Experiments in the Darkroom challenge
You will have approximately 3 weeks to create a personal and meaningful outcome that originates in one or more experiments in the darkroom. Check the deadline for submission with your teachers.
You should consider the following:
You should consider the following:
- How might you further explore the way that photosensitive surfaces react to light? (TC#2) (TC#6)
- Which techniques/processes would you like to develop and refine (and possibly combine) - photograms, cyanotypes, pinhole? (TC#5)
- Which artists/photographers' practices might help you develop an interesting idea for your own work? What strategic research do you need to do? i.e. carefully selected websites, books, exhibitions etc.
- How will you document your research, ideas, experiments and outcomes? How will you exhibit/display your resolved outcome(s)?
Note: As long as your image(s) are initiated with an analogue process (using light sensitive materials and the darkroom), you may continue to develop and refine them using digital tools, processes and techniques as long as this is consistent with your research and ideas.
Here are some artists whose work you may find interesting:
Photogram research:
Find out why several artists/photographers began experimenting with cameraless photographs (photograms) in the early 20th century. This article presents a really useful historical overview. Explore the work of important makers of photograms, for example:
Explore a variety of contemporary artists/photographers who use various cameraless techniques and processes in their practice. You could start with those featured in the V&A's Shadow Catchers exhibition.
- Christian Schad (Schadographs)
- Man Ray (Rayographs)
- Laszlo Moholy-Nagy (photograms)
Explore a variety of contemporary artists/photographers who use various cameraless techniques and processes in their practice. You could start with those featured in the V&A's Shadow Catchers exhibition.
Cyanotypes experiment:
Research the history of the cyanotype process. Who was Anna Atkins and why is she important in the history of photography? Explain how you made your cyanotypes and evaluate the outcomes.
Check out Walead Beshty's cyanotypes installation at The Barbican. How has he chosen to use the process? How might you develop your use of cyanotypes?
Check out Walead Beshty's cyanotypes installation at The Barbican. How has he chosen to use the process? How might you develop your use of cyanotypes?
Pinhole and Binhole experiments
Document your experiments with the binhole. Attempt to develop and refine your technique. Evaluate the results.
Document the research, design and making of your own pinhole camera. Test in school and evaluate the results.
Document the research, design and making of your own pinhole camera. Test in school and evaluate the results.
35mm film experiment:
For this project we'll be experimenting with 35mm film. You 'll be introduced to a project for which you'll use a 35mm film camera and you'll use black and white film which we can then develop and further experiment with in the darkroom. This experiment will include:
- Shooting with b&w 35mm film
- developing your film in the darkroom after watching a demonstration
- Printing a contact sheet
- Developing a test print
- The best way to understand the aperture definition is to think of it as the pupil of an eye. The wider it gets, the more light it lets in.
- Together, the aperture settings, shutter speed, and ISO produce an exposure. The diameter of the aperture size changes, allowing more or less light onto the sensor. This depends on the situation and the scene being photographed.
- Creative uses of different aperture sizes and their consequences are tackled in Step 4. Put simply, when talking about light and exposure, wider aperture settings allow more light and narrower ones allow less.
- Aperture can be confusing. Some people will say a wide or narrow aperture, but others might say a large aperture. What is the difference? A wide aperture refers to the wide opening in the lens, where f/1.2-f/2.4 is being discussed.
- A large aperture refers to the number of f/stop, where f/32 or f/22 is being discussed. A low aperture and wide aperture are the same things – one talks about the size of the number and the other relates to the size of the opening.
- The same applies to when you're using an enlarger in the darkroom. This is essentially an 'upside down' camera so the same rules apply.