Monthly Archives: February 2018

Teju Cole – “The Image of Time”

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16 Works: Selected Images 1967-2000 , Printed 2000-2001

Teju Cole’s “The Image of Time” focuses on William Christenberry (1936-2016) who was a prominent photographer known for his series photographs. He primarily focused on landscape photography that interested him from his hometown, Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He was drawn to the Southern American aesthetic of shacks, simple churches, barns and makeshift building, as well as the red dust and wild vegetation of the region. Christenberry was self-appointed as historian of many sites in Hale County. This was not because of the great importance of the sites, but because they “called out to him and elicited from him a sense of responsibility”.

In a typical photographic series, there are usually different subjects depicted. However, in Christenberry’s photographic series, what is different is not the subject, but the time in which the photographs were taken. These photographs employed time as a narrative. Christenberry believed that time was photography’s illusion and expressed this through his series. Although an audience may be able to tell that photographs within his series were not taken at relatively close times, they are unable to tell exactly how long the length of time was between the photographs. Christenberry’s work seems to effortlessly pin down the central concern of human life: the passage of time.

Source:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/31/magazine/the-image-of-time.html

Still Life – Landscape

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Part I: Camera Study Images

Exposure:

f/5.6 1/50 ISO 1600

f/10 1/250 ISO 1600

f/4.5 1/4000 ISO 1600

ISO:

f/6.3 1/1250 ISO 3200

f/6.3 1/25 ISO 100

White Balance:

f/5.6 1/250 ISO 100 Auto

f/5.6 1/250 ISO 100 Tungsten

f/5.6 1/250 ISO 100 Shade

Depth of Field:

f/6.3 1/60 ISO 100

f/6.3 1/60 ISO 100

Shutter Speed:

f/16 1/125 ISO 200

f/20 1/13 ISO 200

Angles:

f/5.6 1/125 ISO 100

f/5.6 1/320 ISO 100

Part II: Cohesive Series of Images

The Jungle

Stripes
f/6.3 1/160 ISO 1600

Rain

f/6.3 1/800 ISO 1600

Vines 1

f/8 1/30 ISO 100

Vines 2

f/5.6 1/2000 ISO 1600

Bark 1

f/8 1/320 ISO 100

Bark 2

f/5.6 1/1000 ISO 100

Cameraless Photography

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Cameraless photography is a practice of photography without using an actual camera that dates back to 1843. The most popular practice is by placing objects of light-sensitive material and directly exposing it to light. Techniques include cyanotypes, photograms, rayographs, chemigrams, digital c-prints, dye destruction prints, gelatin-silver prints, and luminograms, etc.

A cyanotype is a type of cameraless photography that involves an object placed on paper, treated with ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide, after which is exposed to sunlight & then washed in water, leading the untreated areas of the paper to turn dark blue. This practice was used by Anna Atkins. The work was made with the same process as architectural and engineering blueprints. This was considered the first work of photographic illustrations.

A photogram is a type of cameraless photography also known as early “salted paper” or “photographic drawing” used writing paper bathed in a weak solution of table salt, dried, then brushed on one side with silver nitrate, which created a light-sensitive solution of silver chloride that darkened when exposed to light. It was a practice invented by William Henry Fox Talbot (photogenic drawing). The photographic paper appears black, the objects which receive no light appear white, and the semi-transparent objects appear gray in photograms.

A rayograph is a type of cameraless photography invented by Man Ray, inspired by the technique of Photograms. This is a photographic image made by placing objects directly onto the surface of a chemically-sensitive paper & exposing it to light. It’s similar to X-Rays. Man Ray’s technique focused on the unexpected effects of negative imaging, variations in the exposure time given to different objects within a single image, and moving objects as the sensitive materials were being exposed.

A chemigram is a type of cameraless photography invented by Pierre Cordier. It consists of a photographic image made by painting onto light-sensitive paper, resembling a watercolor painting. Cordier’s technique consisted of using resists to block the chemical reactions of developer and fixer on photographic paper. Paper put into developer that hasbeen exposed to normal room light for varying periods of time will turn black, except where a resist blocks the chemical reaction.

Contemporary cameraless photography consist of many modern elements while still including traditional methods. Contemporary artist, Thomas Ruff, reinvents the traditional photogram in his recent works. Ruff posted a want ad on a forum about 3-D imaging, in search of someone who could create light refractions. After getting a response Wenzel S. Spingler, Ruff set off on a two-year journey to realize his new “Photograms” series. His photogram series depict abstract shapes, lines and spirals in seemingly random formulations with varying degrees of transparency and illumination. He is known for using technologies, both new and old, to create his photograms.

Sources:
http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/c/camera-less-photography-techniques/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Man-Rayhttp://www.alternativephotography.com/the-chemigram/https://www.widewalls.ch/photogram-artists/pierre-cordier/https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/thomas-ruff-gagosian-gallery-beverly-hills
http://www.publicdomainreview.org/collections/cyanotypes-of-british-algae-by-anna-atkins-1843/