Early Photography
During the Renaissance artists became much more interested in depicting the reality of nature through art. To do this they developed various devices such as the camera obscura. This was a room with a hole on one side that projected an inverted image onto the opposite wall. (the most primitive form of a camera).The camera lucida was also invented which were used as portable optical devices, unlike the camera obscura that couldn't be so easily moved around. The camera obscura used a mirror lens whilst the camera lucida used a weak negative lens that created a virtual image. Both helped artists create more realistic pieces as they were effectively sketching their chosen view. This made paintings/drawings incredibly detailed.
During the 1800s the industrial revolution occurred, which played a very important role in the development of photography because it drove scientists to start attempting to reproduce reality in a fixed format i.e a photograph. The first scientist successful in this endeavour was Joseph Niepce in 1827, who fixed a projected image of his view of his window in Le Gras, South France . This began a heated competition between the English and the French, a race to who could create the best device to create fixed images with. Louis Jacques Daguerre helped Niepce to fix a projected image; in January 1839 he announced his invention of the Daguerrotype that laterally reversed a monochrome print onto a metal plate. Around this time an english scientist called William Henry Fox Talbot developed a type of photograph called the Calotype, which was advantageous in comparison to the Daguerrotype as these images could be duplicated. The quality of the Daguerrotype images were of a much better quality than the Calotype's images as they lacked sharpness- making the calotype more popular. |
Over time the Calotype improved due to advances in paper technology which bettered the quality of the images. At first photographs were set up the same way as paintings had, with the use of props and the families posing, with women sitting down and men standing up,-it was still something only wealthy people dabbled in. However, over time this changed as photographers began to build up their own identities then that of contemporary artists. Photography allowed artists to become more original with their work which differed greatly from the work of artists in the 18th Century. Realism became something of the present and something you could now capture via photography. |
Family Photograph Analysis
Keywords: dated, formal, film, stern.
Mise en Scene: This photo depicts the bride and groom (central) flanked by the bride's sister (left) and friend (right). On the far left is the best man. The two people on the sides are sitting, posed, on chairs. All of the people are dressed very formally for the wedding- the women carry bouquets of flowers. Process: This photo would've been taken on a film camera. Content: In this picture, all of the subjects are positioned formally and are standing/sitting up straight. Their expressions are quite controlled, with only slight smiles on some of their faces. This may be because the camera's shutter would have had to be open for an extended period of time to capture the image, and therefore they didn't smile as it would've been hard to maintain. It is quite a good quality photograph, as it is taken by a professional wedding photographer who would've had the best quality camera available at that time. It seems as though the composition/positioning of the models was thought out and arranged in a traditional wedding format. |
Keywords: bright, patterned, happier, informal
Mise en Scene: This photo shows the bride and groom (central) with the bride's parents on the left and the groom's parents on the left. Everyone is standing, and formally dressed. The bride holds a bouquet of flowers. Process: This would've been taken on a DSLR camera. Content: The poses of the people in this image, nearly a century later, are much more relaxed and informal than in the old photograph. For example, everyone is standing and on the same level (rather than having a few seated). This gives the effect that everyone is closer and more equal. They also appear much happier- with everyone obviously smiling. This may be because (due to huge technological advances) to take a photo is almost instantaneous nowadays. However, it could also be telling of the difference in society that weddings are not so much a serious occasion as they were in the 1930s. Obviously this image is of much higher quality and in colour, due to the exceptionally 'better' camera used. Furthermore, although still formal, the clothes worn in this photograph are more modern and slightly more casual. |
Pattern and Structure
contact sheetIn class, we were told to go out around the school and photograph any interesting patterns or textures that we could find. This could be either natural or manmade. I then selected the best images and edited them on photoshop to be black and white. I also altered the contrast and exposure to accentuate the pattern/texture.
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selects + editsWe then printed the chosen images on to acetate sheets to be used when creating photograms.
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Photograms
In our first attempt at creating a photogram, we used objects found in the department to create interesting compositions. I then experimented with developer by splashing it on to the paper so that only the 'splashed' areas would develop and become visible. I also dyed one of them blue.
Pin hole camera
We used home-made pinhole cameras, which consisted of a pringles can, duct tape, foil and black card. Using strips of light sensitive paper, I captured interesting images of South Wing building and other people. From the negative prints we obtained, I used 'sandwich printing' to create a positive print.
Film camera
On our film cameras, we experimented with changing the aperture and shutter speed on our first reel of film. With each frame, we recorded the aperture and shutter speed figures so that when we developed our contact sheet we could determine the best figures for the clearest image. I also tried to capture varying depths of field within each frame.
On our second attempt at using a film camera, we popped water balloons, hoping to capture the split second before gravity took hold. I developed and printed the most successful image below. I think this worked really well as the shape is evident. We repeated the process with some coloured water balloons and captured some digital images too.
On our second attempt at using a film camera, we popped water balloons, hoping to capture the split second before gravity took hold. I developed and printed the most successful image below. I think this worked really well as the shape is evident. We repeated the process with some coloured water balloons and captured some digital images too.
water balloons on film camera- fast shutter speed
Aperture experimentation
On our third response to using film cameras, we varied the aperture to change the depth of field.