Week Eight - The beginning of our second to last topic: Time

This week it was time to put together our next exhibition:

My contribution put up nice and neat on the wall!

We were also told about our next topic: Time. For this we are to create one image that captures time. I have some ideas about what I might do, but did some research about photographers who have done the same. Two photographs came straight to my mind:

http://maisonbisson.com/blog/post/10531/focal-plane-shutter-distortion/

http://inventors.about.com/od/weirdmuseums/ig/Eadweard-Muybridge/The-Horse-in-Motion.htm

The above image by Henri Lartique has frozen the movement of a racing car, but some of the image is also  slightly blurred, giving us a real sense of the speed. 

The second image by Edward Muybridge consists of several images of a horse, which has proven that there is a point during a horses gallop where all four hooves are off the ground, and is one of the most significant photographs ever taken.

More examples:

http://lucire.com/insider/20090831/showstudio-gets-exhibition-at-somerset-house/
by Nick Knight

http://nicholasspyer.com/tag/david-bailey/
by David Bailey

My main idea right now is about capturing water, and I will do several experiments around that at some point this week.

While looking through Next Level, Edition 12 I found the work of Greg White, who's done something similar to what I have in mind with colour:

All the scanners were busy as always, so I had to take photos
to include the images.

pp. 18-27

Update from the weekend:

I have now taken 12 pictures around the above mentioned idea. For the next exhibition I am only allowed one final image, but here are the ones I've taken today:

I used food colouring in water, the glass was filled to the very top and was overflowing a lot, especially during the practice shots. ISO 100, S 1/2.5, F 5.6

Week Seven - Preparing for the next exhibition

This week all we had to do was chose an image from an exhibition we like (if we didn't attend the workshop) or chose one of our own (if we did attend the workshop and rather presented our own work), and write about the process that had gone into creating the image.
I went with my earlier idea and chose one of my own images. The final result looks something like this:

We had been given a template to work with so that everyone's result would look more or less the same, and printed them in A3 for the gallery. The exhibition was put up the week after on the Monday.

I also did some more research into Cyanotypes and Argyrotypes this week. I found a book in our library which showed few examples from several photographers. Out of the photographers mentioned in the book I preferred the work by Anna Atkins, who is often called the first woman photographer.

Examples for Anna Atkins:

http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital_dev/dgkeysearchresult.cfm?word=col_id%3A188&sScope=images&sLabel=Ocean%20Flowers%3A%20Anna%20Atkins%27s%20
Cyanotypes%20of%2E%2E%2E

http://thecraftbegins.com/wordpress/tag/anna-atkins/

I find her work interesting, because her cyanotypes are some of the earliest ones there are. It's interesting to see that this process is still being used and that her images, even though they were only early days then, were already of such good quality and were used for scientific research. She has obviously gained quite a reputation as "the first woman photographer", and I can see why.

Also, here are some of my other results from the workshop:

Week Six - Cyanotype/ Argyrotype workshop

At the workshop we had the opportunity to create Cyanotypes and Argyrotypes.

These are done by painting plain paper with the chemical mix which is iron based, includes silver, and has to be mixed with distilled water. The paper is left to dry (we were impatient and used a hair dryer for all of them), covering the paper either right away with a negative printed on acetate and then taking it outside (covering it from light.. we used an envelope) to expose it, or taking it outside and then placing objects on it.

I tried both but preferred using my own images as negatives. It was very exciting to see the result, and compare it to the original! 

This is the original...

... and this is the Argyrotype.

We exposed the first images for twenty minutes, and were relieved to find out that the paper can't really be over-exposed. 

Afterwards, the images were washed either for twenty minutes in water and hung up to dry (for Cyanotypes), or they were washed for five minutes in water, then for three in Hypo Wash whilst agitating, and then for another thirty minutes in water, and then hung up to dry. After the first few tries we ignored the recommended times and hung them up when we felt the images were developed enough.
I really enjoyed this workshop! I found it so addictive that mine and Rachel's images were the first ones to be exposed and I was the last one to leave the darkroom.

Argyrotypes from the website for this week:

Week Five - Alternative printing processes

This week was used to introduce us to our new project of alternative processes. As about half of my course is going to Paris this Sunday for five days they gave us the same project to do in Southampton. For this we have to find an image that we like in a gallery, take a photo of it, and then write about the process that went into printing it.
I was considering using an image by Julia Margaret Cameron for my work, as I have written about her for my Orientation project. I also knew that the Victoria and Albert Museum is currently exhibiting her work:

Annie - Cameron called this photo of her daughter her first success, 1864
http://averymccarthy.blogspot.com/2010/10/julia-margaret-cameron.html

The Kiss of Peace, 1869
http://uima.uiowa.edu/julia-margaret-cameron/

The Angel in the House, 1871
http://www.victoriaspast.com/JuiliaMCameron/juliacameron.htm

The reason I was thinking about her work is because, apart from using it for my other unit, is because all of her images are somewhat mystical, and seem to have an otherworldly beauty about them. They are simple, yet striking, which fascinates me about them.
However, I have also signed up for the workshop on alternative printing processes Thursday next week, and we were told that we would be allowed to use our own images for this project. I feel that actually having learned the process rather than just researching it would be more interesting to write and read about, as I can write about my own experience. Therefore, I have decided on writing about my own image.

Week Four - The second exhibition

This week we were putting together our next exhibition with the scanned images. In my group from the week before we all chose an image that we felt was the most about us, printed it and hung them up in our gallery.

Heather and Rachel taking a look around the new exhibition

My contribution to the exhibition

I felt like changing my image to one that was more about me, but since I already had something in the exhibition other things had to take priority. 


Overall, I found this project very boring. Everything else I have done in this unit was new to me, and therefore more exciting for me. I did know how to scan and I didn't feel like I learned anything new or interesting.


The book I found this week gave me some more examples of photographers who use text and photography together like Gilbert and George:

Cheeky Boy, By Gilbert and George, 1980
http://www.mutualart.com/Events/Auctions/Contemporary-Art--Day/417455374E0D9A0A/AuctionResults

Robert Barry
http://www.jpeg-heaven.com/page/171

I especially liked the work by Barbara Kruger:

http://www.dukevisualstudies.org/artsvis54/?m=200909

http://journal.geebirdandbamby.com/post/117547587/untitled-you-are-not-yourself-1981-by

http://suicideblonde.tumblr.com/post/12950498640/barbara-kruger

http://laflaneuse8.tumblr.com/post/3103801699/barbara-kruger-untitled-1987

I feel that her work relates the most to the work by Gilbert and George, because of the messages she conveys. However, I don't feel that her work is exaggerated at all. If anything, I think the simplicity in her work brings the meaning out more, because of that the images have a stronger feel to me.


Also, I found the series "Nature Preserve" by Jason DeMarte in the December 2011 edition of the British Journal of Photography, A different Take. It also uses very vivid colours and a combination of photography and digital montage, similar to Gilbert and George's more exaggerated work:

All of those: pp. 50-57