Peoples relationship to their surroundings

To continue with my camera obscura practice I am interested in forming a context behind the camera obscura and relating them to peoples surroundings. Living in my camera obscura in Lapland gave my room a completely different feeling and allowed me to relate to my external surroundings on a deeper level. I am planning to ask for volunteers who will allow me to use their room to turn into a camera obscura and then photograph them in their new internal/external world. I will have to consider which rooms would work best and if anyone would actually volunteer for me to use their room.

Susan Derges - Water and the photogram

Susan Derges uses the conventional photogram technique but, takes it into unusual environments to create her photographs.  Derges uses water as her format for creating the image projected onto the surface of the paper, doing this by placing large sheets of photographic paper into rivers, lakes and ponds.  Her photographs bring another element to the everyday motion and movement of water. The photograms hold little detail compared to a digital photograph however, they are much more intimate than a photograph.  Here photograms of moving water hold an ghostly feeling as the light and dark tones flow over the papers surface.  Like my current practice Derges creates her photograms at night, where I have been creating pinhole images of the moon at night, the moon becomes her light source as well. 

Pierre Cordier - Chemigram

For me, Pierre Cordier's work was the most intriguing at the Shadow Catchers exhibition.  This is due to the fact that I have never seen the process he uses before.  The process of the chemigram was discovered by himself in 1956, where he experimented with the surface of photographic paper, like a painter would a canvas.  He applies developer and fixer to various areas of the paper to create lighter and darker tones and went on to explore the effect of 'localising' areas to create shapes and patterns with the use of products such as; glue, varnish wax, oil and syrup.  These products protect the surface of the photographic emulsion or "can be incised to create a drawing, graphic motif or written text." (Shadow Catchers exhibition leaflet)  For me this technique leaves the viewer pondering over how such a photograph could possibly be created.  Some details are so precise it is hard to believe that it is not a painting with its exact application of chemicals to the surface.  I don't think you can fully understand the process and the quality of the work until you have experimented with the chemigram technique, which is something I plan on doing. 

Floris Neususs

Untitled, Photogram, Berlin, 1962

Untitled, Photogram, Kassel, 1967

Floris Neususs is one of the artists currently exhibiting at Shadow Catchers.   Neususs has devoted his career to the investigation and teaching of the photogram, pushing the concept to the limits.  I have created small scale photograms by placing objects over photographic paper and exposing it to light, but they do not compare to the intensity of Neususs’ work.  He shows a new ambition in scale and the visual treatment of a photogram, often dealing with opposites in his work; black and white, shadow and light, movement and stillness, presence and absence.  His playful life-size photograms of people express sexual and sensual connotations, as the person seems trapped in a suspended state in each photogram.  Seeing the images as a collective creates a poetic dialogue between presence and absence drawing the viewer in.  I enjoyed the stillness of the images though which the essence of movement could be perceived. 

Floris Neususs - Gewitterbild

Along side Neususs' photograms he also exhibited a selection of his other camera-less work. I enjoyed his set of work, which again involved the photogram technique, however this time he simply placed a piece of photographic paper outside during a thunder and lightening storm.  The photographic paper becomes the canvas and light becomes the paint.  The varying depths of shadow and light create an abstract image, which one would never guess had been produced by thunder and lightening.  For me this set of work has opened my thinking about photographic paper and what it can be used for.  I do not need to place it inside a pinhole camera for it to produce an image and the image doesn't have to be contrived like a photogram.  It simply needs to be exposed to any light source and you get the surprise of what may be created. 

Shadow Catchers Exhibition, V & A, London

What is a photograph? How do you create a photograph?  The boundaries of these questions are pushed by all artists exhibiting at Shadow Catchers – Camera-less Photography.  The essence of each photograph created by the five artists lies in their ability to fix shadows or light on a light sensitive surface, without the use of a camera.  Each artist works in a very different mode of practice and manages to transfix the viewer into some kind of stupor with the rarely known techniques.  With many links to painting some of the photographs hold little resemblance to what most would perceive as a photograph.

For me the exhibition was about the discovery of varying techniques around the world of camera-less photography. The exhibition has made me think of photographic paper in a more literal sense; it is not actually necessary to use a camera at all when creating a photograph.  Photographic paper can be used like a canvas in which light is the source of paint and can be captured and preserved.  Breaking the boundary between making a photograph without a camera has allowed for some very interesting dreamy and textured photographs to be created.  I am interested in becoming familiar with some of these techniques and really discovering the potential of photographic paper and not only the possibilities of a pinhole camera.

Change of light in Rovaniemi

During my time in Rovaniemi, Lapland, I became intrigued by the sudden changes in light during the time I lived there.  I lived in Rovaniemi for just over four months and experienced the darkness of the winter to the end of spring where the days were getting longer and longer.  I expected the short days during the in the winter and was prepared for this, as well as the days getting longer.  However, I was shocked at how suddenly it could become lighter or darker.  I was away from Rovaniemi for three and on my return from Manchester back to Rovaniemi I was shocked at how much lighter it was.  I did however enjoy the extreme contrast in seasons, not only because of the extreme temperatures but, also the extreme light changes.  It made everyday so different to the other, with such varying levels of light the landscape would change in dramatic ways and this was exaggerated by the winter snow conditions as well.  As the sudden changes of Lapland had such an impact of me I have decided to keep a personal diary, taking a copy of a web cam image from Rovaniemi each day.  These have then been put together to form a show reel of the seasonal changes.  So, far the video consists of images dating from October 2010 to present.  I will continue this personal diary of images for as long as I can, hopefully one day I will have at least a whole years of images and maybe more. 

As the web cam adjusts the lighting slightly so that the images are clearer they do not completely justify actual darkness of the winter days in Lapland.  But, they do give a great suggestion of the sudden changes throughout the year, which make it such an interesting place to live. 

Exhibition in The Link Gallery

Continuing with my pinhole photography practice I have started to use my pinhole cameras at night to photograph the moon.  I expected hazy photographs to be produced from the moons light however, only the path of the moon was photographed as it passed over the tree the camera was placed beneath.  This is shown in the first pinhole photograph on display.  Without an explanation many people would not be able to tell what the photograph is, but I quite like the curiosity around it.  

Pinhole photography at night is something I want to explore, this came about after the darkness and change in light I experienced during my time in Lapland.  For my exhibition in the Link Gallery I have started with my moonlight photograph and continued to photograph the same point throughout a 12 hour period in the day.  This expresses the light change during the day through pinhole photography.  I like the contrast in the images from actual reality, as the pinhole photographs are a negative.  Therefore, the bottom photograph, which was taken at the brightest point in the day actually looks like it has been taken at night.  This has caused much confusion to those looking at my exhibition and it has to be explained.  I have continued to make my pinhole camera so that it produces a round image, I enjoy the aesthetics of the round image as it can't be created using a usual film camera and also adds to the confusion of the pinhole photograph.  

To continue with my pinhole photography at night I am going to use colour darkroom paper, as it is more light sensitive than black and white paper.  Therefore, it should take a photograph with more detail of the night sky and its surroundings.  I will also try using film in a manual pinhole camera, which will allow me to take a greater amount of shots in a shorter amount of time, again due to film being much more light sensitive. 

Second camera obscura

This is my second attempt at creating a camera obscura in a room, this is my current bedroom. Due to the windows being loft windows, they disable light from entering the room fully, which is a slight disadvantage. But, this has got me thinking about other places I could create a camera obscura and the relationship of the room. For example, a relationship between the occupier of the space with the room and the outside image projected inwards. This is something I want to look further into, as I think it is always good to form some connection with my camera, the photograph and the place and is something I have been trying to do for a while. To start this project I would have to find a set of people who would be willing to be photographed and have a room which can be turned into a suitable camera obscura. 

Camera obscura car

I have been attempting for a while to turn my car into a camera obscura so I would then have a portable camera obscura. I have managed with quite a lot of struggle to black out my car, however I found that it has hard to create any kind of image in the car due to the furnishing being too dark. You can slightly see the image when you take a long exposure with a camera however, nothing is visible withe the naked eye. For this I think I will have to try and find a larger vehicle with a lighter interior. I think a van would work well, so this is the next step in my portable camera obscura.