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Final Images

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Evaluation

As this project required me to go to locations with equipment rented out from the loans desk it required careful planning and consideration. This took the form of researching the locations online beforehand to find out if I am allowed to take photos and the opening times. I also scouted out the location in person to consider the practicalities of shooting at each location safely, this allowed me to fill out the risk assessment forms for renting out the Hasselblad camera and the Toyo camera. 

Visiting each location prior to shooting meant that I had some pre conceived ideas regarding the composition and subject matter of my images, this allowed me to be effecient when photographing so that I captured all of the images that I needed with the limited 24 exposures that I had. I allocated a certain number to portraits, landscape and architectural. I think that my planning stage for this project was crucial as opposed to digital photography analogue takes a lot more time, so managing my time well meant that I could get each step of the process done with time to spare if anything did not go to plan with the film. I was less confidend with analogue photography than digital at the beginning of this project so organising my time to have spare time allowed me to get to know the equipment well beforehand. Attending the workshops for the equipment gave me the knowledge to carry out the shoots to the best of my ability. 

Visiting and photographing multiple locations further developed my depth of work  for this brief, allowing me to choose the best series of images from three serperate locations; Temple Meads, Totterdown and Temple Meads. 

My research in to other analogue practioners such as Berenice Abbott and Gerry Johansson who have produced projects around a single place allowed me to see how other artists got across a ‘sense of place’ using images. Berenice Abbott’s use of by-standers in her images was something that I took inspiration from for this project as I felt that people in frame made the image more relatable to the audience and provided more context regarding how people interact with each location.

I am happy with my outcome for this project, I learnt how to use two new pieces of equipment that I had not used before - the Hasselblad medium format camera and the Toyo large format camera. The developing film stage was also successful and all of my images came out correct, however some of the exposures have dust imperfections. To improve on this next time I would take more care when developing my film to ensure that the environment is dust free and the developing tools I use are clean. 

Two out of the four images that I took on the Toyo large format camera were softly focused. This would have been due to me not focusing my images enough when I was setting up the camera. To see through the view finder of the Toyo camera clearly you have to use a black cloth over your head to block out all of the light apart from that which is coming through the view finder. At this stage I should have taken more time to ensure my desired image was properly focused - perhaps using an eye piece magnifying glass.

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Conclusion

For this project I was briefed with producing a series of four 10x8” monochrome darkroom prints produced using medium format film and camera (Hasselblad) that must include at least one location portrait and one landscape image, as well as one 12x16” monochrome print produced using large format film and camera (Toyo 5x4”) of a building or structure within my area. My location letter was ‘T’. 

After visiting and shooting at three locations, Totterdown, Temple Meads and Temple Gardens, I decided that my best series of images was from Temple Gardens. I came to this conclusion because Temple Gardens had the best and most interesting subject for a single building image. 

My approach for the required outcome was to have my large format image as the main image of the series, due to it being much larger, and to have the four medium format images complimenting this image. I therefore decided to make the church the subject for the bulding photograph, utilising the tilt shift function of the Toyo large format camera to create my desired perspective of the building whilst being far enough away to get the whole building in shot. 

For my four medium format images I wanted to include two detail shots of the church to compliment the large format image, one landscape/surrounding area image and one environmental portrait. I decided on this combination of images to be my final outcome as I wanted to present a range of perspectives, subjects and genres of photography to create my ‘sense of place’, instead of four images of the same style. 

I chose the environmental portrait I did because I think that the subject of the image is the most relevent to the series. The formal, dark suit that the subject is wearing is the kind of clothing you would generally associate with a church environment - I actively chose passers by that I thought would compliment the setting of the portrait. The elderly age of the subject also plays in to the relevence of the portrait, as people would more closely associate an older person attending a church than a young person.

Inspired by Berenice Abbott my photograph of the pathway lined with trees through Temple Gardens has a person walking through it. I decided to include this image in my series as it provides a sense of scale for the viewer and makes it apparent that this Church is in a public accessable area of Bristol. Without the figure in the image there is less for the viewer to engage with, but with the figure a narrative between the location and the person can be speculated at. 

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My Final 12x16” Monochrome Print

I have chose this large format image out of the four that I shot because it shows the whole of the Church, whereas the other three were close up detailed compositons which would not have conveyed as much to the audience. This image also goes well with my four chosen medium format images as they are ‘detail’ and closer composition, none of them show the whole church. 

Two of the other images I took on the Toyo were softly focus which was a noticeable and distracting imperfection when the negative was enlarged on to 12x16″ photographic paper. However this image is well focused and exposed, with a strong range of pure white through to pure black. A well contrasted image is much more visually engaging than a flat, grey-toned image. I spent a lot of time creating test strips of different times and grades at different lens apertures to get my desired range of tones.

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My Series of Four 10x8” Monochrome Prints

For my four medium format images I wanted to include two detail shots of the church to compliment the large format image, one landscape/surrounding area image and one environmental portrait. I decided on this combination of images to be my final outcome as I wanted to present a range of perspectives, subjects and genres of photography to create my ‘sense of place’, instead of four images of the same style.

I chose the environmental portrait I did because I think that the subject of the image is the most relevent to the series. The formal, dark suit that the subject is wearing is the kind of clothing you would generally associate with a church environment - I actively chose passers by that I thought would compliment the setting of the portrait. The elderly age of the subject also plays in to the relevence of the portrait, as people would more closely associate an older person attending a church than a young person.

Inspired by Berenice Abbott my photograph of the pathway lined with trees through Temple Gardens has a person walking through it. I decided to include this image in my series as it provides a sense of scale for the viewer and makes it apparent that this Church is in a public accessable area of Bristol. Without the figure in the image there is less for the viewer to engage with, but with the figure a narrative between the location and the person can be speculated at.

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Physical Sketchbook of Darkroom Test and Final Prints - 12x16″

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Physical Sketchbook of Darkroom Test and Final Prints - 10x8″

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Darkroom - Creating Prints Using an Enlarger

Setting up the enlarger

-  Place your negative in the enlarger carrier.

-  Clamp the enlarger down over the carrier

-  Position a sheet of scrap paper on the projection plane Turn off the lights in the darkroom

-  Turn the enlarger on using the timer

-  Adjust the height of the enlarger until the image fits on the scrap paper 

-  Focus the image using the knob on the side of the enlarger

-  Set the aperture on the enlarger to f/8 for most photographs.

-  Set the grade to 4

Testing the exposure

-  Cut a strip of photo paper to test the exposure with

-  Place the strip of paper on the projection plane

-  Expose the entire strip of paper to light for 2 seconds

-  Cover one-fifth of the strip, and expose the rest of it for another 2 seconds

-  Repeat until you’ve exposed 5 sections to different durations of light.

-  Develop the test strip.

-  Use the test strip to determine the best exposure time for your final print 

-  Make a more specific test strip if none of the exposures look quite right 

Enlarging and Developing Your Final Print 

-  Place a full sheet of photo paper on the projection plane.

-  Expose the paper to light using your desired exposure time.

-  Develop your final print. 

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Totterdown - Colour Environmental Portraits

I feel as though these are successful environmental portraits. The colours in the model’s clothing reflects colours in the environment and the lines underneath the umbrella are also reflected in the pattern of the telephone lines. 

The subject is a young adult living near Totterdown, creating a  context to the image.

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Totterdown - Edited Colour Film

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Totterdown Contact Sheet - Colour 120mm

I shot a roll of black and white 120mm film in Totterdown but as the area is well-known for it’s vibrant multi-coloured houses I decided to re-visit and shoot another roll on the Hasselblad but this time in colour. 

Once I had developed my film I wanted to effectively ‘back it up’ by scanning in my negatives so that I had a digital copy of them in case anything went wrong. It also gave me a chance to work out what adjustments the images need in post-processing to give me an idea of how I may need to print them in the darkroom.

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Making Contact Sheets in the Darkroom 

1 Cut the processed film into strips of four. 2 In daylight, load the strips of negatives into the contact printing frame. Make sure all the strips are loaded up in order so all the negative numbers run in sequence and place them with the shiny side facing the glass (not towards the paper). 3 If using a multi format enlarger set it to the format of the negatives, 120mm, adjust the height so that the illumination covers the entire paper area of the contact printing frame. Set the lens to the aperture you intend to print at. Ideally this should be about two stops down from wide open so around f/4-f/5.6. 4 With the printing frame in place, turn off the lights and place a piece of printing paper into the frame. 5 Cover the frame with the black card, switch on the enlarger and proceed to make a test strip. 6 Develop the exposed paper and when fixed and rinsed turn on the lights to check the best exposure. 7 Now make an exposure over the entire sheet using the exposure time that you've found from the test strip. 8 Process the correctly exposed print and dry to finish off.

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Edited Images

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Totterdown Contact Sheet - Black and White 120mm

Once I had developed my film I wanted to effectively ‘back it up’ by scanning in my negatives so that I had a digital copy of them in case anything went wrong. It also gave me a chance to work out what adjustments the images need in post-processing to give me an idea of how I may need to print them in the darkroom.

I am happy with the composition of these images but they are far less engaging than the colour film. The lighting on the model’s face is also too dark in the portraits where she is further away, I should have had external lighting off to one side to fill in the girl’s face. 

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Other Landscape Images Around Temple Gardens

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Temple Gardens - Landscape and Architecture

My aim for this shoot on the Hasselblad camera was to create images that would compliment my large format image of the whole church, as well as taking a number of environmental portraits.

My approach to these images was as much about the creation of negative space as it was about documenting the church. The patterns and shapes the building makes against the clear white sky are dominant and bring attention to the features and details of the structure. 

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Temple Gardens - Environmental Portraits 

When creating my environmental portraits I actively chose passers by that I thought would compliment the setting of the portrait. The elderly age of the subject also plays in to the relevence of the portrait, as people would more closely associate an older person attending a church than a young person.

My composition for these images was to use the lead lines of the path, that the pedestrians in the images use to travel through the park, to centre the subjects and by controlling my depth of field to make them stand out against the background