My Final Images

I have chosen several different process types to add as my final images for this unit. I thought I would just stick to one type of process but when I tried different ones I thought it would be better to have a range of images instead of one type.

The ones I have chosen are salt prints, cyanotypes, albumens and double exposures. I am presenting the images in a posh scrap book, mounted to a textured black card. I have chosen a square book as I am trying something a little different for once.

The processes themselves were interesting to research and fun to try. A lot of it was trail and error but it turned out well in the end even if we only got one chance of getting the images right. I think we have all worked well as a group help each other to produce the images from taking and processing the negatives to helping each other make solutions and do the printing processes.

I think if I did my process again I would make sure I had more time as I felt I was rushing slightly towards the end of the session. I would also choose a slightly less expensive option as I think £65 is a little steep for one process. I have got more solution so I can make more if and when I have time but I still think that is a lot of money. I also think I would try printing my own negatives. I have read in doing my research that you can take any image, make it into a negative on Photoshop and then print it onto acetate. I read that it works as well as any negative. Something else I would like to try are the other 3 solution bottles in the pack I bought, they play with the highlights, midtones and shadows. Apparently it can take from a few days to a few years for it to take the full effect but it is worth doing if you have the time to do it.

Overall I feel this unit has been a great success and I have learnt a lot of new things and done a lot of new wonderful things I never thought I would get the chance to do. I am very pleased.

Below are my images mounted ready to go into the book...

My Chosen Process

I have looked at all of the processes and decided I would like to try the salt print one. I have chosen this as it was the original printing process used and it helped to form the foundation of modern day printing with silver.


Here are a set of instructions I am going to follow...






Images of instructions found at http://www.freestylephoto.biz/pdf/product_pdfs/fotospeed/Fotospeed_SaltPrintig.pdf on 11.02.2016)



I had no problems with ordering the kit, however I did encounter a big problem when it came to finding the ammonia. It didn't state in the instructions the strength the ammonia needed to be. I couldn't find anything anywhere online that told me this vital piece of information. I ended up buying a household ammonia from a shop which had a percentage of 5% ammonia and gave that a try.

I followed the instructions as perfectly as I could and did 4 trial images. In the darkroom I soaked the paper, painted it with the silver mixture 2, allowing to dry in between all of those and then it came time to try it out. I knew it would take a long time to expose these using the sun as it was not a very bright day so I asked if I could use the light machine in the college instead which has a UV light within it. I set the negatives and the paper up in the machine then proceeded to work it as I had been shown by the tutor. You have a suction within the machine to help hold everything in place which is an important part to make sure the negative/paper doesn't move.

I set the machine to 169 light units and pressed start. It seemed to take a lifetime and I began to wonder if I had set the timer too long or short. When the timer had done, I tuned the machine off, waited for it to release the suction holding everything in place and opened it up to remove my prints. below is a picture of the machine I used...



I was rather impressed with the outcome from the trail run. I then went back down into the darkroom and started the whole process again with 8 more pieces of paper. The images from those didn't seem to work as well as the initial ones but I got a few which I am very impressed with.

A few of the images have been cut down to size and put into a book as my finals. I have also used images from the double exposures, cyanotype and albumen.

I am very pleased with my images and feel I have done the best I can to produce the images I have in the short amount of time I had to do it in.

Images to follow once presented in the book.

In the Studio with the 5x4

We have been lucky enough as a group to have access to a medium format film camera. We have had several sessions in the studio using this camera and have even had the chance to develop the negatives as well. It has been a great experience and very interesting to learn about.

Below are the set ups and the images we have taken as a group. We took turns to set the lights up, set the camera up, arrange the subject and take the shot. We also developed the negatives as a team.



This is the front of the 5x4, its here that you can change the aperture on the lens and set up the shutter etc. It is quite difficult to focus the camera when the aperture is set up for the shot so you have to open it up to the lowest aperture setting which will give you the largest hole so you can focus in on the area you want to capture.





This shows the set up of the lights and the subject. We had to place the camera very close to the subjects face to get the best shots of the face but its the eyes we were trying to capture. It was almost to see into the soul.

These are the images we took...











They were scanned into the computer at a high resolution so they can be viewed as a very large image and you can zoom right into the eye which is what the main focus point was.


The next shoot we did was using lilies again. Here are the a few of the images. Again it was team work and group effort which made the process go smoothly and efficiently.







These images are beautiful and framed in a fantastic way. The detail that you can see makes the whole process worth while. It is a lengthy process and unlike digital there is no back button or 'I'll just take it again'. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work.