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Video of what my digital collage would look like when interacting with it

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Final Project Installation

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Final Project Installation 

I started my project by experimenting with both analog photography with the pinhole camera and digital collaging through the group project in week 4. My final project looks at the evolution of photography and media through collaging of images in multiple ways. My pinhole image, looks at time in two ways, the amount of exposure makes the different sections of photos look more or less light or dark depending on the size of the pinhole, whilst the subject and photos taken in each of the 9 sections are taken at exactly the same time. The black box beneath my pinhole image is my DIY pinhole camera with 9 sections, and my intention for making this was to create a collaged image without any digital work or collaging through editing or manipulation (ie. trimming, cutting and pasting). My aim was to capture a single subject at a single time and make collaged image with a single exposure. Even though the photos are taken at the same time, due to the different exposures they look slightly different and show different parts and movements of the branches and leaves. My digital collage was made on photoshop by trimming and editing a scanned version of my pinhole image. Different parts of my pinhole camera was used to create a collage of the branches however if you look closely all the branches are connected. the ability to interact with the digital work allows viewers to ‘follow’ the lines or paths created by the branches. Similarly to my pinhole image, the digital image has repeated compositions of branches, however trimming and rotating them has made them look slightly different, whilst zooming into the image allows viewers to look at the photograph and its details closely. however, zooming into the image distorts the digital collage, creating a pixelated image that is similar to the blurry textures of the pinhole image.

My aim was to look at how photography has changed and developed through the invention and incorporation of digital media such as photoshop. Through the digital manipulation of the pinhole camera, I lost the clarity of the image, however I also gained the ability to multiply and repeat images in my digital collage, making a digital collage that had multiple images of the same photo, eventually creating a bigger collage than my analogy photograph. Additionally, my digital collage is a never-ending cycle of branches, where if you start following one, you keep going in circles as you follow the path of branches. Thus, my project delves into the endless cycle of collaging and manipulation technology can allow, even on a photo that has been taken at a single moment in time, whilst the manipulation of my pinhole image is a static type of manipulation, where only the time and conditions of my pinhole camera can create and manipulate the image at the single time of exposure. 

My main inspiration for the digital collage was the ‘Joiners’ series by David Hockney that I researched, however unlike traditional joiners that use two or more images to create a collage of the subject, i have used a single image to create my ‘Joiner’ collage, thus further creating more of an illusion that multiple photographs have been used, whilst in reality only one photograph taken with one exposure has been cropped multiple to create this illusion.

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Process to create final digital collage with pinhole image

My final digital collage was heavily inspired by the Joiners series by David Hockney. After struggling to find a way to portray time through a digital collage that would allow me to develop my artwork to show the evolution of a photography, research about David Hockney’s work allowed me to develop a different type of ‘Joiner’. Unlike Hockney’s Joiner that illustrates multiple times in photo, my digital collage portrays a single moment of time that is multiplied and manipulated to show the ‘infinite’ quality and ability that technology allows us to create - where time is not static anymore and a single moment can become an infinite cycle. I wanted to portray this ‘infinite’ or ‘endless’ quality through the paths of branches that (should) connect and lead viewers on an endless cycle of viewing as every line/branch is connected to another. 

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Ideas for Creating Digital Collage using my Pinhole image 

The rectangles in my original pinhole image reminded me of pixels which were a very similar composition to the digital collage of the clouds. ideas for my digital collage started from trying to re-react the pixelated effect by multiplying the images from my pinhole image and cropping them. After scanning my pinhole image and uploading on my laptop i first tried to zoom in and out of the photo - eventually the photograph became pixelated and blurry, however the tones of black, grey and white where very similar to the tones of the nine images on my pinhole image if you look at them from afar. i wanted to try to re-create the pixelated effect of one section of the photograph, however i struggled to make it look cohesive and the images began to become too repetitive. I also tried to overlay the texture of the leaves onto the re-created pixelated images and this created a static effect that you may see on a television screen, however I also didn't see it adding to the project because my aim was to create a collage where viewers could interact with the image of the screen to zoom in and out from.  

After a few more attempts Started using ideas from the research I had done on Joiners on Photomontages and ended up creating a maze like composition with the pinhole image by reusing and cropping the images from the 9 sections.

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Final Digital Collage inspired by ‘Joiners’

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David Hockney’s Joiners Series 

https://photomuserh.wordpress.com/2012/03/04/david-hockney-photography-will-never-equal-painting/

http://thedelightsofseeing.blogspot.com/2011/03/cubism-joiners-and-multiple-viewpoint.html

“All photographs share the same flaw. Lack of time.” - David Hockney 

David Hockney started his Joiners series in the 1980s after experimenting with polaroid images he had taken in his room. At first he did not know what the images would become, however after collaging them together and matching up compositions, he started to realise that the whole image of the polaroid being connected made a narrative of its own as if the viewer was moving through the room. after this, Hockney continued to experiment by taking polaroids and arranging them in rectangular grids. he later experimented with 35mm prints to create photo collages, “compiling a complete picture from a series of individually taken photos”. Hockney was interested in how we depict space and time, how a 3 dimensional world can be depicted into a 2 dimensional world.

With Hockeys ‘joiners’ he aimed to overcome the limit of perspective, explaining that with a stationary camera can only show one point of view. 

Cubism also influenced his joiners series in trying to create a method where he could show multiple perspectives in one photograph. 

One of his most famous works is of the American highway where Hockney uses thousands of photographs to create a 2 meter  by 3 meter wide Joiner. to create this large joiner, Hockney took 8 days to document the American highway by taking close up shots of signs and walking the highway to get every detail. When looking at the artwork from afar the collage looks cohesive, whilst looking somewhat distorted - making audiences question the reality of the work. However, when looking at the work close up, audiences are able to see the lines  where each photo ends and start, and you begin to see the overlapping features of the composition such as pieces of rubbish and letterings on sign posts.

Hockney’s Joiners series captures time in a ‘static’ way, allowing him to portray the movement of time and a variety of moments in a ‘single’ picture that is motionless, unlike videos, however he is able to create a sense of movement through the mosaic and kaleidoscope effect through the collaging - making one static image that is able to capture the movement of time

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Experimenting with different subjects other than the movement of trees with my pinhole camera. 

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!!WEEK 5!! EXPERIMENTING FOR FINAL PROJECT

After making another pinhole camera with 9 sections instead of 4 I began retaking photos of trees and leaves. My intention was to create a collage of images that would have 9 images that slightly shifted in perspective and view of the subject, however I did not get the outcome I intended. For this, i think i would need to create a pinhole camera with more frames however i did not have to time to make another pinhole camera. I also struggled to get the same effect of dramatic movement like in my first pinhole photo taken during week 2 due to the weather and lack of wind. I also realised that the structure I made to make the 9 sections was too thick as I thought that if it was any thinner the light would seep into the neighbouring cell - to refine the collage effect and my pinhole camera i think i would experiment with more frames and thinner structures to see what the outcome would be. Furthermore, I realised that the different sizes of the pinhole effected the exposure varying the amount of light, darkness and clarity of the images. 

I hope to try taking some more photos on another day to see if i can get a better effect of movement. However, the outcome of having 9 photos with the exact same subject and perspective, only differentiated by the amount of exposure, is interesting since it would be impossible to capture the same movement of trees 9 times. the ability to capture a fleeting moment in multiple different with one exposure has helped me develop and brainstorm some ideas about time and the capturing of time through editing, manipulation of images and collaging. 

I also experimented with turning a negative photograph into a positive in the dark room for the first time.

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!!WEEK 5!! Testing out DIY pinhole camera

Whilst testing my pinhole camera, i tried using just one of the cells to see whether my pinhole camera would work. After i tried this, the image exposed was secluded in a small rectangle with a large border of white that was the unexposed areas.

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The area and subject used when taking photos of the movement of trees 

I chose this particular spot and tree because its leaves were falling quite close to the ground which allowed the camera to capture some larger portions of leaves that came closer to the pinhole, whilst also capturing some smaller branches/bunches of leaves.

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Our Final product for Week 4 Group work Presentation!!!!

Statement: Our work looks at media’s ability to manipulate time and thus, reality. We started by looking at time as a construct made by mankind, leading us to create a constructed world where multiple times are mixed into one photo. We did this by taking photos of the sky 5 times a day at the same time from three different locations. By combining these experiences or skies through collage with the use of technology, we delved into modern societies ability to experience multiple realities through media such as videos on YouTube and livestreams on Instagram. Additionally, we concluded that this merge of experiences or worlds creates an obscure and supernatural world where time is no longer solid when we get lost on social media. The pieces of sky taken from multiple times and places creates a fluid sky that does not depict one set time, however audiences are oblivious to this without context. Thus, through our fragmented collage of a simulated sky we look at media’s ability to construct realities or material worlds such as skies, through both manipulation and editing of photos with technology. We intend to simulate the unconscious manipulation of time and reality by technology as we construct a world where time is lost and is no longer fixed, raising question of how technology functions to manipulate the lines between the material world and the virtual world, whilst also bringing awareness to the construct of time that has been embedded into humanities everyday life.

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After changing our idea from using the rubik’s cube, we started thinking of some simpler ways to portray “time as a construct made by mankind”. This resulted in using collages of multiple photos of the same subject taken at different times to construct a reality where the lines of true/fixed time are blurred. After we decided that we would use clouds as our subject, we tested out how the collage would look like.

We also experimented with different filters, transparencies and editing of the clouds with erasure.   

We then decided that we would take photos of sky 5 times a day for 3 days in total, starting from 9am to 5pm, totalling in 45 photos all together to use for our collage. Some of the photos we took vvv

We then tested out multiple compositions.

During early stages we didn't erase any of the clouds, resulting in awkward transitions - we also didn't have enough time to take more photos. We also tried to create a mass of clouds in the middle instead of multiple groups of clouds.

Presentation - We debated on whether we should print the final product on paper to mimic advirtisements or magazines to reflect media manipulation such as using photoshop to cancel imperfections and merge photos to create the desired image, however we decided to present the final product through the projector. This allowed us to present it large scaled, whilst reflecting digital billboards in modern cities, additionally it also elevated the ‘pixelated’ effect of the image  since it imitates and concept of it being a screen of a simulated sky

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Original negative photo taken with pinhole camera in WEEK1 and scanned.

Scanned and edited on Photoshop to turn into a positive.

I scanned the negative photo taken with my pinhole camera and worked on it on Lightroom and Photoshop. After learning how to use both programs, I was able to erase unwanted specks of dust and scratches, whilst I also converted the negative print to a positive. I then edited the photo using contrast, brightness and curves to darken the image. It ended up picking more of the small imperfections and accentuating scratches in the print, but I liked the effect of it as it mimics the actual print rather than a digital image

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Thomas Kellner - Photomontage 

After reading about James Guerin’s inspiration for his 25 sectioned pinhole camera, I started doing some research to find the flickr photos he talks about in his interview.  

http://www.jdcfineart.com/thomas-kellner

https://www.featureshoot.com/2013/03/intricate-photomontages-of-famous-landmarks-from-the-eiffel-tower-to-the-brooklyn-bridge/

Thomas Kellner is a German photographer who takes photos of famous monuments around the world using strips of film to create a full picture of a subject where we are able to view in with a kaleidoscope effect. each photograph is slightly different in the angle he shoots the subject from and does to completely correspond to its neighbour creating a distorted, unbalanced image. his works challenge perspective and our preconceived knowledge of the subjects forcing viewers to try and figure out what the original subject would look like with the information we are given through the collages of photographs. their is a sense of movement and complete destruction in his works as the photographs distort and twist audiences line of vision. 

His works also create a sense of a distorted reality as he creates another realm where these landmarks are not as perfect or ordinary as we know them. from afar his photomontages create different shapes that morph into images or symbols of other objects - at a quick glance they look you might see a face or a silhouette of a person. the images that connect somewhat look connected but upon looking closer to the image it becomes difficult to connect them or make sense of what should be there, the notion of there being a whole entity of the landmark is lost as you begin to not remember what the original structure of the landmark looks like.

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Had a crash course on how to use Adobe Premiere today. 

I used my video of the trees taken with the mini televisio  box and further distorted the video using the wave effect, creating a ripple of colours and waves that kind of replicate sound waves. 

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Week 1 Video - capture and manipulate - try to add actual “filter” to the video