I chose the word 'transformation' as I thought it would be particularly interesting to explore through the lens as photography is a medium which can distort, manipulate and transform reflections of reality.
Transformational art is art that changes or expands the viewer's understanding of the world around them. It can be conceptual, abstract, or emotional, but it always has an intention of helping the viewer see and feel the world in a new way.
Exhibitions
'The Cult of Beauty' Exhibition at the Wellcome Collection
I visited the Wellcome Collection to experience their new exhibition which explores the different and changing perceptions of beauty across time and cultures, as I thought it may be relevant to my focus on the transformation of portraiture. The exhibition features over 200 items including historical objects, artworks, films and physical installations, tracing humanity's obsession with beauty throughout the ages. One area I found especially interesting was the work designed by Xcessive Aesthetics. As you entered, the area was dim and illuminated by colourful neon lighting, with long metal sinks. It's designed to evoke the feeling of a nightclub bathroom, a unique space where complete strangers can find affinity in a passion for beauty and feel connected despite potential differences. The videos shown in the place of bathroom mirrors display videos from social or other media on the subject of beauty, for example, extreme makeup transformations. Perhaps in the future it will be difficult to distinguish between the real and the un-real, having impacts on people's perceptions of perfection. The exhibition influenced my ideas on how self-perception is influenced by external factors, and how the definitions of beauty which surround us now are fickle and subject to change, perhaps especially with technology on the rise.
Daido Moriyama: A Retrospective at the Photographers' Gallery
The exhibition traces the development of one of the most influential street photographers, known for his dense, grainy images, often of city life. The exhibition began with Moriyama's early works for Japanese magazines, establishing his unique aesthetic, famously known by the Japanese catchphrase 'bure boke', meaning blurry, grainy, out of focus. A section which interested me was Moriyama's fascination with accidents, and his determination to capture one. During the 1960s, Moriyama drove around in police cars patrolling the district of Shinjuku, Tokyo, known for its hectic nightlife. The images he captures are foreboding due to the use of blurred movement and dark visuals. Moriyama's next fascination was with the US military occupation of Japan, tracing the clash of Japanese tradition and western influences. Inspired by such American artists as Andy Warhol and William Klein, Moryiama displays the contradiction of capitalist society, spurred on by Japan's economic transformation. This section mainly inspired me in terms of post-production techniques, especially the pages from magazines displayed in glass cabinets. Moriyama's choice to photograph in the spur of the moment means that he captures the reality of the cultural shifts around him, making his images very unpretentious and raw. I was intrigued by the room dedicated to looking through Moriyama's publications, especially how he chose to lay his images out on paper, from showing his contact sheets, to having folded papers which sprawl out with one image.
Three Strands
Strand 1 - Transforming the Figure
Francesca Woodman
Francesca Woodman was an American photographer best known for her blurred imagery of female figures and self-portraiture. Many of her images feature herself, nude or semi-nude, but half-hidden or obscured by objects from her domestic surroundings or blurred by long exposures. The gothic atmosphere created by the dingy interiors and often low-lighting reflects how Woodman was subverting traditional portraiture in place of something more obscure and unsettling.
Many of the images were taken in her family's summer house in Italy, and European art had a significant impact on her work. Surrealist art, particularly the photographs of Man Ray, were influential for her, seen in the themes of identity in her work. This can be seen in her use of unusual props, such as shells and eels, to place familiar things in unfamiliar combinations and environments, creating dreamlike spaces and adding to the eerie feel of her images. Woodman was equally inspired by fashion photography, having attended design school, shown in her intimate use of clothing in her portraits as an element of composition and an exploration of self-presentation.
The impact of the spectral aspect of her blurred portraits makes the images seem more universal and timeless, a quality which Woodman wished to recreate, indeed she stated that 'I want my pictures to have a certain timeless, personal but allegorical quality'.
Edits
Overall, I liked the blurring of the face as it makes the portrait more anonymous, reflecting Woodman's intentions to make her images more universal. The unusual movements of the figure bring that uncanny quality which is present in Woodman's work, especially after I edited them into black and white and deepened the darker shades slightly. On the other hand, I often had difficulty in using the slow shutter speed to blur movement with the relatively low indoors lighting, making most of the images slightly grainy. To improve, I would use some kind of spotlight and possibly a tripod for the camera to ensure that the photos looked smoother. I would also make more use of props to create those dreamlike environments which Woodman photographs in, as there is nothing in the backdrop in the majority of my images, taking away some of the uncanniness as it may seem reminiscent on a studio set-up.
Strand 2 - Transforming Structures
Vera Lutter
Lutter is a German photographer based in New York City. Her striking images are created with one of the earliest photographic devices - the camera obscura. After the long exposure process, Lutter chooses to keep the negative as it is, adhering as closely as possible to the original activity of light tracing on photo-sensitive paper. This reflects her interest in the chemical process of photography, and how this developed during the period of 19th century industrial development. The lengthy exposures also allow for the resulting image to capture change which has occurred during the process, with one of the longest durations Lutter has used being 7 months. The structural elements become shells of themselves, turning the concrete nature of the physical world on its head, almost evoking a feeling of the uncanny. This parallels Lutter's sense of awe in the rise of mechanical technology, at once creating an aura of fear as admiration for these grand buildings, which are often recognisable New York spots. Lutter emphasises her love for architecture through the large scale of her photos and the strange beauty which is created by her photographic process, as influenced by her training as a sculptor. The images she creates are enormous, and she enjoys that when these are exhibited they take up the entire space.
Edits
Overall, I think the images are visually effective. There is something menacing but also majestic in the angle of looking from below, heightening the feeling of importance of the buildings, reflecting Lutter's intentions. I think my choice of setting of Canary Wharf was successful as the buildings are tall and uniform, reflecting the increasing modernisation of the urban environment.
However, I struggled during the editing process to mimic the look of Lutter's work exactly, as I was trying to make the analogue technique digital. I found that some of the images were not as starkly black and white as I would have liked them to be. Although I do think that the greyish in-between tones add depth to the image, to improve, perhaps I could research another technique to get this effect.
Strand 3 - Transforming Landscape
Hiroshi Sugitmoto
All images from Sugitmoto's 'Seascape' series
Hiroshi Sugitmoto is a Japanese photographer and architect. His photography is often seen as a philosophical yet playful inquiry into our understanding of time and memory. Mainly using an 8x10 large format camera, he specialises in what is sometimes referred to as "slow shutter speed" photography. Sugimoto calls his signature photographic style "time exposure" experiments. The visual texture of the sea images from series 'Seascapes', in particular, smoothed by time, demonstrates his interest in eternity as opposed to the transience of human life. Thus, he views photography as a medium to make things permanent, or a kind of time machine, viewing his work as a method for preserving memories. “That’s the character of the medium of photograph–y, it can deal with time,” he notes. Sugimoto experimented with shutter speeds more than one hour long, giving the images that strangely graphic but realistic look. He started the series 'Seascapes' with the English Channel and ended with the Black Sea off the coast of Turkey. There’s almost a meditative quality to his art, even while he’s influenced by Surrealism and Dadaism, especially Marcel Duchamp, shown in the quiet subversion of typical images which we might expect to see of natural landscapes.
Edits
I took these images on a moving boat, meaning that it was difficult to keep my camera completely still. Although this did lead to some interesting visual effects with the slow shutter speed creating a kind of light drawing, it was difficult to get the still, tranquil feeling of Sugimoto's work.
Also, I could not use as long shutter speeds as Sugimoto, meaning that the photos retains a sense of movement, rather than being smoothed over by time, as Sugimoto's are. To remedy this I would have to set up a tripod and use a very long exposure, however I found that the moving element of the camera was interesting as I could track and blur the changes in the passing environment. Despite this, I thought they were visually engaging, especially with the neon lights contrasting to the dark night. Although I edited some of the images into black and white in an attempt to make them calmer, I found that this reduced the appeal. Perhaps to develop I could use longer shutter speeds with a camera on a still tripod.
First Development of Strand 1
I decided to develop further from Strand 1. I found the idea of transforming a likeness interesting, especially considering how photography is usually used as an objective representation. Especially in the world today, in which social media is increasingly used, personal images and selfies are shared more and more, almost cluttering the internet. In purposefully transforming portraits, I wanted to explore how I could subvert this tradition and bring creativity to what is perhaps becoming a banal phenomenon.
When looking further into how I could transform portraits, I looked back at the Pinterest board I made initially in response to the word 'Transformation'. I found I had saved multiple images which included a figure whose likeness had been obscured through the use of bright light and over-exposure. One of these photographers was Sohrab Hura.
Example Screengrab from my Pinterest Board
Sohrab Hura
Sohrab Hura is an Indian photographer who began his photographic career with social documentary photography. But as time went by, Hura started to move away from this, turning his gaze inward and focusing on issues that reflect his personal experience. "Over the years as I grew as a photographer, that feeling of love slowly became a feeling of love-hate, as I hope it is for any relationship that is alive and constantly changing. I had to figure a way out to keep at it", he says.
He began to create visual journals of his life and personal relationships, such as in his series 'Life is Elsewhere', which also explores his relationship with his mother who was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. Hura says that this series grew out of his desperate need to experience his own life and to instil some reality into it. He describes life as a "wonderful jigsaw puzzle" which he uses the medium of photography to piece together.
There is a sense of confusion, as much as a lure to lots of Hura's images. His images disrupt assumed visual codes and decenter dominant narratives which dictate our relationships to ourselves and others. This can be seen in his images using bright light to erase the visual details of his subjects, leaving only a lit up silouhette. This reflects his belief in the power of art to present alternative perspectives, noting that "that is where I think the power really lies, in how we are able to tweak these narratives to our own advantage."
Life is Elsewhere, 2007
Edits
This process was very difficult technically. In order to capture the over-exposed effect, I had to keep the shutter speed on long timings, even up to 8 seconds. This made it almost impossible to take the image without blurred movement being captured also. However, I think, especially in Example 1, this had an interesting effect, almost appearing ghostly. I also liked that you could see elements of the background, like the foreboding sky and interlacing black branches of trees, adding to the supernatural feel. To improve I would use a tripod to reduce the blur. I also think the images could be improved by turning them into black and white to lean more into the foreboding atmosphere.
Second Development
Following on with the theme of finding visual ways to cover up the figure in the portrait, I thought about editing and redaction.
Nhu Xuan Hua
Nhu Xuan Hua is a French-Vietnamese photographer based in Paris.
Her first publication 'Tropism, Consequences of a displaced Memory' is published by Area Books. Based on archival pictures from her family, the digital intervention interprets these memories through a new angle, exploring the effect of dissipation generated by time passing and driven by the forces of an inherited memory.
Her use of a Photoshop editing technique creates an eerie effect, underscoring the intangibility of the past and how even one's own family can remain mysterious.
Her upbringing in France also influenced her work. Hua felt she had to break out of her native France, where cultural assimilation is incentivised over the celebration of origin stories for diasporic residents, finding more of a sense of community on London, which she moved to in 2012.
The distorted images of Tropism were part of Hua’s wider endeavour of visiting and interviewing different family members dispersed throughout Vietnam, Canada, Belgium, and France, in order to better understand her heritage and herself. “I started collecting sounds, conversations, papers, little words, to put back together the puzzle pieces,” she says. Her aim, through her photography, is to put together her own story to reconcile with her own sense of personhood.
Edits
I thought this had an interesting effect, almost making the figures look ghostly, which was a strange process for me as I used family photos. I liked the surreal element, especially when I edited out only the faces. It also may be unsettling for the viewer through the use of technology, almost giving a dystopian feel, linking into the transformative nature of increasingly advanced technology as I learnt about in the Wellcome exhibition. It almost reflects how technology can physically corrode away the real. I also liked the random nature of allowing the computer to guess at the photograph's content.
However, I wanted to take photos of my own to use, instead of manipulating existing ones.
Third Development
Ben Lewis Giles
Ben Lewis Giles is a UK-based artist whose work is defined by his handmade collages. He often utilises vintage or antique materials to create detailed artworks, with his focus on collage sometimes stretching to other mediums such as sculpture and illustration.
He cites his inspirations as 'nature, surrealism, exploration, darkness, joy, metamorphosis' and 'empathy'. In his cut-out collage work which I am looking at in particular, I think this quality of empathy is very apparent. In removing the individuality of the figure by literally cutting them out, he makes a statement on universality and the experiences that we all share. He is also interested in creating characters or scenes that are 'a bit off, alien, or transcendental to the people involved'. Indeed, there is often an element of the surreal in his collages, with his cut-out work perhaps even being shocking to a viewer as a violation against the original images, especially as his scissor cuts are visible. In a time where it is so easy to manipulate imagery using technological software, the visibly handmade quality of Giles' collages encourage the viewer to appreciate the hand of the artist.
I took photos of figures in different positions and within different environments.
Editing Process in Photoshop
Edits
The first collage was my first successful attempt. However, it was too perfectly aligned and geometric as I was so focused on getting the technique correct. So for my second collage, I changed the sizes and arrangement of the images to create more of a handmade collage effect.
However, despite multiple attempts, this was the most successful one, and it was still too clinical and clean, it did not have that special artistic touch which makes the collaging process unique. I found the images had no atmosphere, they did not have that 'slightly off' feel that Giles has perfected. Sometimes the jagged edges of the cut out contrasted discordantly with the background image, also adding to the sharpness of the overall collage, as well as the rectangular frames of each image. Perhaps I would have been more successful in hand-making the collages, but I was interested in making the process digital.
Fourth Development
Moving away from cutting out the figure completely, I wanted to look at finding ways to disrupt or abstract the figure.
Murielle Michetti-Baumgartner
Murielle Michetti-Baumgartner is a Swiss photographer who graduated from the Photography School of Vevey.
Her three-photograph series 'opaque' questions what the eye searches for when it sees. She believes that it is necessary to obscure a large part of the world in order to be able to appreciate its small details. Therefore, her use of a blurred screen draws our attention to the outline of the silhouette and the various tonal shades. She uses this to explore how humans perceive each other's physical form.
Additionally, some of her images are dotted with breaks and rips. She does this to delve into human connection, evoking the idea that, maybe, we relate through common scars or experiences.
I wanted to continue trying to transform portraiture by using her technique of using a sheet of material to blur, and therefore explore how to convey a likeness in a different way.
Editing Process
Edits
I found it interesting to overlay photos of windows onto portraits I had taken. I especially liked when aspects of the window's surface came through like the drops of condensation or the impressionistic outlines of the leaf pattern of one of the windows. However, this differed from my inspiration work as it introduced another element altogether to the original portrait, rather than just adjusting it.
I thought that the variations in colour and tone were interesting, and I slightly increased the saturation on some of the background images to emphasise the blue of the skies.
However, the imposition of one photo onto another does not soften the likeness of the portrait enough, although this was most successful in the bottom right image due to the bright light reflecting off the window. Although, I did think that the use of windows created a sense of the subject being imprisoned behind the glass, which was interesting, almost reflecting how the act of taking a photograph imprisons that person forever in an image.
I think if I were to develop these I would isolate the figure from the background in order to avoid any distraction, and use a material physically in front of the camera lens when I was taking the portrait, rather than layering two elements in Photoshop.
Fifth Development
Eliana Marinari
Eliana Marinari is an artist with classical drawing training, but also a doctorate in science. The influence of her scientific studies can be seen in her paintings which explore the illusion of visual perception and the way in which the human brain responds to images. In her work, she creates fuzzy and soft portraits, referencing back to how the brain creates visual associations.
For her series 'A familiar stranger', Marinari asked people 'what is one specific moment from your past that shaped who you are today?'. She presents her paintings next to the written memory. Marinari does not use reference photos, rather she creates images based on her impression of what she has been told. I found this interesting as the portraits as not necessarily of the person who spoke about their memory, but rather an impression that stuck with the artist. Her work also strives to replicate psychological states. Her choice of colour varied depending on the story. For example, she uses a rosy, fairytale-esque tint to respond to the retold memory of a love story.
Edits
I especially liked the bottom right photo as it has a slightly painterly effect. I had the subject put the paper slightly further away in order to further blur the likeness. I think the composition is strong as the face takes up around 3/4 of the photo, with the slightly blue, darker background blending into the overall palette and framing the face.
Sometimes it was difficult to balance putting the paper near enough to capture the basic features of the face with not putting it too close. For example, in the top right image, the nose is touching the paper. Although I liked the effect of it looking like the subject is almost being suffocated by the paper boundary, it was less similar to the paintings.
To develop, perhaps I could combine this technique of using tracing paper over the camera lens to explore some of Michetti-Baumgartner's techniques in conjunction with the hazy aesthetic of Marinari's portraits, and I also liked the idea of being smothered by an intrusion on the camera.
Sixth Development
Antonio Palmerini
Antonio Palmerini is an Italian artist who fuses photography, drawing and painting techniques.
His work mainly features dark haired female figures, applying slow shutter speed, double exposure, long exposures and high contrast development. Shot on film, each frame is carefully processed and edited with various art techniques to create images that blur the boundaries between photography and art. Palmerini’s style is dark, moody, misleading and most often dreamy. The result is portraits of ghostly figures, silent but tense, against textured, blurred, unsettling backgrounds. His choice of techniques depends on what he wishes to capture: he uses the camera to depict what he does not want to paint, and painting to describe what cannot be photographed, like a dream or some kind of emotional impulse: 'To me, photography is the mirror of imagination. I am interested in images that portrait a situation. I am not interested in people because I can portrait them, I am interested in people because they exist.'
The worn appearance of this photographer’s work also intrigued me, through the use of textured layers on top of his elegantly posed subjects.
I wanted to give a rougher look to the images I took for my previous development by ripping and cutting the tracing paper, to mimic the more irregular surface texture of Palmerini's photos.
Edits
Example 1
Sometimes it was difficult to keep the camera focused sharply on the surface of the paper, however I used a tripod and this helped me to overcome this. In some cases, the pressure of my hands on the paper also dented the paper, which made the images less sleek, but I actually thought this sometimes added to the images, giving them a more rough, man-handled texture. As in Marinari's portraits of memories, perhaps these images suggest some kind of emotional tumult or even suffocation, or even a breaking free from entrapment, as opposed to the stifling restriction of the portraits using the untouched paper. Overall, I found that the photos in which I ripped the paper more roughly and randomly were the most effective. I found it contrasted in an interesting way with the smooth, static surface of the tracing paper, and the more structured cut shapes seemed too clearly defines. I also liked when the rip was placed in front of a specific part of the face, for example in Example 1, where the largest rip reveals the pupil. The subject looking out from the tears brought up ideas of looking, with the layer of tracing paper almost mimicking a viewer's layer of perception, which has been broken through.
To develop, I want to move on from using the paper. There seems to be another element between the lens which is creating this blurred effect of Palmerini's images, instead of just something directly in front of the camera, which I wanted to explore.
Summary of Initial Developments
Seventh Development
In order to get this blurred effect, I decided to use double exposure with a manual film camera. In this way, I could expose the same frame of film twice in order to mix the two images together. This technique works by exposing the film to light twice, literally photographing on top of each other. I shot one entire roll of portraits, using different subjects in slightly varied positions in an indoor studio, then on the second try, I shot photos of outdoor windows and structures as I thought this would give the scuffy and more hazy look of Palmerini's works but intruding on the portraits.
My initial try with the manual film was unsuccessful, I think through a mixture of overexposure in the camera's settings and issues with development afterwards.
My second try was similarly of limited success, again overexposed and although this gave a milky look which made the figures ghostly, the images were not coming out well enough to use. I decided to try photographing the second set of images indoors as I thought that perhaps the photos of windows were too bright, corroding away the impression of the portrait.
First and Second Failed Attempts
Eighth Development
I looked back at the Moriyama exhibition I visited in order to look again at his use of subversive visual techniques.
The Photographer's Gallery describes Moriyama as a pioneer of 'are, bure, boke', which they define as:
'1. 'Are' (Grainy)
This term refers to the presence of visible grain or 'noise' in photographs. Instead of striving for the pristine clarity and fine grain of film often associated with traditional photography, Moriyama embraces the texture and imperfections created by grain. Grain is the visible texture created through the random arrangement of silver halide crystals on photographic film which can be fine or coarse.
2. 'Bure' (Blurry)
Embracing blur as an artistic choice, Moriyama's work often features subjects that are intentionally out of focus. This blurriness adds a dreamlike quality to his images, encouraging viewers to engage more with the emotions and atmosphere of a scene rather than just its details. Blur in photography can occur for different reasons, for example moving the camera when making an exposure or photographing something fast moving at a slower shutter speed.
3. 'Boke' (Out of focus)
'Boke' takes the intentional blurriness a step further. This technique can create a sense of mystery and intrigue, inviting viewers to interpret the image in their own unique ways. To photograph something out of focus, a photographer can be selective with what is in focus by changing the ‘depth of field’ or they can shoot entirely out of focus by choosing no focal point at all.'
Using the visual techniques of Moriyama and Palmerinin for inspiration, I used tracing paper, this time in different positions and with different lightings, making sure to under-expose. I also took some photos of curtains with interesting light and shadow to see what effect it would have on the portraits in the double exposure. I thought that by photographing another textured boundary, I could develop on my ideas of entrapment of the figure.
Film Scanned
I then decided to edit them digitally after scanning to increase the contrast and tweak the lighting levels.
Edits
Example 1
I thought that the transposing of textures had worked particularly well, with the scratches and water stains from the windows coming to the forefront, almost mimicking something directly intruding on the lens. This was especially successful in Example1 as the scratch from the window creates an almost geometrical shape, and the lighting shadow in the top right corner similarly adds to the visual pattern, while maintaining the portrait below. The smaller light scratches also brought an element of three-dimension, making the figure seem trapped within glass, and drawing the viewer's attention to the textured foreground, perhaps even before they properly see the figure, subverting our expectations for portraits.
The experiments with lighting created a dramatic effect of surges of light in some areas which fade into the corners. Although this was visually intriguing, it meant that the portrait below was often obscured, and I struggled even during the digital editing process to make them stand out. I wanted to transform the portrait without completely erasing it. Although the sepia colour was not intentional, I really liked the look of it. It almost makes the portraits look like ancient artefacts, taking away the timeframe completely and transforming the viewer's perception as they may be unable to distinguish any modern indicators. It was also successful in adding the sense of entrapment I was looking for, highlighting how I've purposefully disrupted the presentation of the figure for the viewer.
The photos reminded me of collodian portraits, an early photographic process which creates this effect of rough edges. I wanted to explore further with the effects of different developing processes on the aged look of the photos.
Ninth Development
As the film photos had been too faint to develop in the darkroom, I decided to, after editing them digitally, invert them and print them out again for use in the darkroom as I had intended originally.
Inverted Film
As the image is double exposed, I expected it to be difficult to develop. However, I think they turned out well after I determined the correct length of exposure to light.
Successful Darkroom Photos
Photo1
Photo2
Photo3
Digital Edits
I think that the rough, textured look already achieved with the double exposed film was further enhanced by the dark room process as the whole photo was given an almost blotchy pattern which added to the uneven tones. However, this also seemed to blend the two double exposed aspects, making the boundary in front of the portrait less clear, which I found reduced the trapped aspect which I had wanted. It reduced the feeling of the physical separation between the camera and the subject, and the physical manifestation of the viewer's layer of perception.
The use of the manual developing process also seemed to link back to my use of film. The almost archaic look of the photos was further emphasised by the use of chemicals, linking to how I've captured a shot of the subjects which will never happen again. As the film developed to reveal the images, it made me think about our fading memories of people and how portraits can capture them forever.
Digitally photographing these was difficult as I felt it did not properly reproduce how the prints looked, but after editing them, I felt more satisfied. Also, I found that developing in this way did not bring attention to the photographic process as was more obvious in the previous portraits. Although this added to the ambiguity of the photos on their time and place it did not meet my intentions of exploring the representation of people throughout time through different processes. In fact, the previous portraits linked more to the idea of memories and capturing people forever as they had more of an old look. The clearer focus on the textured boundary also added more to the sense of restriction and layers of perception.
Tenth Development
As I liked the double exposed portraits and textures, but neither of the developing processes created images which fully met my intentions, I decided to take another round of double exposed film. I took photos of portraits in an indoor studio and then of different ripped and scrunched parchment paper over windows, using tape to add texture.
I developed the film and, once dry, used the negative scanner
Scanned Film
Edits
Example 1
Example 2
These photos were very effective. The use of ripped parchment paper added a hazy film and texture to the portraits, with the ripped elements often corrolating with the facial features, evoking the theme of entrapment which I had wanted to coney.
The photos also maintained the archaic feel with the slightly sepia colour and the visual effect of the image getting lighter around the edges.
I found that using parchment paper was the most successful method as it gave a mottled effect across the whole photo as well as the added intrigue of the tears and uneven surface. In 'Example 1' I used a sheet of thin see-through plastic and scrunched it to trap air bubbles. This gave the images more of a whimsical look, and even suggested suffocation, however I do not think it corollated as closely to my intentions as the paper. For 'Example 2', I took a photo of the window itself, focusing the lens on its textured surface. The lighting was dramatic and lined up well, with the turning head of the subject aligning with the block of sun, however, again, there was less of a sense of a physical boundary and the tone was more euphoric.
I then decided to include the edge of the film into the shot to emphasise the photographic process. I did this by purposefully shifting the film into the wrong position in the negative scanner and capturing the edge.
I liked the effect of the numbers coming into the shot, however, in order to be able to see the photo, the scanner automatically adjusted, meaning that the film was not visible. Also, the full composition could not be included, which meant reducing the dramatic effect of the film itself.
I even tried scanning by purposefully putting the film in between the correct placements for it to represent the selection process of the photographer looking through the role of film, but again a significant proportion of the composition was covered, and I found it was also difficult in terms of exposure, as can be seen in the middle example.
So then I decided to edit them digitally to mimic this affect while keeping the full composition of the shot in place, taking scans of film using a higher exposure and editing them onto the full scans of the double exposed portraits.
Digital Editing Process
Final Pieces
Murielle Michetti-Baumgartner, Nhu Xuan Hua, Eliana Marinari and my visit to the 'Cult of Beauty' exhibition at the Wellcome Collection all influenced my experimentations with the more emotional thoughts behind self-perception and the ethics of representing others through creative mediums. Although I moved on from using the digital techniques, the ideas I garnered from responding to them inspired my final piece. Antonio Palmerini and the Daido Moriyama exhibition focused my attention onto blurring the boundaries of visual perception through experiments with the photographic medium, both the process of developing and editing afterwards.
Overall, I think that my final pieces were very successful in fufilling my intentions for the project. Although I was already happy with the double exposed film photos, adding the edge of the film into the composition was the finishing touch to elevate the photos visually as well as drawing the viewer's attention to the manual photographic process, a theme which has run throughout my project from attempting to make analogue techniques digital to experimenting with older techniques. I found that the viewer's likeness was obscured and transformed enough to make the viewer second-guess what exactly they are looking at, achieved through the use of double-exposed film. The use of the scrunched paper added texture, with the rips breaking through the boundary of the layer of a viewer's perception, juxtaposing with the smooth film aligned at the side of the photo. This also put into question the impact of perception on the sense of self, with the rips reflecting emotional turmoil. Finally, the sense of entrapment of the figure was also underscored by the addition of the edge of the film to the overall image, spotlighting the camera's ability to 'entrap' a likeness of a living person forever in time.