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Assessment Two, The Final Presentation:

Concept: Assessment two investigates through a modernist lens the cruel effects of industrialisation and capitalism on our dying natural world. My artwork intends to capture our capitalist greed by taking a beautiful, thriving and vulnerable natural flower, and cutting it from its host plant, so that we may hold its beauty for a moment. However looking closer at the apparent 'beauty behind the flower in the vase' it becomes clear that because we have disregarded its natural form, and put it in a man made vase and environment, it is now slowly dying.  By overlaying these macro images with the cityscape, my work is able to convey the long term effects of capitalism and industrialisation while also pointing to the idea that a single flower in a vase (a superficial viewpoint on nature) will be all that is left representing nature if we continue on this path.

Reflection: As I look at this work, I can't help but see the link between what I have created and Walead Beshty's artwork Travel Photos. Beshty's images were destroyed while going through a metal detector at an airport, however despite not coming out as he had intended the works themselves were still beautiful, particularly as he still interacted with them. Once I had discovered that the photos I had taken were slightly out of focus, similar to Beshty I decided to use the photos natural style to my own advantage. The photos blurriness may not have been intended, however it continues to point to the overall nostalgia of the work.

Techniques Used: - Over expose each image - Sandwiching film together in the enlarger - Marco photography + Landscape photography - Dodging and Burning - Under developing images in developer

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Assessment photography Sequencing / Layout

After I completed all of my photographs, I began to play around with the placement of them. The placement of each of the photographs is strongly dependant on their relationship to the photographs next to them, which is why it was important for me to look at the relationships between light, contrast and subject matter. I feel that the photos work best in the above order (it may be harder to see some of them due to the glare of the light) as there is a strong link between the amount of light and its general direction in each photo. The darker boarders on some of the photos have been placed next to images that have a darker contrast on that side, so that they blend in more. I am currently unsure whether I will be adding the last image on the left, however I have added it in for the purpose of sequencing.

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Darkroom Double Exposure Assessment Photos

With the help of Amanda and much experimentation, I have been able to create a series of photos that involve double exposure of close up images of flowers with city landscape. Each of these artworks uses a unique series of photos that were specifically chosen to go together. The style of these images is quite old, with a 50's 60's general feel given the quality of printing and composition, however I feel that plays to the strengths of the artwork. 

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Artist Research - Out of Focus Photography

As I have dabbled with the idea that my photography may be out of focus, I started researching various artists that create images which are purposely out of focus. Hengki Lee, Ekaterina Nosenko, Denné Alise, M.R. Krishnamoorthy and Nasos Zovo (all featured above) deliberately take photos with film cameras that are out of focus for the aesthetic provided. Out of focus film photography has a beautiful feel to it when it is done correctly. The things that feel very distinctive between each of these out of focus images above:

Each of the objects are large and easily recognisable

The movements are enchanting and distinct

Not a large amount of objects

The style of photography I am doing for this assessment, and the subject matter I want focuses on a single flower double exposed on a landscape background. I feel that if the image is slightly out of focus it could possibly correlate to an older image style such as What Ansel Adam's created.

I will be able to experiment more with the focus of my images when I get into the darkroom and start creating.

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Artist Research - Ansel Adams

As I have begun researching various techniques to create my double exposed images I have also been researching various artists who use double exposure to draw attention to their images. Ansel Adams is a photographic visionary, who is known to combine bond images to create statements about his ideas on the world. Adams first learned about photography and the Sierra Nevada Mountains as a child, on family vacation. His love for the medium and the place grew in tandem, and after his initial 1916 visit, Adams visited Yosemite annually. Originally working in the Pictorialist style, widely popular in the 1910s and 1920s, Adams encountered Paul Strand’s photography in 1930, and rejected his earlier painterly, soft focus style for a new “pure” and sharp focus approach.In 1932, Adams, Edward and Brett Weston, Imogen Cunningham, Willard Van Dyke, and a handful of other Bay Area photographers came together as Group f/64. They displayed their sharp-focus, modernist style of photography at San Francisco’s DeYoung Museum in an exhibition that stands as a landmark in the history of the medium.

The artworks above all (with the exception of the top one, featuring one of Adam's famous landscapes) use double exposure, and in particular the last two artworks combine natural elements such as flowers and trees with other more structured and man made objects. One of the things that I notice about Adam's work is that while he strives for every work to be a perfectly sharp and in focus image, his double exposures are less in focus. This could be because of the technology of the time, or the physical processing steps required to complete a double exposed image, however it has made me consider how I would feel about my work if it was out of focus. Not having the skills or timeframe to perfect a body of work that is fully in focus, I am considering the possibility that the artwork I create may be out of focus. 

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Dodging and Burning Research

As my negatives have come out incredibly dark, I have become interested in researching the dodging and burning process beyond the darkroom UNSW Moodle document provided:

Dodging

If a spot is too dark and shows little or no detail, then dodging is the  option for you. Essentially, you need to block light from that spot for a few  seconds during exposure. Remember, less light will give you a lighter exposure,  so you can lighten up the dark space to see some more detail. Dodging is done  with any object that completely blocks light, although some darkroom experts  will use objects with some opacity. The light blocking material should form a  similar shape to the trouble spot. Using the tool, block the light from hitting  the trouble area for a second or more depending on how much you need to lighten  the area. If you simply cover the spot with the tool, an outline of the object  will be present on the paper, so it is imperative that you slightly shake the  tool to prevent this from happening.

Burning

If a spot on your print is too light, then burning is the correct option.  Burning works exactly the same as dodging, just inversely. Burning will add  more light to a trouble spot to darken it. To use the burning technique, add  additional exposure time for the print. For the duration of the extra time,  block everything you do not wish to change so that only the light spot is  exposed. The additional exposure time will darken the spot to create a more  even tone. Once again, it is imperative that you slightly shake the light  blocking tool to prevent any outlines from appearing on your print.

Bibliography:

http://www.guidetofilmphotography.com/dodging-burning-darkroom-techniques.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewcsEHi8Vbg

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Technique Research - Pablo Inirio

After discovering how dark my images were after developing them, and Furth more how dark they would be after double exposing the contrasts I decided to start researching artists who have faced a similar fate with their works, however they have enhanced them. Pablo Inirio is a master darkroom printer for the prestigious Magnum photo agency, charged with the responsibility of making prints of some of the most iconic black and white images in history. He uses a variety of techniques to enhance the images, including dodging and burning. He also uses a variety of other techniques, however after extensive research I haven't been able to find specifics of these. I have decided to investigate dodging and burning further in light of this, to see if I can edit the images.

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Sandwiching / Double Exposing Prints

One of my main concepts for this assessment, after much consideration and processing, was the double expose photos of beautifully delicate flowers over the top of landscapes. Unfortunately despite research and experimentation, I haven't been able to get the exposure right and have created dense photographs which when exposed on top of each other create an overall darker image, however it is quite beautiful. With this in mind I am currently researching contrast filters as well as dodging and burning and how I can incorporate this into my work.

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Assessment 2 - Film Processing

Once I completed taking photos on 4 roles of film, I developed all the roles to see what I had created. My photos came out quite dense and dark, however the images themselves were very clear. Seeing these photos now exposed, I am beginning to research how to make a dark image lighter using filters, as well as further experimentation around the sandwiching technique. 

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Assessment 2 - City Landscape Photography

With the due date for assessment two closely approaching, I decided to go out and take some landscape shots of the city skyline. This is for me to overlay with my flower photos and experiment with double exposure. The locations I took photos at around Sydney were:

Sydney Central Station

Eddy Avenue, Central Station

Hyde Park, facing St James Station

Art Gallery Road, overlooking the M1

Botanical Gardens, overlooking the city

Walsh Bay

Oxford Street

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Assessment 2 - Macro Flower Photography

One of the ideas that I had for completing this assessment was around capturing macro photography of flowers, and then double exposing these images over a number of different subject matters. To complete the macro photography element of my idea I purchased a number of flowers and photographed them against a white background. This ensured that the foreground (the flower) is a darker silhouette and the background is lighter and able to have another image exposed over the top. The general set up for my macro-photography included:

White curtain hung up on the fence

Series of flowers

Tall, glass vase

Small amount of water for vase

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Assessment 2 - Landscape Photography Component

After having an unsuccessful photoshoot with my previous visit to caves beach, I decided to go back and revisit the location to try and recapture some of the photographs which I originally intended to. The previous time I was at this location I came up with a new photography concept for this assessment, which involved double exposing macrophotography of flowers with a city landscape which I am starting to compile photographs for, however I also wanted to continue exploring the landscape photography idea so that I have a wider variety of images and pathways for this assessment as I move into the development phase.

My photography goals for the next week are:

Continue to capture more images of flowers in a macro sense

Capture secluded landscapes of mountains, beaches and trees

Capture bustling cityscape images

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Assessment 2 Direction Reassesment

After attempting to take a roll of film which was unsuccessful, I started to have another series of ideas flow in relation to this assessment and its general direction. Curious to see how other artists in history expressed similar ideas the same way that I did, I began to do further technical and inspirational research on a variety of artists to guide my process. After completing this, I have come up with the following concepts to inspire the direction this assessment will take. Each idea is based off a similar concept, however is presented and created in a different format as explained below. Each of these is a working idea and concept, and this guide is only to give a rough estimate:

Glass Vase

Concept: Glass Vase investigates how our lives are curated to appear one way however the reality of them is very different. It is all determined by perspective and how we see things. Capturing a single beautiful flower in all its glory in contrast to a city landscape which has fully taken over any original natural land. The artwork itself is intended to not only point to humanities greed by wanting to keep that one flower even though it will eventually die, but also pointing to the idea that a single flower in a vase will be all that is left from deforestation and industrialisation. A flower in a vase represents the fake perception of nature and vanity of society, particularly as its contrasted with the city landscape. By using a film camera for this series we are investigating the nostalgia of a beautiful flower representing natures vulnerability, and how time has captured this moment of a dying flower. However not even these photos could escape the grasp of industrialistation which is why they are overlayed with the cityscape photos.

Execution: A vase holding a beautiful flower is photographed with a macro lens, which is then double exposed over the top of a cityscape. Creating a story told in each image. Possible landscape reflection in vase.

Good Old Days

Concept: Investigating how our natural landscape is deteoriating from a number of environmental issues, such as capitalisation. Looking at the destruction of the natural habitat to build cities.

Execution: Creating seemingly old photographs using a dying medium to match with a dying world. Each photograph taken would be of a beautiful landscape, overlayed with a youthful person or image of a city using sandwiching and dodging/burning as film techniques.

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Artist Research - Wanda Wulz

Wanda Wulz, a portrait photographer loosely associated with the Italian Futurist movement, created a series of strikingly composed artworks by printing two negatives—one of her face, the other of the family cat—on a single sheet of photographic paper. Her double exposures are well known in the world of photography, as they evoke an uneasy feeling of the surreal.

Wulz has become an unexpected yet evermore important artist to research as I continue this assessment as her works not only technically speak to what I aim to create, but also emit the same feelings to their audiences. Each work inspires wonder and curiosity along with an uneasiness and even a grotesqueness on some level. The art that I am inspired to create for this assessment is not strikingly beautiful like Ken Duncan's, nor purely truthful like Tacita Deans, but more inspiring and curiosity sparking such as Ruben Wu's, Maya Beano's and Jerry Ulesmann, with a feeling such as evoked by Wanda Wulz.

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Artist Research - Jerry Uelsmann

As I am becoming more fascinated with the double exposure technique, I decided to research artists who have used the Double Exposure Sandwiching technique throughout history in Art.

Jerry Uelsmann

Jerry N. Uelsmann is an American photographer and was an early exponent of photomontage in the 20th century in America. His works came to prominence during the 1960's in the Pop Art era, and is known for creating multiple exposure artworks using techniques such as dodging, burning and sandwiching. Specialising in darkroom effects, Uelsmann relies on multiple exposures and uses many enlargers to achieve his dream-like imagery. Notable examples include Apocalypse I, which features a cloud resembling a bomb exploding in the distance, and Journey into Self, which depicts an individual engaged in meditation.

Uelsmann's works are particularly interesting to me because they feature a mastery of dark room techniques. Each photo is enhanced to create a surreal and dream like image, which could be fascinating to explore further in this assessment.

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Double Exposure Technique Research

While I have been researching the double exposure in the camera, creating a random double exposure, as I have been struggling to take successful film photos to begin with I didn't want to risk ruining my film.

Investigating other techniques of how I could create multiple exposures outside of the camera and with more control, I came across a technique called Slide Sandwiching.

Slide Sandwiching:

Create Over-exposed images by 1/2 to 1 stop (the opposite to in camera double exposure which requires the images to be under exposed.

Put rolls of film on a light box to look at the effect of how the image will come together on photo paper.

Silhouettes (photographs captured of bright straight lines) go well over lighter images to add structure.

Dark areas will mask lighter areas; in a double exposure, light areas will burn through dark areas.

When combining two slides, the important thing to keep in mind is that dark areas on one slide will obscure lighter things on the other slide. This is an advantage if one slide is a silhouette against a light background, so let’s start there. A picture of a sunset might be nice, but it will have greater impact if you provide a strong foreground by sandwiching it with a silhouette of a tree, a boat, or some other appropriate subject. On the other hand, if you have a silhouetted subject against a dismally bald sky, you’ll be much happier if you sandwich it with a prettier sky image–one with puffy clouds, a rainbow, or, of course, that gorgeous sunset.

Bibliography Links:

http://learnmyshot.com/multiple-exposure-photography-technique/

https://www.canva.com/learn/create-magically-surreal-photographs-using-double-exposure/

http://thedelightsofseeing.blogspot.com/2011/10/sandwich-negatives-and-multiple.html

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Experiment Two Reflection - Landscape Photography

With the due date for assessment two approaching, I organised a trip to cave beach to capture some unique and beautiful scenery, inspired by Reuben Wu and Maya Beano. After taking photos in a number of locations, as shown by the location shots taken on my phone above, I found that I had an issue with my film not being loaded correctly, which meant none of my photographs came out. Disappointed with this outcome, I have decided to go into university on the next available day to develop the film, ensuring that it didn't expose correctly, and load another roll of film with the help of the resource center to ensure that it has been done correctly.

While I am upset with the outcome of this roll of film, the scenery and walk along the beach gave me time to think and reflect on where I can take this assessment. I noticed that the photos I was taking were composed to make the beach look secluded, however there were people everywhere given it was a warm autumn day. Reflecting on this, I noticed how a lot of our lives are curated to appear one way however the reality of them is very different. It is all determined by perspective.

Still very interested by double and triple exposure photography, as shown by Maya Beano and the close up nature photography of Mary Parker, I had an idea of capturing freshly cut flowers as one exposure, particularly with a dark background and very still life like, over exposed with a picture of the fresh flowers growing naturally, and possibly an exposure of either a landscape or person over the top of this. To create this triple or even quadruple exposure I would have to do a lot of research around the best way to create double exposures in the developing process.