"Quiet"
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Inspiration & Research
Bill Lemke is a local black and white medium-format film photographer. I took inspiration from his numerous landscape and Grand Canyon photos, all of which are silver gelatin prints. He uses 4 inch by 5 in and 8 inch by 10 inch camera to take his images, and are developed and mounted by himself. He writes himself that he chooses black and white photography because "it encourages and me to and the viewer to concentrate on texture, tonality and the emotional qualities of light." He uses his mentor Ansel Adams' exposure and development techniques for every photograph. He hopes that his photographs will inspire an "appreciation of nature," and a "desire to preserve and protect our environment," which is something I can relate to. Most of his images, such as the ones I selected here are very imposing and strong, with a feeling of power to the nature captured in the image. He travels around the country to take his shots, and it shows, as each one has its own unique feeling to it. Yet, each has their own unique feeling of power. In Untitled, there is a strong contrast between the sky and the cliffs which are reflected into the water, which takes up more space in the picture, making them very dominant. The Arched Trees is less imposing, with a one-point perspective that travels far back into the unknown. It has less contrast than other images, giving it a calmer feeling. Sunflowers & Clouds has a large amount of contrast between textures, between the sea of sunflowers and the fluffy clouds which take up much more of the composition. Ultimately, I drew most inspiration from Arched Trees and its peaceful feeling, but all of these images make use of the idea that the image may stretch on forever, having no clear ending point to any of the subjects.
Planning
When planning for this project, I mostly tried to put together the general idea of the shots I wanted to take. I put these together looking at a variety of Lemke's images outside of the ones listed prior. I wanted to have a variety of kinds of space in the images I took, but the ones that follow these three ideas came out the best.
Next was to figure out what I would use. I wanted to use some sort of medium format camera like Bill Lemke, but they're all relatively expensive. This is when my mother remembered that she had purchased a Holga 120N, a medium-format toy camera famous for its strange results due to how shoddy the camera is. It has many problems with distortion and light leaks, but I was willing to use it as a type of experiment anyways, because it was either that or a digital camera. However, to my surprise, my pictures didn't come out very strangely at all, rather very grainy and wispy-looking.
Next was to figure out what I would use. I wanted to use some sort of medium format camera like Bill Lemke, but they're all relatively expensive. This is when my mother remembered that she had purchased a Holga 120N, a medium-format toy camera famous for its strange results due to how shoddy the camera is. It has many problems with distortion and light leaks, but I was willing to use it as a type of experiment anyways, because it was either that or a digital camera. However, to my surprise, my pictures didn't come out very strangely at all, rather very grainy and wispy-looking.
Process
I started with putting this film into the camera. It is 120 400 ISO film, put into a Holga 120N camera. To put the film in, I first have to unpackage it and set it aside. Then I opened the back of the camera by sliding down the two latches on each side, exposing the inside of the back of the camera. After I turned the dial to move the uptake spool to the correct position, I put the roll of film into the left side of the camera, and unrolled the film to the point that the tab could be inserted into the slit of the uptake spool. I then turned the dial until the film was tight, and replaced the back cover. After this, I continued to turn the dial, working through the protective layer of the film until I saw the number 1 in the red window on the back of the camera.
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Next was to actually shoot the images. I went to an underpass, and then a public park, shooting an entire roll of film at each location. The roll I spent at the underpass was more of an experiment to see how it would work. I made an effort to take shots that would follow my planned types of shots, focusing on pathways and trees while shooting at the park. I took my camera and a tripod to avoid the shakiness I found in my first roll of film. Next was to have the film developed, which I didn't do myself but will explain the basic process of.
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My film was developed with the C41 process. The process begins with the film, which is only worked with within a darkroom or a changing bag in order to protect it. The film is removed from the container and put on a spool and into a developing tank. Then the developer is mixed up, using 25 milliliters of each part, and then 2.5 milliliters of starter, and pour in enough water. Then it is shaken around to mix the chemicals. Then three more chemicals are mixed up: the bleach, the fixer, and the stabilizer. These chemicals are then put into bottles and in warm water to heat them up. Before adding any of the warm chemicals, the film is presoaked to get it warm as well. Warm water, around 35 degrees Celsius, is poured into the developing tank, and left there for 3 minutes, and poured out. The developer can be poured in if it is around 35 degrees as well, and the can should be should be agitated, which helps keep the chemicals fresh. Then when that is done, it should be poured out and rinsed with water, then the bleach should be poured in. This should be agitated as well until it is done. Pour out the bleach, rinse again, and pour in the fixer. Agitate it, rinse it, and pour in the stabilizer. Agitate the stabilizer, pour it out, and rinse it again. Now the film has become negatives and it is no longer light sensitive. After it has been hung up to dry, the negatives are ready to be printed.
Experimentation
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When I took the images for this project, I used a tripod because the images I took on my test roll came out very shaky. The other images posted here are shots I took on the same roll which the final images came from. These images didn't come out for a variety of reasons. The image of the dock was taken with the "partly sunny" setting rather than the "full sun" option found behind the lens. This came out a bit fuzzier because of it. The other two images have other problems. The photo of the bench is highly over exposed, and has abrupt shadows. This is caused by the fact that I cannot preview the image while taking it since it is a film camera. It is also a Holga camera, which is very cheap and has no light metering. The last image of the vase and bushes was highly overexposed in the sky, and the composition just didn't come out correctly when I took the photo.
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Reflection
Overall, I'm relatively happy with this project. It was fun and interesting to work with film, and the fact that I had to be much more careful rather than continually snapping photos made it a bit challenging. I had to be careful about my framing, but since the Holga camera had no reliable way of lining anything up I had to try to get a feeling for how to point the camera. I also learned from my first roll of film that I needed to either hold extremely still or use a tripod because my shots were coming out very shaky. I was also excited for the unpredictable nature of the Holga camera, which is famous for its strange distortions and light-leaks. However, I feel like the most unusual elements I got was grainy images and some strange lighting, but this is standard to a cheap camera with no light metering. If I were to do this project over again, there's many things I would change. If I had access to one, I would've used a full-fledged medium format camera, one without these issues, but they are very expensive unfortunately. I also would have decided to research where I was going more, and try to get a larger variety of places and take more pictures. I wanted to have photos in a forest for this project, but I was unaware that a forest was not within easy reach at this park. There was a bit of a time crunch due to the time it took to develop the photos and losing sunlight very quickly this time of year. Without bright, consistent light the photos wouldn't have turned anything out. Still, I'm very pleased with how this project came out.
Compare and contrast
The first obvious comparison that could be made between my series and Lemke's images is in method. We both used medium format black and white film cameras, however he likely has a very nice one with light metering and whatnot. He also uses the silver gelatin development method, which is also very tedious and requires much training, whereas I had my film developed at a lab with the C41 development method. My photos are also very grainy, whereas Lemke's images are very crisp and clean. My subjects are in a somewhat natural setting, but his photos are often explicitly of nature.
However, I took inspiration from his framing much of the time. I liked a lot of his very balanced images. Arched Trees, for example, inspired this image taken down a pergola. These both create a hallway, with an uncertain end. I also made much use of capturing a horizon line, which creates a cut off from the very textured ground from the smooth sky. This is found in Untitled, as well as my photo of a pathway next to the river. |
ACT Responses
1. Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect on upon your artwork.
Lemke inspired me to try using medium-format black and white film. I also took inspiration from his framing and composition, as well as minor inspiration for the subject of my photos.
2. What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
That film photography is very tedious and expensive, but it can be worth it because the images that come out can be very beautiful.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc while you researched your inspiration?
That nature should be protected and cherished, as well as documented in various ways.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
It was what could be gotten out of the Holga 120N camera, as well as what inspired Lemke to shoot the photos he did.
5. What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
That using a cheap plastic camera would be an interesting, but risky, experience. Also, that film photography can run a large gamut from small, grainy photos to big, beautifully crisp prints.
Lemke inspired me to try using medium-format black and white film. I also took inspiration from his framing and composition, as well as minor inspiration for the subject of my photos.
2. What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
That film photography is very tedious and expensive, but it can be worth it because the images that come out can be very beautiful.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc while you researched your inspiration?
That nature should be protected and cherished, as well as documented in various ways.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
It was what could be gotten out of the Holga 120N camera, as well as what inspired Lemke to shoot the photos he did.
5. What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
That using a cheap plastic camera would be an interesting, but risky, experience. Also, that film photography can run a large gamut from small, grainy photos to big, beautifully crisp prints.
Sources
http://www.billlemke.com/home.html
http://www.ramart.org/content/william-lemke-salesrental
http://www.escapeintolife.com/photography/william-lemke/
https://abelcontemporary.com/william-lemke/
https://youtu.be/l1TVxfLsSDM
https://youtu.be/od1TSs7QEeQ
https://photography.tutsplus.com/articles/an-introduction-to-holga-photography--photo-9697
http://www.ramart.org/content/william-lemke-salesrental
http://www.escapeintolife.com/photography/william-lemke/
https://abelcontemporary.com/william-lemke/
https://youtu.be/l1TVxfLsSDM
https://youtu.be/od1TSs7QEeQ
https://photography.tutsplus.com/articles/an-introduction-to-holga-photography--photo-9697