Digital v 120 Film Home Scan & Drum Scan (LO2 & LO3)

The purpose of this test was to not only compare 120 colour fim to digital, but to compare different output for the 120 film. All the film images are form the same roll of Fuji NHP 400 and were shot under the same conditions. The only different is the output. The first was a scan on the negative on a HP home negative scanner.

For the second image the negative was scanned at a local professional photography printing shop.

The third image is the result of a negative which was sent away for drum scanning.

The final image is the digital file taken at the same time as the 120 film under the same conditions.

What this clearly demonstrates is the different in output quality depending on the processing method. Between the negative there is a clear difference in not only quality but colour. The drum scan is by far superior to the other two scans and results in a good quality clean and fine grained image. Although the digital film is sharper and better quality than the film, I feel it does not have the same aesthetical quality as the drum scan image. For me the colour and tone of that image is preferable. Therefore that is the option I would choose in the future.

 

 

 

Final Images – Headdresses (LO1)

This shoot is the culmination of all my practical and theoretical research so far. In these images my intention was to symbolize my internal emotions through an external object, thus making the object a metaphor of my feelings. For the external object I chose to use headwear. Prompted by my research I had been looking towards historical art portraits for composition and subject content ideas, and noted how headwear played a significant role within may of them. Within historical art headwear was key as it acted as indicator to the subjects social standing, or role within the house or community. Headwear was obligatory within most social situation and therefore less of a representation of a persons emotions but rather a forces statement of their social role. However when I considered headwear within our current society I realized that predominantly it is used only to make a personal statement as it has become less popular within uniforms or forced clothes wear. Therefore I felt it was an appropriate choice when choosing an object to represent an emotional state.

 

I planned three shoots based on three different emotions; Purity, Anxiety and Shattered. For each I wanted the context to be minimal, with the focus of the image to be the headwear and myself. To ensure this I decided to shoot all of them in a studio setting.

The first image I shot was for Purity. For this I knew I wanted high key lighting, taking inspiration from Joel Grimes’s white portraits. I chose to wear a band of Orchids because of their association with delicate beauty, special occasions, rarity and healing powers. I then chose the willow branches because of their association with femininity and healing. As I wanted to create an ethereal feel I had seen in may historical art pieces, I decided to use the willow branches in a way that created the suggestion of wings, hence connoting light, innocence and purity and heaven. I shot various poses for this images but the final one I chose, I felt best signified the essence of the emotion. In postproduction a slight texture was added to the image, as with them all, to create a painterly look. However I’m not sure that really comes a cross in this image. Overall thought I am pleased with this image, although in reflection I feel if the lighting was softer and directional it would create a more classical fine art feel to the image.

The second shoot was for Anxiety. For this I wanted the headwear to represent the dark cloud that is visually associated with representations of depressions and anxiety. With my body I wanted to show the strain these emotions can have. To do this I created more structured poses and used my hands and arms to show the tension within the body. I also chose to shoot the image with no clothes on top to represent how exposed and venerable you can feel in these situations. Flagged side lighting was used to create shadows with a beauty dish in front to pick out the skin tones and details. In postproduction I added a texture after cleaning the image and skin smoothing. Overall I was very pleased with this image. I knew it was dark but felt it was bight enough to see the details in the skin tone and body. I purposely chose to keep it this way as it was aesthetically right for the images meaning. I also felt this image was the closest to creating a fine art painterly look.

 

The third shoot was for Shattered. For this shoot I decided to make a crown from shattered glass. Although using the class could be alleged as a too literal interpretation of the title I felt having it take the form of a crown opened up more questions within the image creating additional narrative. The crown could be preserved as connoting links to regal qualities such as status, power and the burned of responsibilities. Or it could be seen as symbolizing links to religion and Jesus crown of thorns. Ultimately it would be the viewer whose own experience would interpret it, but I felt it certainly suggested, with the position of the head facing downwards, adverse emotions, as was meant to be implied. As with the previous two I added a texture at the end to finish the look. Overall I was extremely happy with this image. I felt it was the strongest out of the three both aesthetically and technically and I feel this was due to it being the third shoot, as I learned from each one.

 

Although individually I am happy with all three images, as a set believe they do not work. Shattered and Purity could work together, however Anxiety is conceptually too different it fit in. Whereas with the other two the headwear is clearly be worn and my own hair can be seen, with Anxiety the black material looks like a wig, and therefore, for me, implied I’m dressing up as someone else. Also the nudity and body positioning seem to point the image much more towards fine art than the other two, which feel closer to commercial portraiture, although this was never my intention. Going forward I will take these observations and lesson’s on board. I feel I have learned a lot through these shoots and will be able to apply this learning to my future photographs.

Testing 5×4 Film For Self Portraits (LO2)

Inspired by Patrick Hoelick’s portraits taken on a Toya camera and my previous 5×4 testing,I decided I wanted to experiment with taking self portraits using this equipment. As this was only a testing session there was no planned visual for the images, simply to test the quality of the film and aesthetics of using the Toya camera for this style of photography. I decided to take two images, the first with me sat back against the wall and the second with me close to the camera lens. The reason for this was I knew the lens on the Toya had a very shallow depth of field and distorted perspective. The results of this can clearly be seen below.

In the first image below, as my legs are closer to the lens, then my upper body they appear much larger and out of proportion with the rest of me. In the second image you can see the sharpness of the image by my hand and glasses and the blur which has started by my ear, demonstrating the very shallow depth of field. This is something I really like about this camera and makes this my preferred image. Although it isn’t a fetching image of me, I think the rawness of it is very appealing and I love the closeness you feel from it. This is definitely something I would like to try again with a more thought out shoot.  The first image, however I feel isn’t so successful. The skewed perspective in the image is very distracting and make it unclear where you should be focusing your attention.

Ethical Considerations – Model Release (04)

Part of my ethical considerations when approaching a shoot is to ensure the model fully understands how and where the images will be used and their rights in connection to this. The last thing any photographer wants is to carry out a full shoot where the model decides at the end they don’t like the images and that they don’t want you to use them. The shoot is then a waste of time for both parties. To avoid situations like this I always ensure a Model Release Form is signed before any shoot. This is basically a written and signed agreement between the photographer and the person they are photographing. The purpose being to protect me from future liability claims based on anything from invasion of privacy, defamation of character or misrepresentation, to name but a few. The model release will also state how the image will be used, but also protects me from claims against how I may be used in the future.

 

There are various places you can download model release templates from. AOP have a very simple template and Getty Images have a more comprehensive version that is also free to download. However, as I’m not always the most organised person and can sometimes be shooting on locations, the most practical answer for me was to have my model release as an app. This would give me an instant digital version, avoiding, scanning or paperwork later on, and it means I would always have the form with me, rather than needing to pre print copies before shoots. After some initial research about the different apps available, I finally decided on an app created by the well know Canadian Commercial photographer Joey L.   http://releasemeapp.com/

 

Although this is only one element of an overall ethical code of conduct, by using this form and talking through it with my models prior to shoot I believe I am being more moral and ethical in my work. By ensuring they fully understand their legal position and agree to it prior to the shoot I continue to certify my honesty as a photographer.

Sample Model Release

Testing High Key Lighting (LO1)

While using a shoot to test a visual concept I also used it to experiment with high key lighting. My aim was to recreate the signature style of Venture Photography, a well know commercial portrait company. I wanted to experiment to see if  I if could produce the same professional look and standard with my two light set up home studio.

To create the look I was aware that I needed to light the background brighter than the subject then expose for them, thereby overexposing the background and getting the white blow out. As I only had two lights I was concerned with getting an even fill behind, as usually in a studio with more lights the approach would be to light equally from both sides, the another light at the front. As I was unable to to this I initially started with the two lights in front of the subjects lighting from either side.

However the issue I had was that the background wasn’t getting enough light because of the drop off in the lighting power. Therefore it was going grey. This can be a nice effect for some portraits but wasn’t the high key image I was aiming for.

The concur this I changed the lighting so I had the soft box lighting the background and the umbrella lighting the subjects. This improved the image but, as I had initially worried about, I wasn’t getting even light on the background which was resulting in directional shadows. I also had the issue that my toy figures were very small and I couldn’t get the studio lights as low as I’d have liked, which meant they were effectively being lit from above.

To resolve this I increased the power of the lights to try and bleach out the shadows and brought in a reflector on the right hand side. This then cause the image to be over exposed and start to loose details.

This was soon fixed by taking a new light meter reading and adjusting my expose settings, finally resulting in the high key images i was looking for. Although the final image still has light drop off on the right hand side, given my equipment I was happy with this end result.

Visual Response to an Academic Journal (LO4)

As part of reflecting on our Applied Methodologies and seeing how it could impact on our Studio Practice work, we were asked to visual interpret a given academic journal. The purpose was to enable us to experiment with how our theoretical work could impact on the atheistic of, and the concepts behind, our photography.  We were also asked to differ from using our usual subjects, therefore as I take portraits I was asked to not use people in my images.

The journal I received was The Instant Camera as a Therapy Tool by Janice Pinchot Woychik and Corrine Bricknell. This discussed the merits of photograph as a therapy tool, and in particular it’s use during the 1980’s in social work to enable staff to record family dynamics.  When the families attend their weekly meetings they were asked to take a family portrait and this was repeated over a period of time.  This then built up an archive of the families interaction with each other, which the social workers or psychologists used to assess the relationships between different members of the family and see if they changed during the given time period.

My interpretation of this was to recreate the family portraits but with a variety of toys to represent the different characters you can get in families. Every family has an oger, someone who’s a bit of a dinosaur, someone who thinks they’re superman etc. I also decided to shoot them in the style of Venture Photography, as I wanted to bring the concept up to date, and that is a very stereotypical style of modern family portraits.

I used two lots of toys, each to differing success. The first group was all action men and figures, which were great to pose as they stood on their own and had moving arms and legs. This enabled me to more accurately recreate the pose and set ups used in modern family portraits. The second group was all soft toys such as dolls and knitted characters. These were not good to use, as they couldn’t hold themselves up so it was hard to get interesting poses. I had to try and prop them up but that didn’t really work, as they wouldn’t hold in a bended position. This resulted in them looking just like a pile of toys, rather then character interacting with each other. I was pleased with the first lot of images as I felt they were successful in their purpose, however I the second images of the dolls was a failure. They looked lifeless and didn’t connote family portraits or the Venture style of photography.

 

As the first experiment was only partly successful I wanted to continue testing, to try different ways to take the images. I decided try using a Polaroid instant camera like the journal specified. I was interesting to see if by sticking closer to the original criteria the images would be more or less successful. . Compositionally I tried to shoot the toys straight on as the families would have, however as I used a Polaroid Land Camera with a rangefinder, initially I had some focusing issues (show in the first picture below). I was also unable to get too close to the toys so the final images are from further away than I would have ideally like. However they did serve the purpose of giving me another perspective. I found that although the images where less technical, the naivety of then seem felt truer to the ones described in the journal.

The conclusion I drawn from this experiment is that it pays to consider how something could be interpreted from every angle and in different way. Although this style of photography and subject matter isn’t something I will continue with as part of this project, it has helped me to consider not always taking a very literal interpretation of information and thinking about if it from a more representational point of view.  I felt the first images were visually and technically stronger, however the Polaroid images were truer to the essence of the journal, therefore both could be considered as successful, just different interpretations.

Testing Digital Photographic Paper (02)

After receiving a paper sample pack from The Print Space I decided I wanted to test a range of them with one of my own prints. This would allow me to compare them like for like, as the sample pack uses a range of images that best suit that type of paper. Although this gives you a good example of the paper finish and quality, it doesn’t allow you to compare them like for like. Like choosing a specific film for photographing or a type of darkroom paper, different image will suit different digital paper; therefore to allow me to decide which is best for my final set of Headdress images, I needed to test them.

The Print Space offers both C-type and Giclee so I wanted to compare the two for colour, texture and tone. Research had taught me that C-type prints are considered real photographic prints as they are created with light sensitive paper that has silver crystals suspend in emulsion. This is then exposed to light, developed and fixed, much like the darkroom process, where as Giclee is a dry inject process where the ink is sprayed directly onto the paper. C-type also have a larger dynamic range than Giclee, so darker blacks and better highlight, however at The Print Space there is a greater selection of Giclee paper, therefore potentially making it easier to choose a paper which suites my images. Some Giclee paper is also considered better for a fine art work, as it can reproduce the effect of a painting. Given I am trying to create a painterly effect with these images this is something I’ve very interested in so will definitely be trying. Both paper types last for approximately 40 years however C-types can be cleaned with a damp cloth. However Giclee can be printed to much bigger format.

After looking through the different paper in the sample pack I decided on a range of five to try. I chose three C-type papers, Kodak Metallic, Fuji Flex and Fuji Matt and two Giclee papers, Harman Gloss Warmtone and Hahnemuhle German Etching. Although I know the overall feel I want for my images I was unsure about how to achieve this so I thought this selection gave me a good range of choices. I chose the Metallic and Flex based on the sheen they create, as this could be an alternative to the glow from a lightbox, which I am also considering. I would like the images to have a almost 3D dimension to them, so this metallic effect could help create that. Alternatively I would go with a painterly effect, which is why I chose the German Etching. I thought the Warmtone may add an interesting effect and I picked the Matt to see what the image looked like with quite a flat finish.

Today I received the prints back and the results are extremely interesting, however the first element that hit me was the differentiation of colour between them.

(Top-Bottom, Left – Right – Kodak Metallic, Fuji Matt, Fuji Flex, Harman Gloss Warmtone, Hahnemuhle German Etching)    

       

The Kodak Metallic is very cyan. The image is blue toned anyway and this has clearly been enhanced significantly with this paper. The finish, which I thought would be my preferred choice, does give a 3D dimension to the print but more in the style of a holographic, which creates quite a sci-fi feel to the image. The skin texture is lost and looks more like a synthetic hard material. The colour of the Fuji Matt is closer to the original however the matt surface is too one-dimensional. It’s almost as if your eye has hit a wall. As the paper name implies it is a very flat finish that doesn’t work with this image concept at all. However if you wanted a smooth non-reflective surface, this paper could be good. The Fuji Flex appears to have brought out the highlights in the image around the black headdress and on the skin, which is nice, however the surface is highly reflective which I believe could be an issue in an exhibition. The colour tone is cool as intended, which is also good, making it the best print out of the C-types.

The Harman Warmtone is considered a gloss finish however in comparison to the Metallic and Flex paper it seems quite subtle. The colour is definitely warmer, with a hit of magenta, but not to the point where it’s an issue. Overall the paper is ok, but I don’t believe it adds anything to the image, rather simple presents it as it. The German Etching on the other hand has blown me away. The colour is deep and rich on a dense matt finish. The texture of the paper has enhanced the painterly effect and creates a wonderful depth to the image which make you almost want to reach in and touch it. The shadows and highlights on the skin are enhanced to drawing your attention to the contours on the body. This paper for me is the clear winner. With this image it works perfectly, however my only concern is if it will be as effective on a lighter image. Whereas this image is dark and intense, others in the series are very light and bright and my concern is if the texture of the paper, which I feel gives depth to the image, will take away from this.

Going forward I think my only option is to try this paper with a lighter image. With this image it certainly create the feel and tone I am looking for with this series of images so I hope this will be the same with the others.

 

Testing Movement & Self Portraits with Ortho Film (LO1)

Following on from my previous testing I decided to shoot two self portraits using Ortho Film. For these shots I took inspiration from two articles I saw which showed movement and double exposure in an image. I like the idea of experimenting with how I could capture the passing time within a single image so thought this could be a good way to do that

Although I knew the Ortho film wasn’t an ideal choice for freezing movement given it’s low ASA, as I wanted to capture the blur and show the movement I thought it could be an excellent choice.

For the first image I stood still while waving material around me. I purposely chose red material as I wanted black lines to be swirling around. However in the final image, as the background was also dark, the lines of the material wasn’t as distinctive as I’d hoped. However I do feel the image was successful in capturing movement, with the blur of myself and the material. The image was metered at F16, so shot at F11.5 to allow for the decreased light sensitivity as discovered from the previous testing. For the second image I wanted to shoot a double exposure with myself in two different positions. As the light had now changed I knew the scene was metered at F11.5. However as I was taking two shots, I needed to half this so took both exposures at F22. I really like the results of this image.  Obviously the composition of the shot could be improved, although I think there is a certain aesthetic to the roughness of the image. The image is certainly successful is showing the passing of time and a mixture of emotions, so I believe this is something I will go on to experiment with further in future work.

 

 

Testing 3 x 4 Orthochromatic Film (LO1)

To continue my enquiry into a range of photographic techniques I wanted to experiment with using 3 x 4 Kodak Orthochromatic Film. I had never used this type of film before so was very interested to see the results. From my research I had established that ortho film does not see reds within an image, therefore on the negative any reds within a scene will be clear, and when printed will appear black. I liked this idea and thought this could add a very interesting aesthetic to an image. The other bonus to this film was that it could be handled in red light, as the film doesn’t register it. This was a definite bonus when it came to loading the film, as unlike the 5×4 Panchromatic film used previously, it didn’t have to be loaded in the dark. I had also discovered that this type of film used to be called ‘Blue Sensitive’ film, as any blues within the image turn white. Again this was something which I though could work in my images as it could create a ethereal look. This combination of colour changing made it a popular choice for graphics and document copying.

Another element I had to consider was that the film I was using was out of date stock from July 1975! This could cause several issues, the worst being risk of exploding when opened and the least, the film being less sensitive to light so needed additional exposure time. As I was aware of this before hand I could take this into account when photographing. The film was ASA 64, so it would already be requiring a significant amount of light, therefore would not be ideal for movement, but it would offer a very fine grain which would be good for portraits.

To shoot the film I would be using the Toya 5×4 camera, therefore before I could use the film, I needed to create a mount which allowed me to use the smaller (3×4) film in the 5×4 backs. My tutor came up with the idea of creating one from old used 5×4 films, as shown below. This enable me to use the normal 5×4 back, but was something I would need to keep in mind when composing the image, as the final picture would be cropped in from what I was seeing on the back of the camera.

Once the film was loaded I went to test the film in the studio. A scene was set up which included all the primary colours and subtle colours to test the tonal range of the film and how they translated when printed. Initially I took a digital shot so I had a record of the scene and colours to compare the film with later. I then went onto shoot the Ortho film.  The scene was metered at ISO 50 (to accommodate the aging film), f22, at 125 sec and three negatives were taken, bracketing either side of that meter reading.

The film was then processed in the colleges D76 undiluted stock solution developer. Once the film had dried, the negatives were scanned, both as negatives and positive images. When I compared the three exposures it was clear the more exposed shot was the best of the three, confirming the alteration of light sensitivity in older film.  I then compared the Ortho film image to the digital film. The results were really interesting. The red fire hose had, as expected, gone almost black, however the blue bucket was grey rather than white, and the green blanket wasn’t that much different in colour to the blue, just a lighter shade of grey. However although being very high contrast and having colour changes the image still had a very good tonal range which was aesthetically pleasing. Therefore I concluded I would like to try the film again for a self portrait.

Preperation & Planning – Learning my subject area (LO4)

As well as attending various exhibitions and photography talks during my MA, as part of my preparation and planning, in the summer before my MA started I visited various portrait exhibitions. The aim of this was to allow me to start developing a stronger knowledge of my subject area. In August I was lucky enough to go to Berlin for a week where I visited three great exhibitions:

Camera Work Rocks

This was a self-curate exhibition by the Camera Work’s gallery and featured over 100 portrait photographs of world famous musicians, taken my some of the best photographers of their time. I found the exhibition visually stimulating, as there was lots of images I’d never seen of well know musicians that I loved. However more interesting was seeing the different approaches/styles photographers used, from natural documentary style photography to very staged, studio shots. One image that really struck me was by photographer Eugenio Recuenco. The photograph was in the style of an Old Master’s painting both in subject, lighting and texture and was huge at 70 x 135 cm in an elaborate gilded frame. The image showed a man dominating two voluptuous naked women who were laid on the floor in what looked like a sauna room. What really attracted me to the image was the lighting, which was soft and directional, very representative of a Botticelli or Giorgione, creating an almost biblical atmosphere to the image.

Helmut Newton Foundation

This gallery had two exhibitions on, firstly the Helmut Newton: World without Men. This was an archival show of Newton’s fashion photography spanning three decades. There was also an exhibition of all his personal belongings including his cameras, notebooks and faxed correspondence between himself and various publications that he working for. I found these really interesting to read as it gave me an insight into the relationships he had with high profile people in the fashion industry. He clearly saw them as close friends, as well all business colleagues. The second exhibition was of portraits by Francois-Marie Banier. These were what I would consider classic portraits in style of celebrities from over the years.

Zerstorte Vielfalt

This was a street exhibition to honour the men and women who contributed to Berlin’s culture in the 1920’s that were then persecuted and drive into exile during the terror of the 1938 November Pogroms. Most of the text at the exhibition was in German so it was quite hard to fully understand who the people were in each image. However I was able to take in the different portraits, which were obviously shot on film during the 1920’s and therefore gave me insight into the photographic style of the time.