2. Title
Nunnington Hall is a Manor house on the river Rye in North Yorkshire.
They regularly hold art, fashion and photography exhibitions.
They have worked with York College in the past and are keen to have
students produce work for display around the house over the summer.
They have asked for submissions of experimental photography on the
theme of discovery.
Students are to submit a maximum of 3 final images. Final selections will
be made and images will be displayed in the house.
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3. Title
Experimental photography is a phrase that includes alternative process
techniques, and broadly refers to any photographic process or product
falling outside the realm of straight film or digital photography.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experimental_photography
Experimental Photography is where photography takes on new techniques
or technologies. It often re-employs existing techniques in new ways.
We can simply divide up the world of experimental photography in to 4
distinction categories with 2 distinction purposes.
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4. Title
Historical:
Older photography work
which uses traditional
methods.
Contemporary:
More modern photography
which may use non-traditional
or traditional methods.
Traditional:
This method of working uses
older methods such as film
photography, cyanotypes,
dark room techniques and
paper collage.
Non-traditional:
This method of working uses
more modern techniques, in
particular digital production, to
achieve it’s aims. Traditional
methods of working can still
be employed but use digital
methods of production.
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5. Title
Fine art:
Fine art images are created
as a piece in themselves.
"Photography that is done as
a fine art -- that is, done to
express the artist's
perceptions and emotions and
to share them with others“
Gloria McDarrah
"A picture that is produced for
sale or display rather than
one that is produced in
response to a commercial
commission" Terry Hope
This work usually appears in
galleries, exhibitions and fine
art books and magazines.
Commercial:
Commercial work is often
produced in response to a
brief and then used for
another purpose, rather than
just being a piece of art in
itself. It could be used for a
wide variety of reasons
including advertising and
promotion.
This sort of work appears in a
wide variety of contexts. It can
appear on adverts in a range
of different media and also be
used to promote bands and
events.
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6. History of experimental photography
The late Victorian era saw the birth of experimental photography although
it was not considered a fully fledged art form until after World War 1.
In 1918 German artists Hannah Hoch and John Heartfield introduced the
term ‘photomontage’ which represents images that have been ‘engineered
rather than created’
They used photographs, illustration and a variety of media to construct
their images.
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7. Hannah Hoch
Hannah Hoch was a pioneer of the photomontage technique. Her work
plays with the idea of beauty and fashion at a time when mass media was
starting to create very clear representations of women and beauty
8. John Heartfield
John Heartfield is best known for his political montages that were
constructed in the 1930’s and 1940’s which aimed to expose Hitler’s Nazi
regime.
9. History of experimental photography
In an attempt to escape the idea that photography had to provide images
of the real world and could not be abstract like art, Alvin Langdon Coburn
used a series of mirrors and reflections to create his Vortagraph images
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10. Title
Man Ray (American, 1890-1976) produced photograms by placing objects
and other materials on photosensitive paper before exposing it to light.
Man Ray dubbed the results of his efforts “Rayographs”— a play on his
name, but also a twist on the Latin roots of the word “photograph,”
meaning “light-writing.
This allowed him to make images without the use of a camera.
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12. Title
David Hockney, (born 9 July 1937) is an English painter, draughtsman,
printmaker, stage designer and photographer. He is based in Bridlington,
Yorkshire, and Kensington, London.
An important contributor to the Pop art movement of the 1960s, he is
considered one of the most influential British artists of the twentieth
century. In the early 1980s, Hockney produced Photomontages as well as
photo collages, which he called joiners.
He first used Polaroid prints and later 35mm commercially processed
colour prints.
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15. Title
Since experimental photography’s birth it has been used and developed
by many artists and photographers.
Experimental photography has and is used to cause intrigue, awe and
shock.
In art it is used to provoke thought in the viewer.
Over the course of time it has been brought into the modern era with the
use of Photoshop.
It has also been used for more commercial purposes rather than just fine
art and appears in advertising and as part as promotional items.
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19. Task
Task 1:
You are to write a case study on different experimental photographers and
photographs.
You need to include a minimum of three experimental images produced
using photographs.
You should note down the artist.
You should explain the techniques that they used and categorise them as
traditional or non-traditional and also as historical or contemporary.
You should also explain where their work might be displayed, such as a
billboard, a book or a gallery.
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20. Exploring techniques
Be able to explore and
test techniques,
materials, processes and
media
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21. Exploring techniques
Today we are going to look at 4 basic techniques that break the traditional
rules of photography.
These techniques will give you a starting point for your own experiments
although you can choose whatever techniques you want to use later on in
the project.
The key to this task and your own project later on is to be methodical in
your work. Each one will produce very different results and you can use
them in a variety of ways.
To get a distinction you need to effectively and coherently explore and test
techniques, materials and processes before independently and
imaginatively review evaluate and develop innovative outcomes.
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22. Exploring techniques
Out of focus: Focus is a key element of photography and most of the
time you will try to get at least the important elements in focus. With this
technique, the idea is to break the rules and try to purposely take out of
focus images. The results can be quite stunning.
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23. Exploring techniques
Technique:
Switch the camera from
AF(auto focus) to MF
(manual focus).
Use the focus ring to adjust
the level of focus.
Wider apertures (f4) tend to
give more blur than smaller
ones (f18) but it is worth
testing out a range of
settings.
Different focal lengths will
also affect the image and
are worth experimenting
with.
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24. Exploring techniques
Hockney Photomontages/Joiners:
This involves take lots of close up images of a scene and then arranging
them so that the bigger picture can be seen. There are several ways of
doing it. Photoshop allows you to create a photomontage as an automatic
process.
You can also do it manually by layering up lots of images on a blank
document. You can also create them with printed images, as Hockney did.
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25. Exploring techniques
Technique:
When taking your images, get
close to your subject.
Take lots of images but be
methodical to ensure you cover
everything. Going from left to right
for each row is a sure fire
technique.
Use file > automate > Photomerge
in Photoshop to put it together
automatically.
Don’t worry about being too
perfect or you will lose the charm.
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27. Exploring techniques
Movement:
Capturing movement can result in very interesting and surreal images.
Two main techniques involve either photographing an object in motion or
moving the camera during exposure. Each has its own aesthetic and can
be used in different ways.
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28. Technique:
To do this you need to have long exposure to capture movement. Using
TV (shutter priority) mode can help you control the time the shutter is
open.
To capture movement of objects, keep the camera still during the
exposure. This will allow stationary objects to remain in focus and give a
counterbalance to the moving elements.
To introduce your own movement, hand hold the camera and move it
during exposure.
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29. Exploring techniques
Reflections:
Reflections can give us a unique and interesting perspective on a subject
that we might not have considered before. They can provide distortion,
transforming the mundane in to the exciting. They can provide frames
which capture small parts of the bigger picture.
Technique:
No special techniques are required for this kind of shoot, just a good eye.
You can even leave your camera on automatic. Try to exclude your own
reflection from the image unless you have a particular reasons to add it.
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31. Task
Task 2:
Produce images using reflections, Hockney joiners and photomontages,
out of focus photography and movement in your images.
You should demonstrate that you can use the techniques effectively. Use
a variety of subjects and compositions to add interest to your images and
test out the technique.
Once you have your images, you should use the experiments pro-forma to
display your images and record your thoughts on the outcomes.
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32. Additional techniques
Further techiques:
Experimental photography encompasses many different techniques. This
project will allow you to select one of more of these and develop a series
of images.
As with the Irn-Bru project, we want to see lots of development and
evaluation of your work. The process of taking images, testing methods,
reviewing results and then refining methods will help you get to a
distinction.
The next few slides show just some of the possibilities.
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44. Further techniques
Task 3:
Investigate at least 2 different experimental photography methods. Gather
a range of sample images and find out how to achieve each effect.
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45. Example
3D Photography:
3D photography involves using photoshop to process an image which can
then be viewed with 3D glasses. It is created by using two layers in
photoshop. One layer is altered to gives it a red colour overall. A second
layer has the colour channels adjusted to cyan. The red layer is moved a
few pixels to the right and the cyan layer is moved to the left. Using
appropriate glasses, you can see a 3D image. It offers a lot of potential for
experimentation.
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46. Planning
Intentions:
Theme:
The theme for your own work is discovery. This is quite an open brief and
allows for your own personal interpretation of the theme. You should
explore your thoughts on this theme and consider the techniques that you
might use to investigate the theme.
Task 4: Create an initial mind map on the theme of discovery before
producing a mood board of inspiring images to help with your ideas. This
will help you complete your proposal which should outline the subjects you
will use and the techniques you will test.
Task 5:
Complete the planning pro-forma to list the time, date, location and
equipment required to produce your images. You should also include
details of what you will be doing during the shoot. Remember that
methodical, controlled experimentation will help you get better results.
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47. Title
Task 6:
You are to produce a minimum of three complete experimental photographs.
You need to evaluate each photograph to show how you have refined your images.
There is a pro-forma to help structure your responses with this. You should
consider technical and aesthetic qualities. You should consider formal elements of
your work such as line, shape and texture as well as colour, tone and contrast. You
should also consider the composition of your work.
You need to use contact sheets to view and show your progress.
You should include your workings out and progression of the development of your
photography. Re-working or retaking of your images would be beneficial to get the
most out of your processes and to help you develop it to near professional
standards.
To gain a distinction you need to effectively analyse developmental work to
implement purposeful outcomes and independently and imaginatively review
evaluate and develop innovative outcomes.
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