THE HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Photograms
- How to make a photogrami:
For this photogram, I put l ots of different objects placed on the photographic paper to create a busy look. I created this image by putting the objects onto the photographic paper and exposing it to the light for under 4 seconds, I then developed the image in developer and put it in the fix and the stop. I then dried the image and scanned it onto here.
This one plain piece of photographic paper with a watch on makes an interesting image as with the transparent parts of the object, the light is able to project through onto the paper and this creates a original and different image and the different exposures of light create the effect of depth with darker and lighter parts of the image.
To create this image I put my own Casio watch onto the plain photographic paper. I then exposed it to the light for around 6 seconds to ensure the more transparent parts of the watch would shown through. I then developed the image in developer and put it in the fix and the stop. I then dried the image and scanned it onto here. I like this image as the plainess of the dark areas contrast with the actual object making it stand out even more. The different tones in the image also stand out aswell. |
Due to the fact that I liked the other plain image of the watch, I decided to do another plain photogram with one object,which has been exposed twice to light, to make the object stand out more.
I created this photogram by putting the toy onto the photographic paper and exposing it to the light for under 2 seconds, and then three seconds the second time. From this image you can see that I didn't expose the image for long enough as the background isn't dark enough and therefore the intentions of the photogram did not work. I then developed the image in developer and put it in the fix and the stop. I then dried the image and scanned it onto here. |
Photograms with painted on developer
This is a test strip in which I practised the act of painting on the developer onto the exposed photographic paper. The left side was 2 second exposure, the middle 3 and the the right was 4. I decided that 3 seconds was the perfect time for exposure and 4 seconds meant that most detail was lost and 2 seconds didn't show enough detail.
10 photographs of who I am and what inspires me:
I often find myself taking pictures of the sky as I think it is beautiful how it can be so different in a second. This is one of my favourite pictures and it is right next to my house and reminds me of home.
This picture is of my brother and dad, I like it as the colours are very bright and pop out well. This picture was taken in a back garden in Amsterdam. I like the fact that the bushes, plants and outside wardrobe feature in this and I like the spacing I have used.
This is an image of the Dutch fields not far out from the coast. I took this picture as we where 3 minutes away from landing in Amsterdam. It's a good picture and I contrasts with the next picture which shows the busier and man stream side to Amsterdam and the Netherlands.
This is a picture of the Dutch canals in Amsterdam, I love Amsterdam and it's scenery as it is simple yet beautiful. I also find that no matter where you take a picture in Amsterdam, it almost always looks good.
Most images I take are often ' in the moment ' photos where I spot an opportunity or a random or strange object. This was another photo from Amsterdam within which quirky things where often seen in windows of houses and shops which I cycled by every night on my way home.
I take the train almost everyday and I therefore decided that this picture should be in my 10 photos. I also like the fact that different trains have different outsides to them and sometimes have artistic graffiti on them.
I like to take pictures of my surroundings as to document my lifestyle. This is a picture of jack and Noah sitting at ally pally park and I allowed there to not only be them in the picture but featured the brilliant view from the top of Alexandra palace.
I also enjoy taking generic photos of delicious food. Despite the fact that they're quite basic sometimes the more generic pictures the best.
I enjoy taking spontaneous pictures as I like the way they are blurred in some aspects but clear in others and this makes a very good effect and it emphasises that we are ' on the go'
My two closest friends Freya and Fran. This is my Ultimate favourite picture of them and it show very clearly that they are engaged with each other and shows how friendly and happy they are when they're together and also when they're with me.
More developed photographs using a paintbrush:
This photographic appear had a shell on it which I then exposed to the light for 3 seconds, on a low to medium apeture I then took the developer chemical and painted over the middle, where I had put the shell, and then spluttered it around the edges to create a distressed look. I then put it in the fix and stop to stop the image from spoiling.
The same image sandwiched
I then decided to try a test strip in which I put it under the latter photogram and exposed it underneath for 2 seconds, 3 seconds and 4 seconds, I discovered the image looked best when being exposed for 3 seconds so repeated this with a bigger piece of photographic paper with the same apeture and timings.
This image was of the same shell, to get this result I placed the shell in the middle of the photographic paper exposed the paper to the light for around 3 seconds I then dipped it in developer until it had developed for around 10 seconds and took it back to the exposing light and exposed it again untill I saw the white edges bleed into the black background the shell's outlines blured into white and created a gothic effect.
Pin hole camera
We created our own pin hole cameras with small Pringle pots and exposed the photo paper inside through a small hole in the pot which was taped up temporarily with cardboard doors and cellotape, this meant that the surroundings we placed the camera infront of where printed onto the paper when we opened the cardboard doors and exposed the photographic paper which we had placed inside it and we then developed the images, as we usually would with the developer/ stop and fix, and were presented with inverted images of the surrondings.
SLR cameras
An SLR camera is the abbreviation for Single Lens Reflex, SLR cameras are really useful as you see exactly what the lens sees when looking through the view finder. SLR cameras are also very good as theyre eay to change lens and this means you can use specific lenses for different pictures in different enviroments. Digital SLR's have large image sensors that produce high-quality photos, ensuring you good standard pictures. Finally, an SLR has a almost near to zero lag time, enableing the photographer to have a brilliant picture and this means it is ideal for action photoshoots and photography.
Apeture
Aperture refers to the opening of the camera's lens, which lets through the light. It works in f/stops and is usually written from 3.2 up to 22 ish. The lower f/stops allow more exposure for the image as they are the larger apertures, the lower apertures should've used when taking photos in bright light. While the higher f/stops give less exposure because they represent smaller apertures and should be used in situations with little to no light. Photographers often try experimenting with changing the aperture as it is sometimes difficult to know which sort of aperture should be used in different environments.
Shutter speed
In photography the shutter speed is the unit of measurement which determines how long the shutter of the camera remains open as the photographer takes the photo. The slower the shutter speed is set on the camera, the longer the exposure time. The shutter speed controls the total amount of light reaching the sensor (as does aperture). Shutter speeds are expressed in seconds or fractions of a second, allowing it to be easier for the photographer to take acation photos.
Images from the digital SLR camera
The first three pictures of Charlie are taken with three different sets of apeture; 3.5, the second on 9.0 and the final on 22 (the highest).
On the next set of pictures of Noemi, I changed the setting on the top of the camera so that the camera automatically set itself to a good shutter speed in which 'sporty' pictures could be taken and the image wouldn't be blurred but the image would still have detail.
On the next set of pictures of Noemi, I changed the setting on the top of the camera so that the camera automatically set itself to a good shutter speed in which 'sporty' pictures could be taken and the image wouldn't be blurred but the image would still have detail.
SLR Film camera
A film camera is a camera that exposes photographic film to light in order to take a picture. Used since the late 1800s, the film is a chemical emulsion on a plastic substrate that is sensitive to light.
I went into Muswell Hill and used the SLR camera to take pictures of people and surroundings. Despite some of my pictures not being exposed to enough light and some being exposed too much, the overall judgement of the pictures was that they went well and there are some very good pictures of people ( that we asked permission ) we took pictures of. Overall, I preferred the pictures of people in which they look natural and unaware that I was taking a picture as they where more candid and interesting.
Contact Sheet
To create a contact sheet, you need to get a holder for all the negatives in your camera, which you have developed properly first and you put them into rows. You then put the sheet of photographic paper underneath the negatives and expose the photographic paper to light. Before I did the latter contact sheet I did two test strips which you will see below. After doing this exposure I then developed it with developer, stop and fix.
Overall, the images I took were pretty simplistic but worked well with the SLR film camera. Some of the images, as evident from the contact sheet the last few images did not develop properly, as I believe that I did not treat the film properly before putting it into the holder to develop. The fact that the images didnt develop properly is a shame as when taking photos with an SLR camera you must be sparing as often you get little as 25 pictures for one film, when taking images on a digital camera it is easier to take pictures, look at them and delete them and re-take the image if you dont think the picture you took was focused or not good enough.
Overall, the images I took were pretty simplistic but worked well with the SLR film camera. Some of the images, as evident from the contact sheet the last few images did not develop properly, as I believe that I did not treat the film properly before putting it into the holder to develop. The fact that the images didnt develop properly is a shame as when taking photos with an SLR camera you must be sparing as often you get little as 25 pictures for one film, when taking images on a digital camera it is easier to take pictures, look at them and delete them and re-take the image if you dont think the picture you took was focused or not good enough.
This is the second test strip I did of the contact sheet in which I did only one negative as it is better for a better quality result when you conesentrate only on one negative. From the picture you can see it goes from light to dark. The left side of exposed for 1 second and it ombrés all the way to the right side in which was exposed to the light for a whole 10 seconds. I decided that the best amount of time to expose the photos for was 3-4 seconds or in between. I then developed with developer, stop and fix.
The first test strip I did for the contact sheet was wrong, due to the fact that all 5 rows of negatives where exposed rather than one and this meant that it was hard to tell how much time I really needed to expose them for. The first row was 1 second, The second was 2, the third was 3,
the fourth was 4 and the fifth was 5 seconds. Overall though. The 4 seconds and the three second exposed negatives came out the best. Despite this test strip being wrong I still developed it with developer, stop and fix.
the fourth was 4 and the fifth was 5 seconds. Overall though. The 4 seconds and the three second exposed negatives came out the best. Despite this test strip being wrong I still developed it with developer, stop and fix.
William Klein
“The idea for the colour and graphics comes from the red lines
photographers put around their choices on a contact sheet.” W.K.
photographers put around their choices on a contact sheet.” W.K.
Klein returned to still photography in the 1980’s, he made large-scale blow-ups of his photographic contact sheets, revealing on an unparalleled scale the frames before and after the decisive image. Liberally applying gloss brush strokes in bold colours to these mural-sized prints, Klein brought together key elements from his long career: graphic form, composition and colour from the early murals and paintings juxtaposed with ground-breaking fashion and street photos, along with the narrative and bold visual language of his experimental films. A defining moment where his unique vision came full circle.
Information about contact sheets:
A contact sheet is when you shoot a roll of film, lay your strips of negatives on a single paper, and then develop it so you can see all the shots you took on a single roll on a piece of paper. Of course the shots come out tiny, so you need to use a loupe (a small magnifying glass you hold to your eye) to inspect your images.Today, the contact sheet has all but disappeared as digital technology has rendered the analogue camera a thing of the past, beloved only of purists and a coterie of young obsessives who fetishise film and the alchemy of the darkroom.
Prints
Two boys at a bench smoking - this photo was taken down the road from school, I like it as the details are very good and even the smoke can be seen coming from the boy's cigarette creating a smokey effect. I also like the fact that the boys are not central in the shot and the bush takes up a lot of the picture. But if I were to take this again I would made the people a stronger feature rather than the bush as it does take up a bit too much room. I like the raw effect of the scratches
Boy at the bus stop - This is my favourite picture from all of which I took but unfortunately the negative had water marks on and when I developed the image they printed too, the photographic paper I used was also scratched which meant the printing didn't go very well. So if I were to do this again I would've tried to get rid of the water marks and also used a better piece of photographic paper, but hen again the marks do give the image a retro and vintage vibe too.
Man doing his job - I like this picture as in black and white it looks like an old picture and not from the 21st century. I also like the fact the it is a candid picture and the man is unaware ( at the time ) that the picture was taken. Again, scratches can be found on the photographic paper which spoils the image, but they're not boo prominent and don't ruin it too much. To improve this I would obviously use better, non scratched paper.