Lazlo Moholy
“The photogram, or camera-less record of forms produced by light, which embodies the unique nature of the photographic process, is the real key to photography.”
— Laszlo Moholy-Nagy
Background
Lazlo Moholy-Nagy was a Hungarian photographer and painter as well as a professor in the Bauhaus German school for art. He was born in 1895 in Hungary. He was largely interested by the debates within photography and the practical and technical side of the art that he taught students. Beliefs Lazlo believed that to embrace the modern world and its damaging ways we must accept new technology. The way that elements such as time, space and light linked also interested him and was shown clearly through all his work. |
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Lazlo's photograms can be described as captivating as they aren’t as simple as they look at first glance. For example, when looking we can obviously see the outline of a hand but when looking again we are left to detect what the other objects in the image are. The longer we look the more there is we begin to realise. By the way the shadows form we begin to understand that these photograms are not as simple as we originally thought. Lazlo must have overtime practiced the way of light as this image could not have been taken in one sitting.
Floris Neusüss
Floris Neusüss was a German photographer. He was originally a painter but after studying photography in Wuppertal School of Arts and Crafts. He began creating photograms of the whole body. Alison Hickey, a set designer, described his artwork as ‘haunting and beautiful’. I personally think his artwork is fascinating and imaginative. I agree that it is beautiful but I do also understand that due to the creativity it appears to have a more sinister side. The way Floris has captured the woman in these images is extremely interesting. In some, they give off an impression that they are unhappy or distressed but it is masked with the beauty of the image. I find it intriguing that Floris Neusüss has chosen a photogram to photograph these models as it leaves them faceless. I would argue that it almost dehumanises them and makes them appear to be simply subjects rather than real people. His art is extremely expressive and i believe it captures his thoughts and feelings about the world very cleverly. In my opinion, these photograms are a metaphor for people in society. They capture Floris’s feelings of sonder. I think they show the moment where he realises how all individuals in society have a more thoughts and events going on in their life than meets the eye. By taking a photogram of these people Floris Neusüss has captured them without their life story showing at all. After looking at the photograms for longer you are left questioning the thought process behind the artist who created these ‘haunted’ images. Why choose a photogram? Who are they? Does Floris know them personally or are they simply models he has selected?
Christian Schad
Christian Schad was a German photographer that began as a painter. His images are really interesting due to the materials he uses. Christian decided that by using pieces of fabric and scraps of paper. He usually found these in rubbish cans. This creates an abstract element to his work. His
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Test images
Originally, I began by experimenting with different apertures. I tried with 5.6 but realised that the photograms were coming out too dark and the image’s weren’t visible after developing. To improve the quality I changed the aperture to 8. This means the photographic paper is exposed to less light. I also decided to test out different time lengths. To begin with i experimented using 7 seconds of light exposure. However, I quickly realised 7 seconds was way too long as the paper would be fully black with no image showing. After trying this a few times i noticed and changed it to 3 seconds and my photograms were successful. I decided to make many pieces as i was working out which objects and materials would look best for my final composition. In most i used acetate negatives with printed words, buildings and images of babies. I also experimented with perfume bottles as they are transparent and left an interesting picture on the paper. On the other hand, i used a pencil and wire as they are both opaque. This creates a varied photogram which makes it more intriguing and satisfying to the eye. Overall, I concluded that a 8 aperture and 3 seconds produced the best image. My favourite combination of items was the negative images as well as the writing on acetate.
Man Ray
Final Pieces
These were my final pieces. After a few practice attempts i realised that the distance between the light and sensitive paper was too small as it didn't cover the full a3 sheet. Originally, i struggled as my exposure was too low making my photograms too dark. So after realising this i changed the aperture to f/5.6. This made a huge difference and allowed my photograms to actually develop clearly. I decided to use transparent negative of what seems to be a young girl walking through what looks like a school corridor. I think this gives my piece a sinister atmosphere which is emphasised further with the randomly placed objects. Overall, i thunk my final pieces were successful but i would want to experiment with transparent objects.
Cyanotype
To begin this project I began by taking 2 images. One of man made lines, a radiator in my house and one of natural lines, branches of a tree local to me. My next step was to export these photos into photoshop and change them at black and white and then invert them in order to print the original photos as negatives. After this I used the printer to export the negatives onto acetate paper finally creating my negatives on photographic paper. We then took these outside and put them in the sun on top of cyanotype paper holding them down with plastic acrylic and left them to develop.
This was my final cyanotype. To create this I places the paper into a trey of water with a few drops of bleach and moved it about for around 2 minutes until the faint yellow colour disappeared. Although the radiator is shown clearly. I think the way I layered my handmade negatives could have been improved by only placing the man made lines on half the paper so that the branches are more obvious.
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lumin prints
Lumen prints are a technique to create images using the sun. Making this lumen print is considered a photographic process as it done by chemicals developing once being exposed. Other examples of photographic processes are printing, cyanotypes and digital photography as they are all camera-less images.
You do this by collecting objects, in my case flowers. I then arranged in a way that compliments each individual flower and petal nicely onto photographic paper. I used different flowers and leaves to experiment and see what works the best. I decided to use flowers as they are translucent and lumen prints work nest with objects that light can travel through easily. I then flipped these over in a frame to secure and flatten the paper and the objects. I then left this under the sun for around a week to develop.
I really like the way my prints turned out as each piece came out quite clearly. However, i think if i do the experiment again i will use a larger variety of flowers a to fill the empty space to make a more interesting composition. I would also spend more time finding objects with more interesting silhouettes.
I enjoyed this process as it was easy but had a really interesting and satisfying outcome. I would enjoy doing it again as i like my final image.
You do this by collecting objects, in my case flowers. I then arranged in a way that compliments each individual flower and petal nicely onto photographic paper. I used different flowers and leaves to experiment and see what works the best. I decided to use flowers as they are translucent and lumen prints work nest with objects that light can travel through easily. I then flipped these over in a frame to secure and flatten the paper and the objects. I then left this under the sun for around a week to develop.
I really like the way my prints turned out as each piece came out quite clearly. However, i think if i do the experiment again i will use a larger variety of flowers a to fill the empty space to make a more interesting composition. I would also spend more time finding objects with more interesting silhouettes.
I enjoyed this process as it was easy but had a really interesting and satisfying outcome. I would enjoy doing it again as i like my final image.
pinhole cameras
instructions to make the camera
- first I cut a hole into the lid of of my box
- I then painted both the lid and the bottom of the box with black acrylic paint to block out all the light
- I then stuck a square of aluminium to the hole and made a tiny piercing with a pin
- I then created a flap to cover the hole so I could take the pinhole camera outside with the photographic paper in without exposing it too any light
- first I cut a hole into the lid of of my box
- I then painted both the lid and the bottom of the box with black acrylic paint to block out all the light
- I then stuck a square of aluminium to the hole and made a tiny piercing with a pin
- I then created a flap to cover the hole so I could take the pinhole camera outside with the photographic paper in without exposing it too any light
These were my final pieces. The first two were last week with the second two being today. For some reason, the ones this week were less successful. I think this was because at it was a different time of the day so the strength of the son was different. I experimented with different times of exposure. I found that 6 seconds was the best time to leave it for. A few of my photograms developed as a full black page due to small gaps in my pinhole camera so a lot more light entered. However, i do think that a few of my unsuccessful attempts would have worked if i had left them for slightly longer to develop.
alan thoburn
Alan Thoburn is a photographer from the North East of England. He was interested in using a hola pinhole camera. However, most of his work is not pinhole work but more fine art photography. He began creating these pinhole pieces during an ‘experimental phase’ where he was interested in finding different ways to explore photography. I find his work really interesting as his images create a gothic atmosphere. I think the fact that they are in black and white automatically relates to this feeling. Additionally to this, the settings that he has decided to shoot his images in are mostly in desolate environments. This helps create an eerie feeling when looking at his photography. His photography leaves viewers with many questions but without simple and self-explanatory answers, the story behind the art he has created has been left to the person looking’s own interpretation. The space and emptiness emphasis this unlimited end of answers. If I were to speak to Thoburn I would question his choices of subjects. Why are all the areas deserted and did he aim to create a peaceful or an uncomfortable and haunted atmosphere? I would also ask if he purposely thought through the use of a pinhole camera, rather than a digital camera, to capture these environments and whether it was intentional to create these uncanny images. I’m interested in his work and wonder if these places have some sort of emotional and purposeful meaning to Alan behind them. The longer I look at his final pieces the more I question his decisions and the less I feel I can discover the answers. His work is extremely smart and capturing, bringing the viewer in to think about the decisions made behind the camera.