Documenting Darkroom Experiments
What is the darkroom ?
A room lit by a red safe light only, in order to process the light sensitive photograms
A room lit by a red safe light only, in order to process the light sensitive photograms
The Set Up
Testing for Darkroom Chemicals & Timing for Developer , Stop and Fix
2-4minutes 30 seconds 5minutes
Developer :
measure a suitable amount of the developer in a jug and put a small strip of exposed
film inside the developer. If the developer is not exhausted then the film then the film
should darken quickly and after 5minutes or so it should be completely black.
Stop Bath :
Stop bath contains a yellow indicator dye when fresh and suitable for darkroom experiments.
However, the stop bath turns purple when exhausted (this is under natural light). With the red
safe light on the stop would appear clear but turn roughly black when exhausted
Fixer :
Initially the exposed film roll being used might be however as you put it in fixer within a
short time it should be come clear / transparent as a sign that the fixer working. You should
record the time taken for the film to clear then double that to use as the fixing time.
Pinhole camera (to be continued -paper)
A pinhole camera is a simple device without a lens based on the well known camera obscura ; except instead of using a large black room, a can or container is used with a pin hole in the centre ready to be exposed onto the photographic paper once the protective tape is removed. The camera is light proof, with a tiny hole pocked in at the centre to let light in when exposed.
Making a pinhole camera : the following equipment is needed
- a beer can
- a roll of tin foil
- black duct tape
- black card
Making a pinhole camera : the following equipment is needed
- a beer can
- a roll of tin foil
- black duct tape
- black card
Step 1:
measure out a circle the size of the can lid and measure out a piece of card with vertical strips. cut both shapes
Step 2:
Using a beer can opener take off the can lid and then wrap the card around the bear can with the strips covering where the lid was
Step 3:
Place the circle cutout on top of the strips and secure everything with the black duck tape
Step 4:
Make a small hole in the front of the can which will act as the pinhole or camera lens
Step 5:
Cover the whole with a strip go electrical tape which will act as a shutter exposing and preserving the light in the camera
Annotations:
My camera was successful as it was light tight and had no light leaks. At first it was difficult to achieve a clear image but then I adjusted the time my photo was exposed depending on the weather and the angle my camera was at, this improved the contrast levels on the negative and positive prints. As it was quite sunny I often worked with 1-2 seconds of light exposure and sometimes 0.5seconds, this enabled me to become familiar with what times I could successfully work with when it was sunny and when the weather was more cloudy.
measure out a circle the size of the can lid and measure out a piece of card with vertical strips. cut both shapes
Step 2:
Using a beer can opener take off the can lid and then wrap the card around the bear can with the strips covering where the lid was
Step 3:
Place the circle cutout on top of the strips and secure everything with the black duck tape
Step 4:
Make a small hole in the front of the can which will act as the pinhole or camera lens
Step 5:
Cover the whole with a strip go electrical tape which will act as a shutter exposing and preserving the light in the camera
Annotations:
My camera was successful as it was light tight and had no light leaks. At first it was difficult to achieve a clear image but then I adjusted the time my photo was exposed depending on the weather and the angle my camera was at, this improved the contrast levels on the negative and positive prints. As it was quite sunny I often worked with 1-2 seconds of light exposure and sometimes 0.5seconds, this enabled me to become familiar with what times I could successfully work with when it was sunny and when the weather was more cloudy.
* what the pinhole camera should look like *
Making a positive image from the negative image:
To make a positive image, you should place your image on the enlarger surface and then lay a piece of square glass on the image to avoid any unwanted movement . Then you should expose the image depending on the test stripes done for example 3 seconds of exposure.
To make a positive image, you should place your image on the enlarger surface and then lay a piece of square glass on the image to avoid any unwanted movement . Then you should expose the image depending on the test stripes done for example 3 seconds of exposure.
A negative corner of a building
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A negative view out of a window
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Positive corner of a building
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Positive view out of a window
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WWW: I appropriately adjusted the exposure depending on the amount of natural light present in order to get a clear image
EBI : I could have worked at more angles in order to achieve the fish bowl like effect Ben Nathan has in his work, and chosen more identifiable areas that would have translated on the paper better
EBI : I could have worked at more angles in order to achieve the fish bowl like effect Ben Nathan has in his work, and chosen more identifiable areas that would have translated on the paper better
STÉNOPÉ
Ben Nathan
Ben Nathan works across different media using photography, painting and sculptures etc in urban settings to reflect the change the city is experiencing over time ; he uses innovative methods to capture this, one of which is the pinhole camera.
Ben Nathan works across different media using photography, painting and sculptures etc in urban settings to reflect the change the city is experiencing over time ; he uses innovative methods to capture this, one of which is the pinhole camera.
The Film Camera
SLR - Single Lens Reflex Camera
An SLR camera and pinhole camera have many similarities, however light has to pass through the lens of the manual SLR camera; which inherently sharpens the image and controls the intensity of light through aperture which is described below. Shutter speed also plays a heavy role in the camera as it allows the light to enter into the lens of the camera for long periods of time.
An SLR camera and pinhole camera have many similarities, however light has to pass through the lens of the manual SLR camera; which inherently sharpens the image and controls the intensity of light through aperture which is described below. Shutter speed also plays a heavy role in the camera as it allows the light to enter into the lens of the camera for long periods of time.
The Exposure Triangle :
ShutterSpeed - This setting determines how long the camera shutter is exposed/the amount of time light is let in. This allows shots to be more versatile concerning whether and scenery as a slow shutter-speed will the to exposed for a longer time suitable for or night.images. Whereas a shutter-speed allow a small of light in, or enable photographers to capture movement in. This is represented using fractions of .second such as 1/30 , 1/60 etc
Aperture.- This setting determines how much light is exposed . F2 allows the most light in , whereas F16 let's amount of light in, however the F numbers vary depending on the type of SLR camera used .
F stops.- This is what aperture is measured in, the lowest aperture is suitable for settings with strong natural only a limited amount of light is needed to expose the film and the higher apertures are suitable lighting as more needs to be let in for the film to be properly exposed.
ISO/ASA - These are different types of film that control light sensitivity . ISO and ASA is a scale of standardised.allow the film to be more sensitive to light as the numbers increase suitable in low light settings ISO is more commonly used. Nonetheless, the higher the ISO the grainer.the grainier the which can problematic. The numbers follow as , 100 , 200, 400 etc
ShutterSpeed - This setting determines how long the camera shutter is exposed/the amount of time light is let in. This allows shots to be more versatile concerning whether and scenery as a slow shutter-speed will the to exposed for a longer time suitable for or night.images. Whereas a shutter-speed allow a small of light in, or enable photographers to capture movement in. This is represented using fractions of .second such as 1/30 , 1/60 etc
Aperture.- This setting determines how much light is exposed . F2 allows the most light in , whereas F16 let's amount of light in, however the F numbers vary depending on the type of SLR camera used .
F stops.- This is what aperture is measured in, the lowest aperture is suitable for settings with strong natural only a limited amount of light is needed to expose the film and the higher apertures are suitable lighting as more needs to be let in for the film to be properly exposed.
ISO/ASA - These are different types of film that control light sensitivity . ISO and ASA is a scale of standardised.allow the film to be more sensitive to light as the numbers increase suitable in low light settings ISO is more commonly used. Nonetheless, the higher the ISO the grainer.the grainier the which can problematic. The numbers follow as , 100 , 200, 400 etc
My First Film
The Process
The task was to take still and moving portraits of each other using the natural light outside. After we had taken a series of shots on the SLR camera we began the developing process. This entailed using a pitch black darkroom to remove the film, feeding it through a spiral machine in preparation for the developing tank. Once the film was in the spiral I placed it in the developing tank then placed the funnel and the lid on making sure no light could enter; as the contents where very light sensitive . Then I measured the developer, stop and fix at various volumes and diluted it with water in a measuring jug/cylinder. For the developer I measured x with x amount of water and poured it into the developing tank for 6.5 minutes agitating the tank every minute in order to get even coverage of the chemical. Next for stop I used x amount with x amount of water for x minutes. Lastly for the fix i used x amount of fixer mixed with x amount of water for x minutes. Finally, with all the product rinsed out i gave the film a water bath through the developing tank for 5minutes before unravelling the film and hanging it to dry in a dust free atmosphere for a day.
Contact sheet
The purpose of a contact sheet is to present positive images of the film previously taken as a preview of what any of the final images will look like once enlarged. Contact sheets also enable us to pick an image we prefer (regarding clarity and lighting ), as each section of the contact sheet is taken at different exposures ranging from 2 seconds to 10 etc.
In order to make a successful contact sheet I first experimented with test stripes. I cut up my film into stripes placing the chosen stripes on a piece of photographic paper on the enlarger surface. To ensure the test stripes wouldn't move I placed a large glass surface onto the test stripes . I then used black card in a diagonal position to expose specific sections of the test stripe at specific times, therefore the first section would have been exposed the most (10 seconds) and the last section would have been the exposed the least (2seconds) ; creating a range of images at different exposures. This was to see which exposure I preferred lighting and clarity wise.
In order to make a successful contact sheet I first experimented with test stripes. I cut up my film into stripes placing the chosen stripes on a piece of photographic paper on the enlarger surface. To ensure the test stripes wouldn't move I placed a large glass surface onto the test stripes . I then used black card in a diagonal position to expose specific sections of the test stripe at specific times, therefore the first section would have been exposed the most (10 seconds) and the last section would have been the exposed the least (2seconds) ; creating a range of images at different exposures. This was to see which exposure I preferred lighting and clarity wise.
After I found a suitable exposure time, with my test stripes I decided which image I wanted to enlarge and then decided to do a test stripe on the chosen image again, I found that an exposure of 7 worked the best.
This enabled me to begin the final enlarging process. This time I inserted my film into the slot projector at the top, where the chosen image was central and then I turned on the safety light which then projected my chosen image onto the enlarger surface. Placing a larger piece of photographic paper onto the enlarger surface, I adjusted the size of the projected photograph to fit on the paper and focused the image to make sure the edges were sharp by rotating the two knobs on the side. I then turned the light off and took of the safety. I placed the exposure timer on 7seconds with no black card this time to allow the whole image to evenly be exposed. After the developing process, I was left with one successfully enlarged image as seen down below.
This enabled me to begin the final enlarging process. This time I inserted my film into the slot projector at the top, where the chosen image was central and then I turned on the safety light which then projected my chosen image onto the enlarger surface. Placing a larger piece of photographic paper onto the enlarger surface, I adjusted the size of the projected photograph to fit on the paper and focused the image to make sure the edges were sharp by rotating the two knobs on the side. I then turned the light off and took of the safety. I placed the exposure timer on 7seconds with no black card this time to allow the whole image to evenly be exposed. After the developing process, I was left with one successfully enlarged image as seen down below.
WWW : I successfully created test stripes that allowed me to choose a good exposure time to ensure that my model and features such as her eyes would stand out as well as the background being noticeable.
EBI: I could have found a wider and plainer background that allowed the developing process to be more even overall.
EBI: I could have found a wider and plainer background that allowed the developing process to be more even overall.
Foundation Assessment
Some understanding of process and technique but there are gaps in your descriptions and analysis (A01)
The outcomes that you have are sound but there are images missing (A02) The standard of the recording needs work and you need to make sure that you compose the images on screen. (A03) Make sure to improve your focus when working in film in later occasions (A03)
Some understanding of process and technique but there are gaps in your descriptions and analysis (A01)
The outcomes that you have are sound but there are images missing (A02) The standard of the recording needs work and you need to make sure that you compose the images on screen. (A03) Make sure to improve your focus when working in film in later occasions (A03)