EXPERIMENTS IN THE DARKROOM
Using Negatives
To begin out work in the darkroom, we used medium format negatives and enlargers to make larger prints. Instead of making prints as you usually would we decided to cut them up to make a 'new' negative. We also cut holes in various sizes of cartridge paper and used the cut outs to make out enlargements more interesting.
Here are some examples of the prints we made:
Here are some examples of the prints we made:
This was the print I had produced using my cut up negative.
What are photograms?
A photogram is essentially a photograph made without a camera. Instead it uses photographic paper (also known as light sensitive paper), light and objects.
How are they made?
Photograms are made by using an enlarger, photographic (or light sensitive) paper, and objects, The objects you choose are laid out on the photographic paper and exposed to light for a few seconds. After the photogram has been exposed to the light from the enlarger it needs to be developed. This is done by putting the photogram in the developer for 2 minutes, stop for 1 minute and fix for 2 minutes, it then should be washed and dried. .
Which materials work best?
Materials such as lace, netting, wire mesh or knitted fabric create very interesting designs and textures over the top of other objects.
I personally think that the best materials to use are things like leaves and objects that can't be seen though (like metal or wood). I think this because when the right settings are used, there is a very high contrast between the white from the object and the black from where there was no objects.
I personally think that the best materials to use are things like leaves and objects that can't be seen though (like metal or wood). I think this because when the right settings are used, there is a very high contrast between the white from the object and the black from where there was no objects.
Why does one material work better?
One material may work better because it is more or less opaque so more or less light can go though it. I think objects that are more opaque work best because you can get a contrast between where the light directly hit the paper (and turns black) and where the object gets in the way (so the area goes white).
Moholy Nagy
he was a Hungarian painter and who was highly influenced by constructivism the integration of technology and industry into the arts. photograms intrigued him by their richness in the material. his first photogram was made in 1922 Berlin carried on Until 1946. there are 430 pieces in the collection and its the largest collection presented so far.
Man Ray
(Emmanuel Radnitzky)
His 'rayographs' are photographs made without a camera by placing objects on light sensitive paper and exposing it to light. He discovered this technique by accident in his darkroom. He had photographed everyday things and was a fashion photographer for Vouge.
These are the photograms I have made in the darkroom using various objects such as: leaves, wire. keys, pieces of cut up paper etc. I found that the best materials to use are the ones that are thick enough to not allow any light through, although when translucent materials are used it gives a lighter shade, allowing the photogram to have a range of tones. All of these photograms were exposed between 2 and 5 seconds, and put into the developer, stop and fix.
Here I have made two new photograms that are collages and include colour. I did this to see what I could make out of all my photograms in Photoshop and to see how the photograms looked in colour. To do this I took two or three photograms and cropped parts, I then copied and pasted these parts onto a 'base' layer and changed the hue/saturation Until I liked the colour it produced.
Chemigrams
Chemigrams made outside the darkroom
These are the chemigrams I have made using photographic paper and different chemicals (along with develop, stop and fix). The chemicals i have used are acetone, antibacterial spray and hand cream. i think that the acetone worked best when it was put into the developer as it made a really nice splatter kind of mark.
Chemigrams made inside the darkroom
This is the chemigram i made in the dark room where the paper had previously been exposed to natural light then the light from the enlarger. i really like the way that this one came out as it gives a toatally different effect from the one made outside the darkroom.
PIERRE CORDIER
On November 10th 1956, CORDIER was writing a message to a young German woman (named Erika) using nail polish and photographic paper, here he discovered what he later named the Chemigram. This technique, which "combines the physics of painting (varnish, oil, wax) and the chemistry of photography (photosensitive emulsion, developer, and fixer), without the use of a camera or enlarger, and in full light", became a ways or him to experiment. While he was doing this research he still carried on career in professional photography, until completely abandoning it in 1967.