The Journey Project (Digital):
Interview:What is your name?:
"Daniel" Why are you here today?: "I work here" Do you enjoy working here?: "Yeah, I get work with the stuff I like. It's pretty clear what the things I like are, just look around the shop" What would you say about the surrounding area?: "Its pretty busy, Its central after all, but in here its quieter than outside so its all good. Plus I'm surrounded by cool stuff all day but then again it gets tiring." |
Evaluation:
The journey project was inspired by Nick Waplington's book where he documented photos from around the world as he went through his travels. It was noted that in order to replicate the project, I had to look at the world I was travelling differently then if I were just to go out on a normal day. I found that the world is structured with not just roads and buildings, it is full of strange places and patterns that are unlikely to have happened simply based on chance.
So when I interviewed Daniel in his workplace in an area in central London I was suprised when he said he gets bored of his work, and futhermore by the fact the he is still able to continue doing it in order to sustain himself. This was just surviving being surrounded by items of your own passion, this fact led me to believe that we are trapped within a system where we are all forced to work for a wage with little free time to pursue the things we are actually interested in.
In this frame of thought I went around the shop and took pictures in order to represent the things that interest people and myself, however isolating the shop into sections to show a limited perspective of the place to represent the idea of being unable to pursue the things that we cannot see in our current vision of the sourrounding world.
So when I interviewed Daniel in his workplace in an area in central London I was suprised when he said he gets bored of his work, and futhermore by the fact the he is still able to continue doing it in order to sustain himself. This was just surviving being surrounded by items of your own passion, this fact led me to believe that we are trapped within a system where we are all forced to work for a wage with little free time to pursue the things we are actually interested in.
In this frame of thought I went around the shop and took pictures in order to represent the things that interest people and myself, however isolating the shop into sections to show a limited perspective of the place to represent the idea of being unable to pursue the things that we cannot see in our current vision of the sourrounding world.
László Moholy-Nagy:
László Moholy-Nagy (birth: 1895) made images through the process of creating a photogram, exposing light to lightsensitive paper with objects on it. Originally this method was looked down upon however László Moholy-Nagy took part in the change of it via creating a piece of art that was meant to represent the change in "artistic expression", that photography may be just as important as all the other forms of art such as painting.
The creation of the photogram is a simple process which therefore meant that it was popularised for children entertainment in the 19th century. However, in the 20th century it was revisited by innovative artists that used this technique in order to express the optical properties of light. The photogram is able to express deeper allegorical messages that concern us via the choice of object as well as the particular placement of them. Due to this, I believe they are versitile in nature which gives it the possiblity of creation of a fantastic final piece.
The creation of the photogram is a simple process which therefore meant that it was popularised for children entertainment in the 19th century. However, in the 20th century it was revisited by innovative artists that used this technique in order to express the optical properties of light. The photogram is able to express deeper allegorical messages that concern us via the choice of object as well as the particular placement of them. Due to this, I believe they are versitile in nature which gives it the possiblity of creation of a fantastic final piece.
Source:
|
Photograms:
Through the use of a light sensitive surface and a bright light we are able to create a photograph without employing the use of a camera, this is what's known as a photogram. By exposing light to light sensitive paper, we are capable of creating images by blocking light from touching certain parts of the paper and processing the paper so the image stays.
Personally I believe that it is an intresting way of creating images, it was capable of creating images at higher detail than drawing and paintings however they were limited in that they could never show the full detail of an object, this made it probraly the most useful tool for scientist of the past. However, in the modern day I believe that the most use for this would be creating contempory art pieces due to having other options for greater detail and colour which I believe to be nessesary in modern day science.
Personally I believe that it is an intresting way of creating images, it was capable of creating images at higher detail than drawing and paintings however they were limited in that they could never show the full detail of an object, this made it probraly the most useful tool for scientist of the past. However, in the modern day I believe that the most use for this would be creating contempory art pieces due to having other options for greater detail and colour which I believe to be nessesary in modern day science.
Man Ray: |
Christian Schad:
|
Man Ray (birth: 1890) created photographs by exposing photographic paper thrice, each time changing the object that was the subject of the photograph. This created a x-ray like looking image named a Rayograph.
Although Man Ray said that he created the photogram, it was actually in practice way before Man Ray began creating his own images. However, it can be said that he was one of the first among many to use this technique and bring light to it. In my personal opinion the process of these images create impressive images that have much to give. It can create images that feel intimate and personal without the use of much detail and instead through several layers. Source: |
Christian Shad (birth: 1894) is the creator of the Schadograph. A Schadograph is one of the earliest abstract type photographs to be made. He created his photographs by placing objects onto light sensitive paper and exposing it to light on his window.
The way he found the items for his photographs is that he decided to dig through garbage cans and pick items that he thought would fit well for his photo. By doing this he created abstract compositions of abandoned items, furthermore he would cut his schadograph with a jagged border in order to make it less square and therefore free from the norm. In my opinion his process is inspiring, he expressed freedom from convention through his schadographs. By using left out, waste items and creating beautiful images out of them as well as removing it from the convention of squares he presents the desire to be unshackled by structure making him a revolutionary. Source: |
How do we process film? (In steps):
Step #1: Be in a dark room to remove the film from the container and role the film up placing into a developing bucket.
Step #2: Pour the developing liquid into the place where the film is and leave it there for around 10 minutes for each role of film.
Step #3: Take out the film when it has been developed fully and place it into the Fix mixture to stop the development process.
Step #4: Take the film out of the fix to wash and dry ensuring no dust goes on the film.
Step #5: safely put the quality images in a place without dust.
Step #2: Pour the developing liquid into the place where the film is and leave it there for around 10 minutes for each role of film.
Step #3: Take out the film when it has been developed fully and place it into the Fix mixture to stop the development process.
Step #4: Take the film out of the fix to wash and dry ensuring no dust goes on the film.
Step #5: safely put the quality images in a place without dust.
Floris Neusüss:
Floris Neusüss was by no doubt a revolutionary within the photography field, just like Man Ray and Lázló Maholy-Nagy who came before. He created the "nudogram" in the 1960 to 70s which displayed the human figure on photographic paper. These images create a lingering intimacy and precence even after the model of the photogram is long gone, therefore trancending any form of time and place.
Photograms made this way are often very intimate, Neususs often worked along his friend Robert Heinecken whom he used as subject to his full body photograms, the images did not display the minute details such as face detail. However Neussuss said “If you knew Robert Heinecken, when you look at his portrait photogram, you automatically feel close to him.” which frankly emphasises the point of the precence one feels when viewing these extrodinary images.
Photograms made this way are often very intimate, Neususs often worked along his friend Robert Heinecken whom he used as subject to his full body photograms, the images did not display the minute details such as face detail. However Neussuss said “If you knew Robert Heinecken, when you look at his portrait photogram, you automatically feel close to him.” which frankly emphasises the point of the precence one feels when viewing these extrodinary images.
Pierre Cordier:
Pierre Cordier (born in Belgium 1933) created the chemigram which is created by adding chemicals to light sensitive paper and exposing this paper to light, this process was created by this man in 1959. Instead of the canvas, he took light sensitive paper and added nail varnish to it in order to create the first chemigram where he found that by doing so, created an interesting image. Later within his life he experimented and created images with different chemicals.
Personally I believe that the way these images are created is extraordinary and innovative, creating images that are different and impossible to recreate by any other means. It is able to make images that are different from any other image, every single time another is made and so is a very interesting image to create. |
Garry Fabian Miller:
Garry Fabian Miller (Bristol 1957) spent time in darkrooms using light sensitive paper and glasses/bottles filled with liquids or cut out paper in order to cast shadows and filter light, exposing this paper to the casted light. This work that he created explored the cycle of time throughout a day, month and year by varying the duration of the time the photograms are exposed to the light level.
This process that he has is inspirational, he managed to bend light with the use of different objects in order to create an image that expresses the movement of time as well as the command of light. I believe that I will attempt to incorprate some of his ideas in my own work. |
Contact Sheet:
The purpose of a contact sheet is so that a photographer may have a preview of their images so to make a well thought out decision on which to print. As such from the negatives that I made, I created a contact sheet in order to have previews of my images, and ultimately decide on the image I would like to use for my final project.
I will be using negatives in order to make my final piece, I plan to layer two of my negatives over each other in order to make a layered effect. |
Negative test:
By using an enlarger I created photograms out of my negatives, it was ultimatly successful. However, I found that my images came out cloudy which may be due to the processing chemicals were dirty, my negatives may have been dirty or the photopaper may have been exposed a bit to light before making it turn out this way. Although that may be the case, I do believe that I will be using this technique in my fianl piece as I believe that I can use my negatives in many differnet ways in order to express my ideas.
Chemigram:
Chemigrams are difficult as you are unsure how it will turn out, unless you do many experiments with it. However, when done well, it creates an image that is difficult to recreate and therefore is distinctive. I found that this was my most successful one.
For this chemigram I used a highlighter, glue, deodorant and a paint brush. First I highlighted patterns onto the image, the I sprayed it with deodorant and brushed it in a flicking motion. Finally I applied glue to the image. This created a chemigram that has simularitys to the sea and a boat. |
Cyanotype:
Anna Atkins created a book full of cyanotypes of british algea, which resulted in one of the earliest photobooks ever created. As Anna Atkins did I created a cyanotype by mixing Potassium ferricyanide and Ferric ammonium citrate in order to make a light sensitive piece of paper which I then dried and placed various items I had at my disposal on top of it. I left it out in the sun and so my cyanotype was made. Although it is an iteresting way of creating an image, I do not believe that I will be using this technique in my final project as I do not think it would suit the message I am attempting to bring across.