negative. I wish that the outline of the image would have faded with the moving image as it would have looked more effective blended together.

I went on to trying to move the paper in other ways; moving the paper from left to right for 13 seconds.

I liked this image and how it created dimensions with the different shades and shadows. I found the portraiture faint however you could still see it clear when looking closely. I like how effective it is and it reminds me of Julia Margaret Cameron’s work.

I went on to exposing more of this image and developing my work. I left the paper to expose it for 10 seconds and then move it slow for 3 seconds.

This image left shadow marks and subtle movement however the portrait was still very clear which is not what I wanted it to be, making this outcome unsuccessful.

I went on to playing around with speed of movement, slowly moving the paper left and right for 13 seconds as oppose to quickly like I had previously done.

I found this image under exposed and dull which made it visually weak. I think that if the exposure was stronger then the image would have looked more effective.

I continued with movement however tried from different angles. I exposed the image again for 10 seconds, then exposed it again moving the paper from right top corner to bottom middle for another 10 seconds. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I found this image over exposed as a result of exposing it too much and this resulted in  the image being very dark and difficult to see the face. Overall for this image, I liked the effect it had however, the image itself was very over exposed and dark which didn’t look good.

I went on to exposing the image for 10 seconds, then moving the image, exposing again for 10 seconds, moving and exposing for 5 seconds.

The outcome of this was quite unsuccessful as the image came out very under exposed so I couldn’t see the face very well. I think that the abstract style that the experiment produced was effective however the exposure time was not right. I think that because I exposed it so many times that the image came out very dark and over exposed.

I decided to try the expose, move and expose again but in a different way. I exposed the image for 10 seconds, moved the paper and then exposed it for another 10 seconds.

I really didn’t like the outcome as I felt that the outline was too harsh as oppose to the faded appearance I want to show. The overall photograph wasn’t a successful outcome because of the harsh lines produced, I just found that it doesn’t fit with my project as I prefer a more faded and soft appearance.

I decided to try different scales and go larger to see the effect and how it would change the imagery. I decided to expose the image for 10 seconds without any effect but at an angle. I wanted to do this as I found it to be more effective then just placing it in a neat and formal manner on the paper as I feel that it would look too empty on the paper.

I found that the placement of the image was successful and worked well with the large paper to small image ratio. I felt that adjusting the angle filled up the space well and was very effective in displaying the imagery in the large white space. The only issue shown is that the image is under exposed, looking very bright and faded which didn’t look appropriate.

I decided to expand out of the space of just having the image still on the paper and chose to involve movement like previous images. I exposed the image for 13 seconds whilst moving it quickly after 10.

I liked the outcome and found it interesting how the fully exposed image showed the face and the fast movement also showed a slightly distorted face as it fades out. I think that this was successful and very effective. The overall composition I found was satisfactory however I didn’t find it very effective or that the space was used well, meaning that overall it wasn’t as strong as some of the final images I had picked out.

The last development I tried on this image was moving the paper in a circular motion whilst exposing the image. I have never tried this concept and thought that it would be interesting to see how it turned out.

13 second exposure

I really liked the outcome of the this experiment. I found that the positioning of the image was a success and worked really well. I find that the image filled the space well. The outline of the image when exposed for 10 seconds merged well with the faded movement of the paper which previously didn’t work well when trying out that experiment.

I liked the outcome of this image so decided to go onto exposing another image. I used a test strip to determine the right exposure time, exposing the image for 5, 10 and 15 seconds.

10 seconds seemed like the best exposure time for the image so went onto exposing the image on another test strip for 10 seconds to see whether it was right.

The test strip showed that 10 seconds was the best exposure time for this image so I went onto exposing this image on 6×4 paper.

10 second exposure

I liked this image and found the composition really nice however, the image is too focused and doesn’t fit into my work so I decided to experiment and create movement with the image so that it’s more out of focus.

Firstly, before experimenting I exposed the image originally again but I offset it to see whether this would develop the image further. I found that this image wouldn’t work with my project even offset, and the original image looked visually stronger displaying  the full photograph than this one.

I went on to moving the next image; exposing it for 10 seconds but after 5 seconds moving it down slowly.

I liked the effect of this image as it only displayed some of the face and then faded upwards. I still found the original image stronger however and felt that although it looked interesting, visually was weak.

I decided to try more abstract methods by spontaneously moving the paper without thought to see the effect of this.

The first image was the paper shaken slowly for 10 seconds.

I really liked the effect of this method and found the abstract form very interesting and effective. I found the movement worked really well but the only issue with this image was that there’s no portrait shown and it is more abstract then I wanted which didn’t fit in with my work.

I went onto producing another image using spontaneous movement. I exposed the image for 10 seconds moving the image from the left bottom corner swinging the paper towards the middle.

Again, I really liked the effect this experiment had however yet again it isn’t appropriate for my work and wouldn’t fit in as there’s no portrait.

I decided to expose another image, firstly using test strips to find the right exposure time. I exposed the image for 10, 20 and 30 seconds.

I found that the 20 second exposure was best so went onto exposing on 5×7 paper.

I really liked this image and found it really eerie and interesting with the long exposure of the face. I found that the 20 second exposure time worked well and even though the contrast was quite low, I found it created an unnatural and ghostly appearance. I decided that I should expose it onto a large scale as it would look more spacious, not cramp like it does on the 5×7 paper.

20 second exposure

I found using 10×8 much better as the space was used well and didn’t look too overcrowded like the image on the 5×7 paper. I really like the effect that this long exposure has caused and find it really effective. It’s a lot different to the other images and I feel that it’s more creative and visually strong.

I decided that this was the best image so went onto trying to explore more ways I could make this image stronger. I chose to expose onto 5×7 but this time expose for longer; 40 seconds moving the paper whilst exposing.

I found the outcome of this experiment unsuccessful as although I liked the overall imagery of this piece as I find it aesthetically strong and abstract, the photo doesn’t fit in with my project as it doesn’t show the portraiture, it’s just shades and patterns. I feel that this is a visually strong piece however, it just doesn’t work well with my project.

I exposed another image, using a test strip to establish the right exposure time. I exposed the image for 5, 10 and 15 seconds.

I found that 15 seconds was the best exposure time so went onto 5×7 paper.

15 second exposure

I decided to offset the image to the left top hand as I thought that it would look better than just in the middle of the page like I had done previously. I didn’t however find this image visually strong just exposing and not manipulating the image somehow, so I chose to go onto experimenting and seeing how I could develop the photo.

This time, I enlarged the neg so that it would cut off some of the image. I found that it would be interesting as it would disguise the model’s identity.

10 second exposure

Overall, the image was under exposed a lot so I went onto exposing the image for 5 seconds more to make a final impression on the photo.

15 second exposure

I tried to manipulate the image by enlarging it however it didn’t make it visually stronger so I decided to manipulate the image even further.

This time, I exposed the image for 15 seconds, moved the image left and exposed for 10 seconds. Moved the image to the left again and exposed for 5 seconds.

By doing this I was expecting the model to look like she was moving and this is how it came out. I really like the effect it had and how the image faded due to less exposure time and found it very successful. The exposure and contrast are just right and I feel that manipulating this image to look as if she’s moving is very effective. I feel this is a strong piece of work and I would contemplate using this in my final piece.

I went onto exposing onto a larger scale and manipulating the image so that they weren’t flat and just rectangle of the paper. I held up the paper to the lens to give it an concave appearance and exposed for 15 seconds, moved the image and exposed for 10, move and expose again for 5 seconds.

I found this experiment successful as I liked the concave effect it had however, overall I didn’t like this photo as I don’t find the different exposed image merge well together and I feel they don’t work well. I don’t feel this is strong enough to go into my final project however, it was a good experimental piece.

I decided to apply water to a 10×8 piece of paper and expose the image for 30 seconds.

The outcome of this was unsuccessful as the water had only covered some leaving heavy and harsh marks which didn’t look good. I was hoping for the water marks to be soft and faded but it was the opposite and didn’t work well. The image is very under exposed and the overall experiment using water was unsuccessful.

After this, I decided to expose a different image. I got a test strip and exposed the image for 5, 10, 15 and 20 seconds.

I found that 10 and 15 were the best exposure times so used another test strip to expose the image for 10 and 15 seconds to determine the best time.

I found that 10 seconds was the best exposure time so exposed onto 6×4 paper. I wanted to expose this image just normally first but I wanted to then try manipulating the image.

10 second exposure

I liked the outcome of this image and felt it was well focused however that’s not how I want it as my project features blurred, movement pieces which are quite abstract. I wanted however to see what the negative looked like and I am glad that it did come out so well however it’s not what I include into my project.

I decided to manipulate the image by exposing it for 10 seconds; moving it after 7 seconds.

I didn’t like the outcome of this image and found that the exposure and contrast was too low. I find that it isn’t a strong photo so I went onto trying different methods to see whether they would be more successful.

I wanted to try water again so I applied water and exposed the image for 15 seconds, moving the paper after 10 seconds.

This image came out very under exposed due to the application of water which mean’t there wasn’t enough light getting to the paper. I feel that this image would have been successful given more light. Overall, this image is very weak due to the under exposure however, if more exposed then this image would have been stronger.

I tried the application of water again on the paper and shook it to remove excess water. I then exposed the image for 15 seconds.

The outcome of this was unsuccessful as the image is very under exposed and faint. The water ran which made the image distorted which was another issue but some ripples of the water looks quite interesting. Overall, this photo isn’t strong and is unsuccessful.

I wanted to continue to develop this image and try the application of water once more. I exposed this image with water on the paper for 15 seconds.

The water caused some ripples which was an interesting concept as it connected nature with people. The image features a contrast between the image with water which is under exposed and without which is over exposed, which doesn’t work.

I decided to try another image as the overall experimentation of this image hasn’t worked and there aren’t any strong pieces. I took a negative image and scratched into it to see the effect when exposed. I exposed the image for 10 seconds, offsetting it to the left side.

I found that when I developed this image, it came out too focused which is not what I would use in my work. The scratches in the negative came out too harsh and sharp, so I tried to scratch into the paper with my fingernails once developed to soften the black marks however, it didn’t work and was overall unsuccessful.

I went onto exposing another image which when looking at the negative couldn’t see what it was, and it almost looked smokey and like light had exposed it. I put it in the neg carrier and exposed it onto 6×4 paper.

60 second exposure

I found this successful and I really liked the image and the contrast between dark and light tones. The image creates a smokey, almost water like appearance which I fine effective, and it is more obscure and dramatic which I find appealing. Overall, I really like this image and would use this for my final project.

Although I really like the outcome of this negative, I wanted to see whether I could develop the image more. I exposed the image for 60 seconds, moving the image every 2o seconds.

I found this piece visually strong and successful. I expected the exposure to be quite low because I was moving it every 20 seconds however the exposure was just right.I found this image came out very unusual and looked like it was layered, which gave it dimension. I found that although I did like this piece, the original piece was stronger as it had the model’s face on.

After exposing this image and being satisfied with the results, I went onto exposing a final image. I photographed my friend in the woods and found that the branches left shadow marks due to the sun which I found interesting so photographed the shadows on her face. I exposed this image onto a test strip for 5, 10 and 15 seconds.

I found 15 seconds to be the best exposure so exposed the image on 5×7 paper.

I found that this image was too focused and the tones were too harsh. The image doesn’t portray what I want it to do which is femininity and instead looks sinister and menacing. I carried on experimenting to see whether I could change this look and the next thing I did was expose like the first time but then scratch with my fingernails.

I found that this didn’t improve my image but made it weaker with the random scratches which did nothing for it. I knew as soon as I scratched into it that it didn’t look right so went onto trying different ways to present the image on the paper. I offset the image so only half the face was showing and exposed for 15 seconds.

I found that even changing the presentation and offsetting the image hasn’t made any difference and I still feel this image is weak visually. I tried one more time to see whether I could use this image somehow as I felt that it had some potential. I chose this time to expose the image for 15 seconds; moving the paper to the left after 7.5 seconds.

I find that this image looks almost like an illusion and looks mirrored. I like the effect that it has caused however, I don’t really like the image itself as I find that it’s too sinister and dark. I decided this negative image wasn’t right and concluded that I would not use this image in my final project.

Overall, I have found this darkroom session very productive and although most of the photographs produced haven’t been strong and won’t be used for my final piece, I have experimented and allowed myself to be more creative and spontaneous with my work. It has allowed me to develop skills and come out of my comfort zone, producing high quality images.

Contact Sheet of potential final pieces: