Intro to the brief
In the digital age where notions of 'fast', 'co convenient', and 'automatic' are promoted, the importance and influence of fundamental techniques in photography are often overlooked. Indeed, photoshop emerged out of traditional methods of images control in the darkroom, where 'wet photography' techniques enable photographers to create and manipulate the image through the control of processes and materials. This unit aims to equip quip learners with skills, knowledge and understanding to develop and manipulate analogue black and white photos in the darkroom. It offers learners the opportunity to recognise and achieve professional standards in technical application and the quality of final print outcomes.
The History of photography
The history of photography started way back in the 5th-4th Centuries B.C. by the Chinese and Greek philosophers describe the basic principles of optics and the camera. Thousands of years later between 1664 - 1814 many scientists such as Isaac Newton discovers that white light is composed of different colours. Johann Heinrich Schulze discovered that silver nitrate darkened upon exposure to light. who helped to play a big part on how to control light.
In 1814 Joseph Niepce, who firstly achieves photographic image by the use of early device for projecting real life imagery called a camera obscura. but it required a really long exposure time of light and later faded
During the 18th century other sciences jumped on to the band wagon to see who can find a way of capturing a still image with out it fading aways right up to the 1840's where people such as Louis Daguerres came up with the first daguerreotype an image that was fixed and did not fade and needed under thirty minutes of light exposure; Alexander Wolcott for his camera. photography began in the darkroom and William fox Talbot he is known has the founding farther of photography because he was the one managed to found out the how to get an image to stay without fading away but then others came along and found other way to make it quicker and even portable. Fox Talbot also came up with the Calotype process, the first negative-positive process making possible the first multiple copies. In 1851, Frederick Scott Archer invented the Collodion process so that images required only two or three seconds of light exposure. By 1871 Richard Leach Maddox invented the gelatin dry plate silver bromide process, which means negatives no longer had to be developed immediately.
During the later part of the 18th century the development of photography slowly managed to pick up speed as the invents of flexible, paper-based photographic film and Kodak roll - film camera came around.
At the start of the 19th century the first marketed camera, called the Brownie end up going on sale and alongside of the first 35mm still camera was developed. General electric came about and the modern flash bulb was invents.
Throughout out the 19th century all the way until today the growth of photography carries on from the introduces of Koda colour negative film in the 1940's and the launch and markets of the Polaroid camera.
During the 60's a development was done for extreme depth underwater cameras came about for the U.S. Navy; with the introduction of Polaroid came colour film. A photograph of the earth was taken from the moon. In 1978 the first point and shoot auto focus camera was made and the 1980's Sony came up with the first camcorder for capturing moving picture. Four years later Canon demonstrates first digital electronic still camera.Finally, the world's first mobile phone with built-in camera for recording videos and still photos came about.
contemporary photographers
Chris McCaw is a contemporary American photographer. He has been working in the darkroom since the age of 13. After high school, his passion for photography grew, taught himself everything that he could learn about the subject. However, he fell in love with using a large format camera and in 1992 he got his first 4" x 5". as the year went by, he started to adore using platinum/palladium printing process and even large camera. Now today he is making a living through the platinum/ palladium of analogue photographic mediums with him project being titled sunburnt.
The image that I’m talking about is part of a body of work each image is black and white also each one is called Sunburned. This image looks it been folded into four sections and burned a little down the fold lines, however it turns out that it real just four big images each of them printed on 4”x10” unique gelatin silver paper negative then burnt on one side. Inside each segment, there is part of what seems to be a mountain or a hill. A black dot that is supposed to be the sun at different times of the day as the sun is setting, on the other hand, if the image was flipped over it could show that the sun is rising. It not clear if his allowed for thirty minutes exposure time or is each print done with thirty minutes apart to allow for the sun to move across the sky.
McCaws works in the old darkroom film camera style where his work is allowed to have a long exposure time that is needed for his photography. McCaw's work usually is a play on words such as Sunburnt he would take a photo of the sunburn marks to break up the different time where the sun is in the sky it gives me the impression that he wanted to play on the word Sunburned by taking multiple exposures on with the sun in different places in the sky. Each exposure is taken develop on four unique gelatin silver paper negatives, put together to create one set of an overall outcome.
Cameraless photography | Darkroom workshop | Photograms
To be able to do the photogram I needed to cut the light sensitive paper to sized 8 x 10 then to do a test print where you stick the paper on the enlarger place your objects on the paper where ever you like. once you are happy you then do a 2 seconds intervals exposure and after the first exposure you move your cardboard or what ever you use to block the light of from the paper and you carry this on on until you get to the end of paper then you send it through the developer and see how what time works best. I went for 14 seconds because I found that it was the right exposure
Cameraless photography | Darkroom workshop | Pin hole photography
Blackout 3D area such as the likes of a shoebox with a pin hole to allow light to pass through
back to front black and white image with a long exposure
depending on the lighting conditions this will have an impacted on the exposure time
the exposure time for this image was only 1min and half long then when the time was up quickly I needed to cover up the the pin hole then I needed to quickly get the image developed
Camera less photography | Darkroom workshop | Camera Obscura
We turned the classroom into a camera this was done by blacking out the room to our best ability and only allowed for a small pool of a light to pass thought
this turn out to be successful but sadly the scene was existing however it was weird to see the building upside down and how by just blacking out the room allowing the to be no light what so ever part from a small pool of light coming from a hole the size of a pin allowed the outcome to be upside down I found it mind blowing.
behind the scenes from when we blackout the classroom
Darkroom workshop | Unique Printing Masks
This is simple all that is need to be done to cut out an aperture from cardboard then from the cut out you shave off about a millimetre of each side this is to help create a small thin black board around the image. once you are happy with the cuts you made you then take your cardboard and the place that you cut out into the darkroom and tap down to work as a leaver to allow to get the paper in and out from under it. then you just simply continue out the normally stages off developing the images but before you send the image through the developer you apply the cut out on top the paper into the gap that you have crated and exposer light about three times longer then the images.
The is good thing about this is it makes each the same as it creates a unique boarder around each images and give all of the images a signer look that over people who look at it will be able to identify that it is your work.
I started off doing a test to find out how long a need to exposure light to the print. this was done by setting the timer to 1 seconds then moved a piece of card to cover up part of the image and after each second I would slowly move the card across the image once this was done I was able to find out what exposure I needed however it wasn't clear so I had to do it again but increase the timer up to 2 seconds then I was able to work out what I really need to set the time to. So I set the timer to 10 seconds then covered the image up with the bit I cut out and place it on to of the already exposed part of the paper and set the timer to 30 seconds which allowed for a small black bored when the timer went off I then just sent the developer machine and move on to another image.
Darkroom workshop | Silver Drips
Silver drips is a technique that is done once you exposed light to the light sensitive paper for form a. once that is done instead of putting the image into a tray of developer you have the image standing upright and paint the developer on or instead of painting you can use the brush to splatter the developer onto the paper no matter what you choice todo it makes the final outcome a one of a kind as it cant be recreated after you done applying the developer you the put the paper into the fix then into the wash as normal.
Darkroom workshop | Chemigrams and Combination printing
Chemigrams is done when you might want to try out different things like Salt & vinegar, tomato ketchup and mayonnaise, all sprinkled with coffee and coffee creamer you apply things to the light sensitive paper before putting it through the develop process however before you go though that stage you might need to wait for the things that you applied to the paper to start showing signs of developing with it getting exposed to white light then you will need to wash off the different things before sending the paper throughout the developing stages.
Darkroom workshop | Sandwich Printing and Double Exposures
this is where you have two negatives in one neg carrier to get a double exposure effect. so you would put one negative frame and overlay it over another negative frame. you can get a different effect by switching the images arounds what makes a great print is when you put together two different images that have fine balance between them both.
this can be done by two ways first is by sandwich negatives together and the different way of doing is shooting the same roll twice but they need to be at less one step under exposed to allow for double exposure to work and to show up on the paper.
Darkroom workshop | Solarisation
this was do by mistake that was found by the apprentice of a photo scientist who accidentally turn out the white light in the middle of processing images however they was surprise with effect of the outcome as it revises the tones of the images.
I started off with an idea where I wanted to do chemigrams at the time of having an image exposed on the paper then use the same chemicals that was used for the chemigrams and see it to would work during the development process however I didn't know how much light is really needed for it to work if it dose work.
but by doing this it lead into being side tracked into solarisation and I need to work out still how much light and what strength of light to use to recreate it.
first of all I used a lighter but the flame wasn't strong enough to cause any impact on the development.
So secondly, I then used the white light from the light build that in the darkroom and turn on and quickly turn it off with only a second exposure from the light.
Next, ideas was to do the same of the thing with the light build but exposure the paper for a longer time which was only a few seconds long, this did have an improvement however it turn out not to fully work so I tried it with the led light that where outside in of the dark room this gave right result that I was looking for with
Darkroom workshop | film processing push/pull processing
pushing the film processing is done when a photographer might put in the wrong film iso speed into the camera or when they have the right speed film iso in a camera but the light conditions might change so the photographer would need to perhaps change the iso on the camera but when the film is ready for developing the developing time will need to longer depending on how many iso stops the camera setting was changed to. However, pulling the film processing is almost the same thing but the photographer put a high iso film in the camera and they need to change the iso setting on the camera down a few iso stops depending on the light conditions during the shoot.
Darkroom workshop | Toning
When you are done with developing your images, some photographer would see their black and white prints into a colour tint to add a tone to the image. For example, you might add a sepia tone to give the print a smokey vintage finish to it. The internet image below shows some of the different types of tones that can be done and their effects.
Understand film types | Film speed and ISO
This film speed and ISO only matter on the different lighting condition that you could end up working in, higher the ISO darker the lighting condition is bigger the ISO you will be allowing for more light to pass through smaller the ISO-less light will be passing through the lens.
Depending on the ISO that you end up using will also have an impacted on the shutter speed you end up using. Also, you have to remember to stay away from preventing noise within the images and keep the image crisp and sharp.
Understand paper types | different type of papers that can used in a darkroom
the is different type of paper depending on what you want to print such as black and white or colour because the chemicals are different depending if you want to a black and white image or a colour image.
Darkroom set up
The is darkroom is set up is done in stages firstly you got the enlarger which is uses to create contact sheet and your images. some darkrooms might have a developer machine...
Enlarger
The enlarger allows you to place your negative into the film career and projects the image down onto the baseboard. You would use the enlarger lens and focal lens to make sure the image is at the right size and is in focus at the point that is of satisfaction to you. If in doubt and you think the picture isn't in focus, you can use the loupe (focusing magnifier) to check the clarity of the film grain.
Once happy with the sizing and you have the correct focusing, you can put a light-sensitive strip paper onto the baseboard easel. The enlarger is then set to various second intervals. You work from left to right blocking the parts of the paper that don't need to be exposed to the light.
When you have completed the test, you feed the paper through the developer. If images are under/overexposed, you keep repeating the process until you find the right exposure time that works for that image.
This internet example above shows how the techniques are done in the darkroom.
The developer goes through a few different chemicals such as developer which allows the image to show up on the light-sensitive paper; the stop bath stops any further development and finally place them into the fixed bath to remove any chemicals and stops the paper from being sensitive to light.
Contact sheet of my shoots
How to create a contact sheet is easy firstly place the negatives on to the bass board with the light sensitive paper under it. you then make sure the lens of the enlarger is fully open for a quick exposure time. a test print is needed to be done with individual timing on it then you found out what exposure time is right and do a final contact sheet as a contact sheet is only need to check the outcome of the over all shoot.
A Risk Assessment and health and safety
You must wear gloves, goggles and aprons at all time stop to any of the chemicals that may inflame your skin and stop the photographical chemicals from stain and damage your clothing
No smoking
No Music on when working in the dark room
If you spill a chemical, clean it up as soon as possible
Don't drink the chemicals
Don't bring food and drink into the darkroom when you are woking in there.
Turn off any electrical equipment when you have stop using them
Doors should be kept closed to avoid fogging of film paper
Always use Tongs when tray developing prints
In case chemicals may end up in your eyes rinse for at least 10 - 15 minutes in warm water.
Film Processing
First of all I took the film out of the canister and put the film onto the spiral in complete darkness because the film is so sensitive. In the tank there are chemicals that are the same as for wet processing. There is a light tank and a dark tank. I used the light tanks and had to agitate the film every couple of minutes for it to develop. After10 minutes I took the chemicals out and replaced them with water. This cleans it and prevents further development. For 100 ISO it needs to develop for 10 minutes then be put in water for one minute. Then a fix chemical will make the image permanent. This is the same process where I agitate it for 10 minutes and then give it a quick wipe with a sponge to remove any water drips and dust marks. Then the films were hung out to dry. The drying process can take a reasonable amount of time depending on the heat in the room. These took between 10 and 30 minutes to dry
Wet Processing
This is a similar process to film processing but wet processing is done once you have exposed light onto the light sensitive paper. It works in three stages. Firstly you put the print into the tray with the developer and agitate it until you can see the print start to appear, when satisfied with this it needs to be washed in normal water to stop it developing further. This second step is called the stop bath. Thirdly, the print needs to be left in the fix chemical and agitate to cover it. It can then be left in the fix until it is developed completely this normally take up to 10 minutes. The difference with wet processing is that a red lighting addition can be used throughout this process. After the fix it can be washed in water to get rid of any dirt or dust and to the fix chemical or developing chemicals that didn't get washed off. Then the prints can be hung out to dry.
Dodging & Burning
Depending on the image you might need to do some dodging and burning techniques to add more light in some areas of the image or to take out light depending on what you would like the outcome to be.
This technique is also used in photoshop. However, it was the original way of editing how an image would look.
dodging is used to block light hitting part of the paper and gives part of the image less light compared to the rest of the image, however when you are burning your allowing for more exposure time of light to hit the paper but you nee to block of the rest of the image.
A key thing to remember is to try and make sure that you allow for a long exposure time so you can allow for burning and dodging can be done if needed.
The image on the the right has a over all had thee same exposure time but to get the I needed to block of some areas of the image to bring out the sky so I need to block part of part of the image then allowed more light to hit the paper this all to bring the sky.
Visual Assignment 1 - Light and shade
- Evaluate photographic outputs.
Visual Assignment 2 - Picture place
- Evaluate photographic outputs.
Overall I feel like am like this unit went really well i enjoy looking at different ways a photo can be taken and processes, doing the different development techniques I found that they have really open my mind to other ways. Doing the workshops helped me to develop further as a photographer and to expand on my love for working in the darkroom.
My favourite part of this was the solarisation workshop because of how quickly it changed the tones of the outcome. I believe the solarisation gave stronger outcomes.
Also how I can benefit from trying out a different workshop.
When I was doing the sandwich printing two negatives together workshop I found it that it was easy to pick out different images that would work together once they have been overlaid.
Once I was done with my shoot and managed to view them I found out during the workshops that I had a mixture of shoot images that could be used on either or both of the shooting tasks, which came handy. Also I enjoy shooting on film because. It forces you to slow down when shooting as you can only do 24 images per film role. The downside is that the developing time can take a bit of time.
Also I messed up on some of the films, like one time I forgot to press the button at the bottom of the camera to release the film and help to rewind the film without it ripping but I missed that step out, also on some of the shoot I forgot to focus before I pressed the shutter so I might have had a good shoot but I was out of focus.
This unit has also helped me improve my time management because of the time to process images.