Cameraless Photography
Photogram artist research
Laszlo Moholy Nagy
Laszlo Moholy Nagy was born in a farming town in Southern Hungary in 1895. After being severely wounded during WW1 he started to go into art; he began as a painter.
"The reality of our century is technology: the invention, construction and maintenance of machines. To be a user of machines is to be of the spirit of this century. Machines have replaced the transcendental spiritualism of past eras." His interest in qualities of space, time, and light carried on throughout his career and through the different media he used.
The photogram can be called the key to photography because every good photograph must possess the same fine gradation between the white and black extremes as the photogram. Maholy Nagy believed that we could only get over the experience of modernity if we harnessed the new technologies.
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My Photograms
These were the very first photograms that I made. I focused on the content over the skill of the photogram, which is evident in their quality.
All of these 3 were exposed for 5 seconds at f-stop 2.8. This allowed there to be a lot of light.
If I do these again, i will focus on the composition and focus of the images. I would like to experiment with the f-stop numbers.
All of these 3 were exposed for 5 seconds at f-stop 2.8. This allowed there to be a lot of light.
If I do these again, i will focus on the composition and focus of the images. I would like to experiment with the f-stop numbers.
These are my second set of photograms. For these I used the same tape and a DVD. As you can see from the third one I attempted to focus the light. But as you can see from the other I still have some work to do. The first has an f-stop of 4, the second and third of 2.8, and the last of 6. I exposed all of them for 2 seconds this time, allowing for the pictures to not be overexposed.
I thought about framing a lot more this time also. Trying to frame the tapes in the centre of the paper so that I could get the most detail.
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This photogram is of two 35mm negative sheets. One of the eight that you can see is over exposed so it is white washed. On top of the 35mm film there are a collection of circles. These circles are created by glass from photographic lenses. They are all different sizes and from different lenses. Some of them change the film below them but most don't notably. I think that I would use: distracted, life, misfire, chance. These are some words that I would use to describe this work. The items in the image itself is realistic. But the construction of the image make it abstract. The images in the 35mm film are of the real world and you can see them clearly.
Chemigrams - Pierre Cordier
Pierre Cordier
He was born into a family that specialised in nail varnish. This was to become a part of his future. On November 10, 1956 a German woman named Erika was writing with nail varnish on photographic paper. This is what he would later call Chemigraphs. He said that it combined the physics of painting and the chemistry of photography.
He was born into a family that specialised in nail varnish. This was to become a part of his future. On November 10, 1956 a German woman named Erika was writing with nail varnish on photographic paper. This is what he would later call Chemigraphs. He said that it combined the physics of painting and the chemistry of photography.
IN THIS PICTURE:
I see shapes made from the spill of chemicals. They look like hooded figures. I think that I would describe the image as transcendent or floating. I would describe this image as a collection of mounds that are leaked onto the paper. The overall colour of the picture is a brown, that looks as though its been burnt. The image is pretty abstract, the subject of the image is unsure and what it is also unsure. Everything in the picture is unrecognisable, it is all an interpretation.
The picture was created using chemicals on photographic paper. This technique looks like it was painted on, I think that changes the way we look at it as the picture has no clear subject. The lines in the picture look accidental, they all move together showing that the lines were created together. The texture of the picture is very natural. All the textures are different around the picture. The light is changing throughout the image an it has lighter areas with darker areas surrounding it. This makes the image look more unnatural. This image is very different from real life as it is not a capture of life, more a capture of light changed by chemicals that were added to the image. I think that the process to make an image like that is the most interesting, I would like to know what process he took to make it. I think that the space in this image is defined by the spacing between the 'people' the interaction between the 'people' makes them look bigger or smaller. The way that they move together. My favourite part of the image is just left of the centre. It looks like two figures, one leaning on the other. I think that I like this bit the best because it looks like something it clearly isn't. I would ask Pierre Cordier what his thought process was as he was creating this image. I can discover that Cordier liked to experiment with chemicals and with the application of chemicals on photographic paper. I think that I would title the image 'lonely' this is because I see a group of people who are reacting to others as they bend and move as one, but they are all separate, and alone. I think you could also name is something more to do with the process of the image creation, like 'dripped' or 'changes'. Something more to do with the colour, like 'burnt' or 'shades of brown'. I think that what is going on in this picture is different to what happens in most 'photographs'. This is because the photo is 'happening' as the light is affected by the chemicals that are on the paper. I think that it is about the same idea. I think that the creation of the image was to do with experimentation and trialling with light. I think that living in this photograph would be like swimming. I think that this image is very affective, this is because it makes the observer think about what its about and how it was made. I think that there would be some debate over the topic of the image and whether you'd like it or not. I think that some people would get nothing from an image that isn't a representation of real life. I think it is worth remembering that this image is pure light and that there is no specific subject.
I see shapes made from the spill of chemicals. They look like hooded figures. I think that I would describe the image as transcendent or floating. I would describe this image as a collection of mounds that are leaked onto the paper. The overall colour of the picture is a brown, that looks as though its been burnt. The image is pretty abstract, the subject of the image is unsure and what it is also unsure. Everything in the picture is unrecognisable, it is all an interpretation.
The picture was created using chemicals on photographic paper. This technique looks like it was painted on, I think that changes the way we look at it as the picture has no clear subject. The lines in the picture look accidental, they all move together showing that the lines were created together. The texture of the picture is very natural. All the textures are different around the picture. The light is changing throughout the image an it has lighter areas with darker areas surrounding it. This makes the image look more unnatural. This image is very different from real life as it is not a capture of life, more a capture of light changed by chemicals that were added to the image. I think that the process to make an image like that is the most interesting, I would like to know what process he took to make it. I think that the space in this image is defined by the spacing between the 'people' the interaction between the 'people' makes them look bigger or smaller. The way that they move together. My favourite part of the image is just left of the centre. It looks like two figures, one leaning on the other. I think that I like this bit the best because it looks like something it clearly isn't. I would ask Pierre Cordier what his thought process was as he was creating this image. I can discover that Cordier liked to experiment with chemicals and with the application of chemicals on photographic paper. I think that I would title the image 'lonely' this is because I see a group of people who are reacting to others as they bend and move as one, but they are all separate, and alone. I think you could also name is something more to do with the process of the image creation, like 'dripped' or 'changes'. Something more to do with the colour, like 'burnt' or 'shades of brown'. I think that what is going on in this picture is different to what happens in most 'photographs'. This is because the photo is 'happening' as the light is affected by the chemicals that are on the paper. I think that it is about the same idea. I think that the creation of the image was to do with experimentation and trialling with light. I think that living in this photograph would be like swimming. I think that this image is very affective, this is because it makes the observer think about what its about and how it was made. I think that there would be some debate over the topic of the image and whether you'd like it or not. I think that some people would get nothing from an image that isn't a representation of real life. I think it is worth remembering that this image is pure light and that there is no specific subject.
The first three chemigrams are 1) Nail Varnish, 2) Foot Cream 3) Ink
The second three chemigrams are 4) Bleach spray 5) Ink, bleach and cream 6) Bleach spray and a 35mm film
The last three are 7) Liquid bleach 8) Toilet cleaner 9) Fix, developer
Evaluation of Chemigrams
All together I made 9 chemigrams. I used several materials to affect the light process with the photographic paper. I think that if I were to do this again I would focus on composition and style for these images.
HAND MADE NEGATIVES
In this process we made pictures out of ink and clear plastic material. We put on the clear material a mixture of inks, salt and Vaseline.
Eileen Quinlan
Eileen Quinlan worked on taking images that express different walks of life. This series is about the luxuries that the richer can experience. For this she hung up a yoga mat and took pictures of it in different ways. She took it on old polaroid film, and burst the chemical packet in the back so the film would develop differently.
I would count her pictures as photography as she demonstrates clearly the second threshold concept, by capturing light. She created pictures which look like paintings by capturing the light in her work very clearly, and the colour. The colour specifically makes it looks painting like. Quinlan offers a meditation upon photography's enduring qualities of luck and happenstance. |
Garry Fabian Miller
The pictures I make are of something as yet unseen, which may only exist on the paper surface, or subsequently may be found in the world. I am seeking a state of mind which lifts the spirit, gives strength and a moment of clarity. |
Garry Fabian Miller worked on careless photography by shining light through glass vessels and cut paper shapes. His art work is coloured and this creates a realistic effect even though he doesn't use a camera which means that it's unusual.
I think that their work is very artistic, but I think that it still classifies as photography. For the same reason as Quinlan that he has captured light to create an effect on photographic paper. This to me is what photography is and the fact that there's no camera doesn't mean that it isn't photography. He creates his images by firing light onto photographic paper. He places items such as glass and paper to create the appearance of a object on the paper. He creates his images that look light paintings by the lucid effect produced by the unfocus of the light. This creates a blurred and abstract effect. |