Darkroom and Camera Techniques

Double/ multiple exposure:

Double or multiple exposure photography is a technique used in order to have two or more images within the same photograph. The way in which to do this is by using a setting on a film camera which allows you to take two photographs on the same section of film so when you wind the camera on, it just resets the workings of the camera but does not immediately wind on the film. This allows you to take 2 photographs on the section of film creating a layered type of photograph.

Sandwich negatives:

Sandwiching negatives gives the same overall outcome to double or multiple exposure meaning that two photographs are ultimately layered on top of each other. This technique is carried out within the dark room while printing the photographs. In order to carry out this technique, two single exposure photographs are required and when preparing to print the photograph, instead of placing one of negatives into the negative holder, two negatives are placed into the holder at the same time. By printing these photographs in this way means that both photographs will be present within the final end piece. This technique hugely increases the exposure time needed in order to properly expose the images. This is because the thickness of the negative has been doubles so the exposure time is at least doubled.

Scratching negatives:

Scratching negatives is a technique used before the  has been developed. To carry out this technique you have to scratch the negative before using it. When you have the end product which has been created using this technique, the end photograph which has been created will have black lines wherever the scratches on the negatives has been placed. This is because when you scratch the negative, you are removing the emulsion which stops the light passing through the negative creating he image so when this is scratched away it means that the light is able to pass straight through it creating a black line as this would be the most exposed part of the photograph.

Painting with developer:

Painting with developer is a technique used in the dark room and is carried out by literally painting the photographic  developer onto the light sensitive paper then exposing the paper to light then developing the image as you normally would when developing a photograph using the wet process. This technique means that you can draw any design that you wish and this will appear on the paper once the image has been properly developed.  When carrying out this technique, the parts of the image which you have painted with the developer will show up as white when eventually be developed as the developer would stop this part of the paper being reacting when the light comes into contact with it and act like a barrier so this means that the parts of the light sensitive paper which have not been painted with developer would appear black when eventually developed. This technique can be very effective as it can be used as a different way of creating paintings, or it can be used to create unique looking photographs as you could paint onto the photographic paper with the developer then take that same piece of paper and develop a photograph onto it as normal. This technique means that when the photograph has been developed, the places where you previously painted with the developer will be left blank with the photograph showing through in the remaining spaces. This can be more effective than simply exposing the paper to light and allowing the remaining spaces to go black.

Solarisation:

Solarisation is a technique completed within the dark room which gives photographs a silver-ish look to them. Solarisation reverses the tones within a photograph and is very effective if done correctly within black and white film photography. This technique can be done while using the wet process in order to develop the photographs. Solarisation is done by finding the correct exposure for the photograph you wish to print in this fashion then placing it into the developer as usual, then as soon as the image starts to appear on the paper, flash the print under a bright light for around 1 second then places back into the developer for the usual amount of time then continuing with the developing process as usual. The parts of the print which were just becoming visible will now be the parts of the photograph which appear the lightest and have a silver tone to them.

Baseboard distortion:

Baseboard distortion is a technique carried out within the dark room when exposing the photograph. Usually when exposing a photograph in the dark room, the paper is alaid flat on the baseboard beneath the enlarger in order to get an evenly exposed photograph, hoever, when carrying out this technique, the baseboard or paper must be moved or bent in some way in order to change how the image will look. For example if you hold the paper in such a way that the middle is arched up off of the base board and focus the image on the base board this will lean that the left and right of the photograph will be in focus while the middle will be out of focus as this is at a different height so would need to be focused differently.

Image weaving:

This is a technique completed post dark room in which you take two photographs which you have previously developed then cut them into equal strips then weave them together as you would if you were weaving a basket or something else of this nature. Once put together this technique will create one image made out of two photographs and the result will be that the image you have now created will have a checkerboard appearance with alternating from one photograph to the other. This technique would be most effective with two very contrasting photographs as this would make it easier to determine what the two images are.

Photo montage:                                                                                                                            

This is a technique which takes place after the dark room process has been completed. A photo montage is a piece of art work made up of several different photographs all arranged together to create one large image. Often photographs of the same scene are taken from different angles and of different sections of said scene and then once printed, placed together to once again build up the scene which you were intending to photograph. This technique was famously used by David Hockney.

Photogram:

A photogram is a technique in which an image is made within the dark room without the use of negatives. A photogram is created by placing a piece of photographic paper under the enlarger as if you are preparing to expose a photograph, then place some items on top of the photographic paper, after this, run the enlarger for a short period of time with no negatives in the enlarger then remove the objects from the paper and carry out the developing process as usual. This technique creates interesting prints as each one has the potential to be very different to the last. This technique works as the object placed on the paper are stopping the light from the enlarger from exposing the paper meaning that when you come to develop the print the sections which were coved by the objects will be remain white while the uncovered sections will become black.

Distressing images:

Distressing images is a technique completed after leaving the dark room and once you have physical copies of your photographs. Distressing images has the same sort of effect as scratching negatives but only in reverse. When scratching negatives you are letting more light through so dark lines are printed onto the image whereas when distressing images you are scratching and intentionally damaging the physical print this means that when you scratch the print itself, white lines will be present within the print as this is the colour of the paper and essentially you are scratching away the top layer of the paper and revealing the paper underneath the print. 

Part 2 - artist research:

Man Ray:

Emmanuel Radnitzky, also known as Man Ray was an american visual artist who spent most of his career in France. He was known for creating a wide range of media but considered himself a painter overall. This said, he was very well known for his photography and was a renowned fashion and portrait photography. In addition to this, he is also known for creating photograms within the darkroom which he liked to refer to as 'Rayographs' in recognition to himself. Man Ray was a very private man and did not let many aspects of his life be known by the public. he was so private that refused to acknowledge that he even had a name other than Man Ray as this is what he changed his name to later in life. Along with his photographic assistant, Man Ray recreated the art of solarisation and created various prints in this manor as well as creating his 'rayographs'.

Here are some examples of Man Rays work:

David Hockney;

David Hockney is an English artist and photographer born in 1937 in Bradford, West Yorkshire. David Hockney was a massive part of the pop art movement in the 1960's and is considered to be one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. David Hockney was born and grew up in Bradford and he studied at Bradford College. David Hockney is well knows for a number of types of artwork, two of the most notable ones are pop art and his photo joiners. In the early 1980s, he began to create photo collages which he called 'joiners'. These were photo montages constructed using several photographs all taken of the same scene from slightly different angles so when they are put together they create an image of the scene which has been made up of a lot of different images. Hockney first started doing this using polaroid photographs and then moved onto 35mm film which was then commercially printed in colour. The creation of Hockneys joiners was accidental as he found that photographers during the 1960s were using wide angled camera lenses and he did not like this as he thought this made photographs look somewhat distorted so when working on a painting of a living room and terrece, he took a few polariod photographs and stuck them together. after doing this he looked at it and saw that it looked as though it was taking the viewer on a journey through the area which was photographed.

Here are some examples of David Hockneys joiners: