Because Dad was a professional photographer, my entire life I've been surrounded by photography paraphernalia: negatives, lens, flashes, film canisters, and softly lit rooms with smiling faces. Some of my earliest childhood memories include reviewing the rules of the darkroom and watching the magic of processing photographs with Dad. I like to think I know more than the average lay person about the art of photography.
But after a week of my 'Intro to Photography' class I realized my basic knowledge was just the tip of the iceberg. The first class we discussed the light meter and the reciprocal relationship between Fstops and shutter speed and I realized that that was the sum of my technical knowledge of photography. I have a feeling that the rest of the semester will be filling in the blanks on the reasoning behind all the routine processes I would watch my father perform in the studio and the darkroom. I'm very excited about connecting the dots.
We began by learning darkroom procedures: how to use an enlarger, exposing light to photographic paper, and how to develop that paper. The aim of a properly developed photograph is to create full tonal range in the print (true black, a range of grays, and true white).
We learned to use a test strip to determine the amount of time necessary to achieve true black. Create a test strip by masking incrementally less of a strip of photo paper with an opaque card at 1 second intervals, slowly exposing more of the paper to a specified intensity of light. Develop the strip and examine outside of the darkroom, counting the number of color changes to determine the amount of time needed to achieve true black.
Our first project didn't even involve cameras. We experimented with photograms, which is creating a design on photographic paper by masking light from the surface of the paper. It was an interesting exercise in basic principles of composition and the use of positive and negative space. With this art form time became a key element in creating a composition with more depth and interest.
Schefellara No. 3, f8, partial movement at 0.5 sec intervals
Schefellara No. 5, f8, 2.5 sec exposure, movement at 0.5 sec
Panicum No. 2, f8, 3sec exposure, no movement
Panicum No. 3, f8, 2.5sec exposure in contact printer, partial movement @ 0.5sec
(this exposure and composition is my favorite)
Plants were such an obvious subject for me. I draw so much of my inspiration from their form, branching patterns, silhouettes and tracery. I even have a folder of digital imagery titled 'silhouette'. So in some ways I felt like I was cheating, using plants as a subject, because I had thought through these problems and compositions before.
I decided to challenge myself a bit more and experiment with a subject that is a little less predictable. The next series employ a myriad of glass objects, blown glass bulbs and stained glass pieces, that hang in my kitchen window.
Mom's stained glass, f8, 2.5sec, movement off paper, 0.5sec (this composition was just too obvious and I couldn't figure out to add more interest).
Collection of Glass ornaments, No.2, 3sec exposure. Paw-Paw's airplane ornament adds a nice context in the suggestion of flight and spatial objects.
Glass No. 2, f8, multiple 3 sec exposures. This was the beginning of many experiments where I moved the enlarger down so low that it was touching the glass ornament, and the ornament was touching the paper. The light was traveling only through the ornament and not spreading over the paper, so lot of white space was created where no light was exposed. I was finally getting intricate patterns and colors of the the glass bulbs to become more apparent on the page. The bulbs are different opacities and transparencies and different sizes, all leading to different patterns and light signatures on the page. This form was exciting because I really didn't have that much control; every time I exposed the paper I really didn't know what I was going to find or how it was going to turn out. I only took the time to scan this one because I really didn't think the others were successful as overall compositions. I don't think this composition was great, but it gives some idea of what I was playing with.
Pills, No. 5. f8, 2 3sec exposures through the saturn bulb. I scattered ibuprofen on the page to insure I created some white space, and it created the effect of foreground and background objects. The class's mind immediately interpreted it as some tripped out reference to the drug-induced seventies. I wasn't thinking that at all; I was thinking dust in the atmosphere... fireworks or a dream... I did an exhaustive number of experiments with these elements as well, and this was I think the most successful composition.
After our critique and a preview with the other forms our class was playing with I really would like to get back in the darkroom and experiment more with this art form - there is alot of further exploration to be done. But this is all for now.
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