Camera-less Photography

A Photogram is the the term used for images that are captured without the use of a camera. Images can be captured in different ways. An example is the use of a scanner or capturing the image directly onto the photographic paper. This can be achieved by manipulating light and shadows or using chemicals to treat the paper.

The Shadow Catchers are a group of five photographers that held an exhibition of their camera-less images at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. They are, Pierre Cordier, Susan Derges, Adam Fuss, Garry Fabian Miller and Floris Neusüss. They all use different methods to capture their images, without the use of a camera. 

These photographers (or artists) use photographic paper and then manipulate the images using other resources. Cordier uses fixer for lighter tones on his images where as Derges submerges sheets of photographic paper in rivers at night, she uses the moon and flashlight to create the exposure. Neusüss places the photographic paper straight onto the item he wants to capture and leaves the image to develop where it is.

Homage to Talbot: The Latticed Window, Lacock Abbey, 2010 Floris Neusüss

Untitled, (Körperfotogramm), Kassel, 1967 Floris Neusüss 

Chemigram 1961- Pierre Cordier

The following images were captured using a flat bed scanner. Although only slight, a scanner can create an image with some depth of field. I decided to create a patterned image by means of repetition. Using red carnations, and interrupting the flow by adding a white rose.

In Photoshop create a duplicate layer. Using the curves tool to increase the contrast, I used one of the presets in Photoshop. On the curves tool, click on the drop down box that says 'preset' and chose from the selection offered. In the example shown, I have used 'increase contrast'. The colours in the image become bold and smooth. 

I would like the rose to stand out within the group of carnations. To do this, I created a new layer, selecting 'soft light' from the drop down box on the layers tab on the right hand side. I then used the graduation tool concentrating on the outside of the image to darken the other flowers. This will also draw the viewers eye naturally into the centre of the image.

Not being entirely happy with the brightness and contrast, I alter this slightly.

Adjusting the hue and saturation to enhance the reds making them appear much more vibrant and showing a strong contrast against the white of the rose.

Finally, I cropped the image and using the rule of 3rds I placed the rose where the lines intersect.

Flatten the image and save.

The final result

Below are other images that have been scanned with a brief explanation of how they were edited.

Using the curves tool to exaggerate the contrast and adding a photo filter to bring out more orange colours on the glittery background. Increasing the vibrancy and saturation to really bring out the flowers colour.

Using texture layers in Photoshop to transform a dull image of pencil crayons. 

In Photoshop on the curves tool, selecting the preset 'cross process' and increasing the saturation/vibrance and contrast and photo filter creates a plain white background into different colours. reflects the green and red colours from the rose. 

Another patterned effect. This time using the petals from the carnations and rose. On this image I used the gradient tool around the edges of the image. There were some gaps in the petals so I used the healing brush tool  to copy and paste where the gaps were so to fill the whole picture.

Bibliography

Acharya, D. (2011). Creative Review. Available: http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2011/january/shadow-catchers-camera-less-photography. Last accessed 25th Nov 2013.

Phaidon. (2011). Camera-less photography today: Shadow catchers at the V&A. Available: http://uk.phaidon.com/agenda/photography/picture-galleries/2011/february/08/camera-less-photography-today-shadow-catchers-at-the-vanda/. Last accessed 25th Nov 2013.

V&A. (2013). Camera-less photography: artists. Available: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/c/camera-less-photography-artists/. Last accessed 3rd Dec 2013

Photography - Research of three photographers, including a detailed evaluation of their work.

Robert Doisneau
Robert Doisneau was a French photographer in the early 1930's. It is said that him and Henri Cartier-Bresson were the pioneers of photojournalism. In part of his career, Doisneau photographed on set for films such as René Clair's Le Silence est d'or. He has said that the ''poetic realism'' of these films influenced his work. He is most famous for his 1950 image,  Le baiser de l'hôtel de ville. 

Robert Doisneau 1950

One of Doisneau's well known traits is bringing humor into his work. The following image, ''The Sidelong Glance'' shows the reaction of the public as they walk past a shop and notice a picture of a half naked woman. It shows the differences of the reactions between the men and women. The women look shocked, some horrified. The men have quite the opposite reaction. This is one of my favorite images as he captures the true emotions of the people that are looking at the photograph.

"The Sidelong Glance'' (Romi's Shop) by Robert Doisneau (1948)

Doisneau is known for photographing things together that have a contrasting effect. 





 
When taking the photograph below, little did Doisneau know, by photographing this woman using her typewriter, he had actually captured a contrast in time. The photographs below, two young women, both sat working by the waterside. What stands out as the only real difference in the images are the machines they are using. A reminder of how the world has progressed from then to now.
 

''Typist'' 1947 Robert Doisneau

     

•                                  
•            William Perugin 2013

Robert Doisneau 1953

In the image to the left, Doisneau shows the contrast between the young married couple in the photograph against of the older married couple in the background. I believe he purposely used the mirror image to show the contrast in the relationship between the two framed images. It could be that he wanted to show how the relationship had changed between the young couple on their wedding day and the now older couple, that seem to not want to share any lines of communication with each other. Or it could merely be nothing more than a reflection showing a contrast in time. 









Joel Meyerowitz
In the early years, Meyerowitz would talk about how he would walk the streets of New York (A recording of Joel Meyerowitz, Taking my time, Life on the streets would never cease to amaze me). In the early years he would walk the streets with Tony Ray-Jones, later, after Jones returned to England he became friends with Garry Winogrand and they started photographing together. Meyerowitz was 24 years old at the time. They would start at 7.30am and stay out all day watching the different crowds of people as they walked by, not one crowd was ever the same. Eventually, Meyerowitz could anticipate how people would react to certain situations and their natural gestures. ''You almost develop a 6th sense to how they are going to react.'' - Joel Meyerowitz

Joel Meyerowitz - date unknown

 
In this image, the woman reacting defensively towards the man dressed as a giant shoe coming towards her broken leg, is clearly an indication of how she is protecting herself from anymore harm. Meyerowitz looked at this situation and knew instinctively how she would react, therefore capturing the moment before it quickly passed.

Joel Meyerowitz 1975

Meyerowitz's work is different from the likes of Cartier Bression. It is not perfectly organised, it captures the moment, and that moment passes so quickly, there isn't time to make sure the frame is perfect and equal on all sides.

Joel Meyerowitz - date unknown

 

There is no centre piece to this photograph, merely a group of people all together. It shows how close they are together physically, yet mentally all in their own separate worlds, leading their own lives.

Joel Meyerowitz - date unknown

In this image, rather that following suit and taking a photograph of the women like the other men, Meyerowitz sees the bigger picture and captures the whole scene. This shows his ability to see the quirkiness in everything he shoots on the streets.



 

Vivian Maier
There is very little known about Vivian Maier, her work first got discovered in 2007 when her personal items were sold at auction because she could no longer afford to pay for storage to hold her belongings. As with Lisette Model, Maier's mother was French and father Austro Hungarian. It has been said that Maier aspired to Model, possibly because they shared the same parental heritage. Model shot many of her subjects off guard, often revealing the negative aspects such as loneiness and sadness. Maybe Maier saw this in herself as she was such a solitude person. Maier seemed to shoot extremes in contrasting classes of people, but as with Model, she too could bring out the emotions of people in her photographs.

Vivian Maier 1959

Vivian Maier 1955

 



In the two photographs above, the contrast in social classes are extreme, on the left, a wealthy woman against the man on the right, that looks to have health problems and very little money. The woman looks almost annoyed that Maier has photographed her, yet the man does not seem to care. 


Influences
There are very mixed opinions about Maier's work, and if she aspired to any other photographer. One possibility could have been Lisette Model. In the 1950's, model was teaching in Lower Manhattan, but there are no photographs to suggest Maier was near where Model was teaching. There is evidence to suggest Maier attended the exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, The 5 French Photographers in 1951. Henri Cartier-Bresson, Brassai, Doisneau, Ronis and Izis. At this point, she is using her old box camera, one year after this exhibition she starts using a Roliflex, which was the camera all serious and professional photographers used at the time. It is possible she took a year out to learn this new and complicated camera. Her work is remarkable when her photographs appear again in 1953. 

Vivian Maier 1953

Vivian Maier 1953

 Photographs Maier took in 1953  with her new Roliflex.









Another clue to if Lisette Model influenced Maier are the similarity of their self portraits. Both images (below) have been taken in a bathroom of some description, the only differences I see are of the women's characters. Model looking seductive with her underwear visible shows confidence, where as Maier, even though set in a similar scene, is not quite as daring as Model and is fully clothed. 

Lisette Model 55 Manhattan 1940's

 Vivian Maier 1956

Self Portraits

One way we could try to figure out the person Maier was and how she felt about herself, is how she portrayed herself in her photographs.

Vivian Maier - date unknown

This image was clearly captured on a warm day. Maier has noticed a young woman, who's priority seem to be her looks. Rather than taking a photograph of the woman, she also captures her shadow. You can tell by the bulkiness of her shadow she is wearing a coat, and a hat. Quite the opposite to the woman sunbathing. It is possible she liked the contrast between her shadow and the woman, or maybe it was something much deeper. I personally feel she sometimes felt like a shadow in life, never really being seen, possibly not wanting to be seen and using her camera as her hiding place. Due to her strict privacy, it is something we will never really know for sure. 







Bibliography

G, Jean-Claud (2012). Robert Doisneau . Koln : Taschen GmBh.

Meyerowitz J. (2003-2012). Photography . Available: http://www.joelmeyerowitz.com/. Last accessed 11th November 2013.

Meyerowitz J. (2012). Retrospective. Available: http://www.deptm2.com/home/joel-meyerowitz-retrospective.html. Last accessed 11th November 2013.

Maier, V. (unknown). Vivian Maier Photographer. Available: http://www.vivianmaier.com/. Last accessed 12th November 2013.

Unknown. (1951). Press release. Available: http://www.moma.org/pdfs/docs/press_archives/1573/releases/MOMA_1951_0091_1951-12-13_511213-77.pdf?2010%29. Last accessed 12th November 2013.

Shefsky, J. (2012). Searching for Vivian Maier. Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwmRbImDgEw. Last accessed 12th November 2013.

  

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Time management

Failing to plan is planning to fail.


To complete a project successfully, you must control a large number of activities and ensure they are completed on schedule.


Gantt Chart
  
A Gantt chart is a document created to act as a visual tool when completing a project that has many different tasks attached to it. This is a live document, which means it can be updated or modified at any time. It outlines all of the tasks within the project and the order in which they need to be completed, within a specific time scale. 


A Gantt chart can be incorporated into any kind of project. I have created a Gantt chart so I can manage assignments, ensuring they are completed within the set timescale. This includes any research and practical work that needs completing.



Mind Mapping

Before generating the Gantt chart, it is always preferable to create a mind map for each specific project (or assignment). Mind mapping is a good way of getting all your ideas on
paper so they can be prioritised onto the Gantt chart.



An example of a mind map I put together for one of my assignments.

Below is a section of the Gantt chart I have created. This is a live document and I will continue to update and edit this document as the course progresses.

(Click to enlarge) 

Composition

Composition

The way objects are composed or arranged in a photograph. 

The rule of 3rds

A way of mentally dividing your picture horizontally and vertically into 3rds, then placing important subject matter where these lines intersect.

(For Dummies - www.dummies.com 2013)

The subject of importance is placed at the points where the lines intersect.

buzzle.com

There are different factors that can be considered in the composition of a photograph. Some examples are;

• Lines
• Colour
• Texture 
• Pattern

Lines

There are a variety of distinct lines that are used in photographs.  Lines add distance and scale, flow and depth. 

• Diagonal
• Curved or S curved
• Converging lines
• Horizontal 
• Vertical

David Clapp - ephotozine.com

Our eyes are set horizontally across from each other, giving us a view that is wider instead of taller. This allows us to be more aware of our surroundings through peripheral vision. However, in photographs our vision is limited by the edges of the frame so that peripheral vision is eliminated. While this would be dangerous in real life, having no peripheral vision in photography helps the photographer to focus attention on the intended subject by limiting the field of vision. 




A horizontal photograph is an image that is longer in length than in height.

srfphoto.com.au

Since a photograph cannot selectively focus once taken (like the brain can selectively focus on a live scene), this limitation of the field of vision is extremely important to photographers. By turning a camera sideways, photographers achieve a vertical photograph in order to further limit the field of vision.

Harold Davis - photo.net

The S-curve can lead into or out of a scene, start at the bottom or side. But fundamentally it will roughly shape the letter S and either define the photograph or split the composition into two sections.

Colour

The colour in a photograph can  help tell us stories (visually) and it can be used to communicate on an emotional level.

favim.com

shuttermonks.com

Colours have an impact on how we perceive a photograph. colors can also be used as a compositional tool; creating balance, contrast, tension or harmony. Colors readily affect our emotions.

The balloons (above) suggest a children's party or a special occasion. The bright colours along with the blue sky give a feeling of happiness or joy.

The red leaves in the image to the left suggest its autumn. Emphasising the warm colours but using the green leaf gives contrast, breaking the image up so the red tones do not over power the photograph.

Texture

A photographer's aim is to mostly create images that have an impact. Using textures in an image can be just as powerful as bold colours, lines or dramatic scenery. 

Our memories of how things feel are so ingrained in our consciousness that the mere sight of them brings a vivid sensation of touch. By exploiting textures you can bring a tactile dimension to photographs.

digital-photography-school.com

digital-photo-secrets.com

Texture can be used to give realism and character to a picture and may in itself be the subject of a photograph.



Pattern


Patterns in photography uses elements that are repeated. The repetition of lines, shapes, tones or color can create interesting images. 

depositphotos.com

Creating pictures around repeating elements or patterns provides picture unity and structure. Pattern repetition creates rhythm that the eyes enjoy following.

pxleyes.com

When photographing patterned images, it is sometimes better to empathise it or break it. When empathising, it is better to zoom into the image so that it fills the frame, giving the impression there are more items in view than there actually are. 

buzzle.com

Another use of repetition in photography is to capture the interruption of the flow of a pattern. For example, photographing apples and adding a red one to the pattern. 










References:

http://www.lightstalking.com

http://photography.about.com

http://digital-photography-school.com

http://www.framedreality.com

http://www.ronbigelow.com

http://www.photoinf.com

http://www.steves-digicams.com