EXPERIMENTS IN THE DARK ROOM
Dark rooms have been used in Photography since the 19th Century, they are used as to develop photographic film and other activities related to developing images.
As well as being able to develop photographic film you can also create pieces of art using photographic paper, this classes as camera-less photography. Artists such as Man Ray and Laszo Moholy-Nagy refined this experimental process and developed often very abstract images. |
Here are 4 images created by Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, he called his process Photograms, other artists like Man Ray also created images through the same process but called his images Rayographs.
To create these images you would place objects over photographic paper and expose it to the light, once developed shapes and lines appear and disrupt the negative space creating an abstract piece of art.
To create these images you would place objects over photographic paper and expose it to the light, once developed shapes and lines appear and disrupt the negative space creating an abstract piece of art.
FIRST IMAGES FROM THE DARK ROOM
Since researching darkroom photography and camera-less image making I have experimented and created four images using the photogram process.
My approach to creating these images was to push the boundaries of what a could be considered a photogram, I wanted to see how effective writing would be on a photogram.
My favourite out of the four images is the second image, the idea behind the image was to capture and recreate the dark emotions of the 2015 Earl Sweatshirt album "I DONT LIKE SHIT I DONT GO OUTSIDE", the album is one of my favourite musical projects and means alot to me, the vinyl artwork for the album reminded me of photograms and the ghostly effect that comes out in most images. My least favourite out of the images was the third image in the gallery, this was my first experiment in the dark room, I feel like I used the spacing very poorly, if i was to recreate it now I feel that it would be a much more effective photogram.
My approach to creating these images was to push the boundaries of what a could be considered a photogram, I wanted to see how effective writing would be on a photogram.
My favourite out of the four images is the second image, the idea behind the image was to capture and recreate the dark emotions of the 2015 Earl Sweatshirt album "I DONT LIKE SHIT I DONT GO OUTSIDE", the album is one of my favourite musical projects and means alot to me, the vinyl artwork for the album reminded me of photograms and the ghostly effect that comes out in most images. My least favourite out of the images was the third image in the gallery, this was my first experiment in the dark room, I feel like I used the spacing very poorly, if i was to recreate it now I feel that it would be a much more effective photogram.
CYANOTYPES
Cyanotypes are considered to be the first form of photography. The process was developed by English Botanist Anna Atkins, in 1843 she published "Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions" a collection of her works. Only 13 hand written copies exist.
The process of creating Cyanotypes is a camera-less, to create one you place objects on top of a special type of paper which has been previously soaked in a chemical solution. The result is an outline of the image surrounded by blue ink (cyan).
The process of creating Cyanotypes is a camera-less, to create one you place objects on top of a special type of paper which has been previously soaked in a chemical solution. The result is an outline of the image surrounded by blue ink (cyan).
SHADOW CATCHERS
Adam Fuss is a London born photographer, the purpose of his work is to discover the unseen, whilst creating his pieces Fuss has experimented with a manor of photographic techniques, he has managed to amass a remarkable knowledge of different ways of creating an image. His most notable images have been created without a camera, his works are inspired by his own childhood memories and the concepts of life and death. If you carefully look at his works you can see the concepts, for example the first image is of a baby, this signifies the start of life.
On the V&A website there was an interesting video where he explains his works and his opinions of camera-less photography.
On the V&A website there was an interesting video where he explains his works and his opinions of camera-less photography.
PINHOLE CAMERA
The pinhole camera is one of the first types of man made cameras, the use of the pinhole camera dates back to 300 BC. A pinhole camera can be made out of anything. The art of using a pinhole camera was refined and developed by George Davidson and other photographers.
The process of creating pinhole photographs is more alike taking pictures with a film or digital camera than the other dark room techniques such as photograms. Adam Fuss is a photographer known for his camera-less images, in his career he has experimented with pinhole cameras |
Above are my first two images that I created using my homemade pinhole camera. To create the camera I used an old IPhone box and drilled a hole in the top, a key step in creating the camera is to paint the inside completely in order to stop light from effecting the image. To create the lens for the pinhole I used a small slice of aluminium with a pinhole poked into the centre. Leading into the experiment I was sceptical of how well the creation would work. I set the camera up and counted 20 seconds, once I developed the photographic paper I saw that the image had actually worked, I feel that the outcome was good and had effectively worked.
My next experiment was to try and capture an image of my friend, whilst taking the picture he kept moving and that can be seen within the image, despite this the movement created a ghost like effect which I quite like.
Over all my first two images are basic yet good examples of pinhole photography, as the course continues I would be interested in continuing my experiments with the pinhole technique.
My next experiment was to try and capture an image of my friend, whilst taking the picture he kept moving and that can be seen within the image, despite this the movement created a ghost like effect which I quite like.
Over all my first two images are basic yet good examples of pinhole photography, as the course continues I would be interested in continuing my experiments with the pinhole technique.
STEVEN PIPPIN
Steven Pippin is a British photographer born in Surrey in 1960, his works were inspired by mechanics, he has said that this inspiration came from early memories of his father. His early works consisted of him turning furniture and everyday objects into makeshift pinhole cameras. He would of put lots of planning into his works before even taking the image in order to rule out any practical issues.
He notably transformed a set of washing machines into pinhole cameras, the outcome of this experiment is extremely interesting, the glass door of the machine seemed to create a fisheye type of wide lens. His "Laundromat Locomotion" works caused him to be short listed for the turner prize. He continued his work with washing machines by riding a horse through and collecting images using his washing machine cameras.
He notably transformed a set of washing machines into pinhole cameras, the outcome of this experiment is extremely interesting, the glass door of the machine seemed to create a fisheye type of wide lens. His "Laundromat Locomotion" works caused him to be short listed for the turner prize. He continued his work with washing machines by riding a horse through and collecting images using his washing machine cameras.
FIRST FINAL PIECE
I will have approximately 3 weeks to create a personal and meaningful outcome that originates in one or more experiments in the darkroom.
Some pointers for creating my piece are-
How might you further explore the way that photosensitive surfaces react to light?
Which techniques/processes would you like to develop and refine (and possibly combine) - photograms, cyanotypes, pinhole? Which artists/photographers' practices might help you develop an interesting idea for your own work?
What strategic research do you need to do? i.e. carefully selected websites, books, exhibitions etc.How will you document your research, ideas, experiments and outcomes? How will you exhibit/display your resolved outcome(s)?As long as your image(s) are initiated with an analogue process (using light sensitive materials and the darkroom), you may continue to develop and refine them using digital tools, processes and techniques as long as this is consistent with your research and ideas.
Some pointers for creating my piece are-
How might you further explore the way that photosensitive surfaces react to light?
Which techniques/processes would you like to develop and refine (and possibly combine) - photograms, cyanotypes, pinhole? Which artists/photographers' practices might help you develop an interesting idea for your own work?
What strategic research do you need to do? i.e. carefully selected websites, books, exhibitions etc.How will you document your research, ideas, experiments and outcomes? How will you exhibit/display your resolved outcome(s)?As long as your image(s) are initiated with an analogue process (using light sensitive materials and the darkroom), you may continue to develop and refine them using digital tools, processes and techniques as long as this is consistent with your research and ideas.
Ruth Erdt and Eva Vuillemin
Ruth Erdt is a Dutch photographer who currently resides in Zurich and Berlin. In her work she uses both analog and digital processes, the process that she uses to capture her cyanotype images uses contact prints. She uses negatives of images shot with a camera and then creates cyanotypes.
Her work seemed interesting to me because it is a fairly unique way of creating camera-less images.
Her work seemed interesting to me because it is a fairly unique way of creating camera-less images.
Eva Vuillemin is a photographer who also resides in Berlin and Zurich, she has collaborated with Erdt previously, they produced a book/zine exhibiting their works. Although their works are similar Vuillemin creates more obscuring and abstract cyanotypes, the images in some pieces are mirrored creating a trippy and mysterious atmosphere.
FIRST EXPERIMENTS
An idea that I would be interested in researching and developing would be to create photograms inspired by Erdt and Vuillemin's cameraless works, the theme of the project is to show religious iconography in a new way. Although Iam an Atheist and hold no religious views what so ever, I find the art and imagery to be truly beautiful, I enjoy looking at pieces of jewellery that uses religious iconography (for example Jesus the cross).
For my first experiment with this theme I will try and create a photogram linking to this theme, this will be a good indication of what I will be able to create for my final piece. |
Tom Hunter
Tom Hunter is a photographer based in Hackney in London. He got his first start in photographer when he decided to try and save his squatting community, he created a model street of featuring his house, this gained him some media attention. He decided to document the quiet moments of his poorly thought of community. During his career as a photographer he managed to perfectly bridge the gap between documenting and staging through his images.
The project that sparked my interest the most was his images that were recreations of old paintings by the likes of Vermeer and Raphael.
Although he staged the pictures and directed the subjects the images still can perfectly show the reality of the area and the lives of the subjects.
The project that sparked my interest the most was his images that were recreations of old paintings by the likes of Vermeer and Raphael.
Although he staged the pictures and directed the subjects the images still can perfectly show the reality of the area and the lives of the subjects.
LINKING HUNTERS WORK TO MY DARK ROOM WORK
Although Hunter mainly uses cameras in his work I realised that I could draw direct inspiration from Hunter for my final piece, my initial idea was to create a small zine showing photograms of religious jewellery and iconography but after hearing Tom Hunter talk about recreating old paintings I thought that I should look at the original art and artists, whilst doing this I noticed that within the paintings there are lots of religious symbols, story and undertones. My refined idea is that I want to create a zine showing photograms of a selection of paintings with religious meanings. Although I have Atheist views I am deeply interested in religion and the art that comes with it.
Here are the first four images that I intend to recreate, I chose these paintings because three show the innocence of religion and the peace that it brings whilst the other shows a dark and frightening scene that reflects the darker sides of having religious beliefs.
Here are the first four images that I intend to recreate, I chose these paintings because three show the innocence of religion and the peace that it brings whilst the other shows a dark and frightening scene that reflects the darker sides of having religious beliefs.
Photograms for my final piece
FINAL PIECE EVALUATION
For my final piece I managed to create a 64 page zine documenting my photograms of old religious paintings. My initial idea was to create a simple 8 page zine showing just the original negatives that I made in the dark room. I designed templates for the pages but then realised that I could make the book more unique by printing the scanned photograms in different ways. I decided to print the photograms in red on A3 paper as a foundation for the book, I then used the photocopier to print random black copies of the photograms over the red foundation. The thought process in choosing the red colour was that it reflects the idea of fire and brimstone from depictions of hell from through out history, the abstract black overlaps represent how everybody has a different understanding of God and Faith and how the endless beliefs can create chaos in the modern day. After the printing process had been completed I briefly researched different ways in which books can be bound, from this research I chose to bind the book with a red thread which perfectly matched the red pages inside. The image on the front cover is actually the original negative photogram superglued on, I decided to use my favourite of the negatives and the one that I feel came out the best.
I am very happy with this outcome and feel like I was able to create a personal piece out of images created in the darkroom. My inspirations for the book are Tom Hunter because of his work where he recreates and stages old paintings and Eva Vuillemin and her counterpart Ruth Erdt who created cyanotypes that show clear forms instead of the traditional elements shown in the process and other camera less techniques.
I am very happy with this outcome and feel like I was able to create a personal piece out of images created in the darkroom. My inspirations for the book are Tom Hunter because of his work where he recreates and stages old paintings and Eva Vuillemin and her counterpart Ruth Erdt who created cyanotypes that show clear forms instead of the traditional elements shown in the process and other camera less techniques.