Paper cameras

Here I have done a design which will make a rectangular shaped box and should function as a camera, when made form photographic paper.  The design has been formed so that it can be constructed in a darkroom under only red light.  Therefore, the deign has to be as simple as possible and involve as few steps as possible. Now that I have the design for the shape of the paper camera, I now need to experiment with ways in which I can keep the camera light tight during exposure and how long I should expose it for. 

What can a camera be?

For a while now I have been looking at the idea of what a camera can actually be and taking the camera  to its bare minimum.  Making a camera out of photographic paper itself is a way in which you can reduce the camera to its bare minimum.  The photo paper forms the camera structure and produces the photograph and eventually becomes the photograph itself.  I have made a few small versions where I have created a box like shape and created a hole in the photographic paper with a pin.  However, non of these versions were very successful.  I think that the pinhole will have to made from aluminium tin and then removed once the photograph is developed.  This would focus light more precisely into the camera and would hopefully form on image.  Another, problem is stopping light from getting into the camera from other places, like the joins.  To stop this it is essential to keep the paper camera in a black dark until exposure and then still have the main body covered.  This is an issue I am going to have to experiment with during the process of making my photo paper cameras. 

The images above show experiments for making the structure of a camera out of photographic paper. 

http://www.slowlight.net/blog/?p=87

Space_Surrogate ii (GSG 9)

During my visit to Berlin I saw this piece of work at Hamburger Bahnhof.  At first I thought that it was just a projection of a photograph into a darkened space, however after a while I noticed that the photograph was actually a moving frame.  It was only really noticeable when you focused your attention on one aspect, for example a moving foot.  This slow movement adds a new dimension of seeing to the film footage, for me it was interesting to see the mens exact movements, which we would never really notice in a normal speed piece of footage.  During the time I spent viewing the slowed film it was obvious that many did not realise that it was actually a film and most thought it was a photograph, like my first reaction.  I enjoy the fact that some could jut pass this by without realising its true meaning while others find the wonder it created for me.  The piece has a lot of political connotations which I know from the write up, however this is of little interest to me as I purely enjoyed the aesthetics of the slow moving footage.  The piece of film was initially a five second sequence and it was digitally reworked to become an eight minute long piece slowly altering still or a freeze frame.

Photogram Experiment

After seeing the work of Floris Neususs and his life size photograms I decided to experiment with photograms myself. I have used various materials of differing densities to create this photogram, including film strips, leaves, a tea bag, tape, a drawn image and a measuring cylinder.  Doing this has given me a good idea of how photograms work and how light travels through different objects.  I enjoy how simple it is to actually create a photogram and the possibilities that it gives. I think it would be interesting to involve movement of objects and maybe to include photographs projected onto the surface, mixing two techniques together. 

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. 

Multiple pinholes

I have turned a Cadbury's Roses tin into a pinhole camera, the shape and size of the tin has allowed me to create a pinhole camera with multiple pinholes. These photographs were taken using three different pinholes located at different points around the roses tin, giving a 360 degree photograph of one place. The is a first practice camera and as you can see some adjustment needs to be done to the positioning of the pinholes. The strip of white on the bottom photograph shows that there is a lapse in light getting to this part of the paper. The top photograph however doesn't have this strip of white because it has been exposed for longer. This does mean that other areas of the photograph have become overexposed, giving denser areas of black which block areas of detail from being seen.  Therefore, the pinholes need to be positioned closer together to enable a full 360 degree to be formed rather than expose the whole photograph for longer. 

Scanned colour pinholes

This is a self portrait created by on of my pinhole cameras, the original is the colour version at the top, where I placed colour photography paper inside of my pinhole camera and developed it. I have then gone on to scan in the original to create the bottom version. Again, scanning in a colour photograph and adjusting the colours has allowed me to discover more detail in the photograph, especially on the left eye. Now a pupil can be seen where as before you just knew it was there, due to the variations of hue in colour. Although, these are both essentially the same photograph they could maybe be mistaken for different ones. They both give me varying feeling when I see them too, when I look at the bottom self portrait I get a much more morbid and dazed feeling. This is simply due to the colour and the fact there is a sense of looking in the bottom version, where as the eyes don't seem to have much point of vision in the top, it is more like an image of a heat radar. 

Digital pinhole camera

Instead of working with my homemade pinhole cameras I decided I would adapt my digital camera into a pinhole camera. To do this I simply removed the lense and replaced it will a homemade pinhole lense. I wasn't sure as to what would happen and if the camera would actually work without a proper lense, however I found that it worked surprisingly well. I was able to gain decent amount of detail seen as a pinhole was only being used. The photos I look have a dreamy and hazy look to them, which is common in pinhole photographs. A digital pinhole camera means that I can take pinhole images much quicker, however I do feel it takes away the reason I love pinhole photography so much - the surprise of the photograph being revealed as you develop them. 

Michael Wesely - Berlin

In a past post I have written about Michael Wesely and his photographic project with MOMA. When i discovered this project I became intrigued with other projects he was involved with. One included a long exposure project his did in Berlin, at the time I was unable to find much information, but I have recently come across two images of his project. They show the urban renewal of Potsdamer Platz in Berlin. It is become of particular interest now as I will be visiting Berlin in a months time. I find the photograph below particularly eerie and interesting due the ghostly image of the reconstructed building which, is only really seen when you focus on the photograph. The old building is seen in a more solid state while the new building is faint ghostly image over the top. It shows a deep connection to the past which, can be seen more easily then the new. There is an interesting focus on change throughout Wesely's work which I want to look into further.

Scanned colour pinhole photograph

I have previously scanned in solargraphy images which, I have taken using pinhole cameras, as this is the way you process the photograph - the overexposure of light creates an inverted image of the photograph. However, I decided I would scan in my colour pinhole photograph to see what happened when I inverted the colours. I was quite shocked at the results as it allows you to see much more detail in the photograph than the original colour copy does. (the original version is shown in a post below) Although, certain areas are blurry you get an overall idea of how much more detail can be actually be seen as is hidden in the colour of the pinhole photograph. Another quality I enjoy of this scanned image is the colour of the traffic light signals, due to the long exposure a full cycle of the lights occured, therefore in one photograph you can see all colours of the signal. This is also the only definite colour which can be seen in the photograph. I think it would be quite interesting to use colour paper in city night exposures, as the strong lights of a city would hopefully come through in a scanned image.