There are different forms of photography, and photographers will often define themselves as one. The main types are fashion, portrait, documentary, landscape, military, fine art, sports, forensics. Each type using different equipment and techniques.
Some examples.
Photos styles in context.
- Fashion
- Portrait
- Documentary
- Landscape
- Military
The photos are taken with specialist and professional equipment.
- Fine art
And now some examples in context.
Chemical photography.
Before digital photography and SD cards photos where taken on film as negatives which required special processing to get a final positive image.
1. Preparation
The photographer must first prepare all the chemicals for processing.
Developer
Developer activates the light sensitive crystals that make up the emulsion on your paper. When the crystals come into contact with developer, any parts of the paper exposed to light will become some shade of black.
Stop Bath
The Stop Bath is an acid that deactivates the developer. As you put a print into the stop bath, it stops turning black. Water and lemon juice can both be used instead of stop bath, but are not nearly as effective.
Fixer
Fixer removes the unexposed crystals on the emulsion, making the paper light safe. Paper that has been through fixer can then be taken into open light without worries of turning black. Insufficient fixing will turn a picture yellow over time.
To actually develop the film the whole process must be done in a dark room or the photos will be exposed to light and ruined.
2. Development
Place the reel of film in the tank and add the developer, then seal and shake.
3. Stop bath
Add the stop bath to the tank and shake, then take the film out of the tank and remove the fixer.
4. Washing
Wash all the components with water.
5. Drying
Unwind the film and let it dry. Be sure not to leave it for to long of it could become over exposed. Put the film in a protective sheet.
The photographer must first prepare all the chemicals for processing.
- developer
- stop bath
- fixer
- washing aid
- dilutions and processing times
- trays
- pair of tongs
- tank
- protective sheet
Developer
Developer activates the light sensitive crystals that make up the emulsion on your paper. When the crystals come into contact with developer, any parts of the paper exposed to light will become some shade of black.
Stop Bath
The Stop Bath is an acid that deactivates the developer. As you put a print into the stop bath, it stops turning black. Water and lemon juice can both be used instead of stop bath, but are not nearly as effective.
Fixer
Fixer removes the unexposed crystals on the emulsion, making the paper light safe. Paper that has been through fixer can then be taken into open light without worries of turning black. Insufficient fixing will turn a picture yellow over time.
To actually develop the film the whole process must be done in a dark room or the photos will be exposed to light and ruined.
2. Development
Place the reel of film in the tank and add the developer, then seal and shake.
3. Stop bath
Add the stop bath to the tank and shake, then take the film out of the tank and remove the fixer.
4. Washing
Wash all the components with water.
5. Drying
Unwind the film and let it dry. Be sure not to leave it for to long of it could become over exposed. Put the film in a protective sheet.
Printing
The actual transfer from film to emulsion paper is done by an enlarger. There are two types of enlargers.
A condenser enlarger consists of a light source, a condensing lens, a holder for the negative and a projecting lens. The condenser provides even illumination to the negative beneath it. A diffuser enlarger's light source is diffused by translucent glass or plastic, providing even illumination for the film.
A diffusion enlarger illuminates the negative by scattering light from many angles evenly over the surface of the negative. Detail is not as sharp as with a condenser enlarger.
A diffusion enlarger illuminates the negative by scattering light from many angles evenly over the surface of the negative. Detail is not as sharp as with a condenser enlarger.
Film vs Digital
Ever since digital photography was invented there has always been the argument of which is better.
My opinion is that like all things there are positives and negatives. Digital photography is much faster and allows a photographer to check their photos immediately after they take them. The photos also have a higher amount of detail. But they can also seem sterile and lack a certain ascetic. Whilst on the other hand film has a nice ascetic that out shines that of digital, but requires a lot more skill to use and can take a long time to develop the photos. With their positives and negatives they are more suited to certain types of work, digital cameras are optimal for journalism, military, sports and wildlife photography. Put simply they are good for anything that would require you to take a lot of photographs as quickly as possible. Film is good for macros, art,
Types of equipment.
Lenses.
- Standard lens
- Fish eye
- Macro lens
- Telephoto lens
- A tripod
- Lights
Cameras.
- Pinhole
- Range finder
- DSLR
Camera features.
- Aperture
- Shutter speed
- ISO
Photography techniques.
- HDR
- Slow shutter speed
- Fast shutter speed
- DOF (depth of field)
- Bokeh
File types.
- JPEG
- PNG
- TIFF
The Croatian Civil War.
My ten photos will be focused on Croatia and will be in black and white to emphasize the sad and dark topic. They will be mostly of the famous city Dubrovnik which was under siege during the war. The purpose of my photos is to point out the lasting effects of war.
My photos will be featured in a video that will also have information about the war, as to inform the viewer.
Evaluation.
Intro
When trying to decide what theme I was going to chose, I thought that it would be best for it to be something that would be memorable and thought provoking. This lead to me choosing the Croatian civil war.
Historical, cultural and artistic context
Black and white was the original way that photos came out due to the techniques used to develop film. In my opinion black and white is better than color photography because little details often stand out better, rather than fading into the blur of color. It also makes you focus on all the different parts of a photograph rather than looking at the image as a whole.
During 1991 to 1995 Croatia was at war with the former Yugoslavia fighting for their independence. After 20,000 deaths the war came to an end and after a peace deal Croatia gained their independence and are now a major tourism destination.
When trying to decide what theme I was going to chose, I thought that it would be best for it to be something that would be memorable and thought provoking. This lead to me choosing the Croatian civil war.
Historical, cultural and artistic context
Black and white was the original way that photos came out due to the techniques used to develop film. In my opinion black and white is better than color photography because little details often stand out better, rather than fading into the blur of color. It also makes you focus on all the different parts of a photograph rather than looking at the image as a whole.
During 1991 to 1995 Croatia was at war with the former Yugoslavia fighting for their independence. After 20,000 deaths the war came to an end and after a peace deal Croatia gained their independence and are now a major tourism destination.
Meaning and social context.
My images are meant to focus on the feeling of loss and are meant to make the viewer feel slightly uncomfortable. The theme of civil war is a current and relevant theme due to the civil wars raging on in the the middle east. The overall purpose is to make the viewer aware that even a tourism hub such as Dubrovnik can have been the site of a war only a few years ago.
Visual language.
Rather than trying to use loads of techniques in one image I used a few to create a simple but effective image. The first technique I used was black and white. To create good B&W images is to have dark blacks and bright whites to create a good contrast. Secondly I made sure that my composition was good, using the rule of thirds for most of my images. But to make my viewers feel uncomfortable I made some of my photos slightly slanted, this instinctively makes people feel uncomfortable and is used by artistes to emphasize that feeling.
For example.
For example.
What may be hard to see is in my images certain things have been inverted to make the photo seem unnatural. I often inverted the greens which in turn inverted the plants making what was natural unnatural.
Audience.
My audience is anyone that has an interest in history or Croatia. The purpose is to inform them, whilst showing them something interesting visually. Therefor my photos could be used for lectures, history lessons and even in a gallery. I would say that my photos have a niche audience as they are off a very specific theme. As my theme is quite dark I would expect my audience to be over 16 years old.
Finished product.
I believe that my images came out great and fit their purpose. They help the viewer get into the mindset to further their understanding of events such as the Croatian civil war. Whilst they fulfill that purpose they can also be seen as pieces of art that are much more than just nice to look at.
The feedback I received was positive and constructive, a recurring piece of advice was that some of my photos where slanted. When asked how that made them feel the reply was often "uncomfortable" which I would respond with "exactly".
As all of my photos where outdoors, I was at the mercy of the weather. Lucky for me it was nice and sunny when I took the photos. This obviously restricted me to 13 or so hours of sunlight which were more than enough.
The feedback I received was positive and constructive, a recurring piece of advice was that some of my photos where slanted. When asked how that made them feel the reply was often "uncomfortable" which I would respond with "exactly".
As all of my photos where outdoors, I was at the mercy of the weather. Lucky for me it was nice and sunny when I took the photos. This obviously restricted me to 13 or so hours of sunlight which were more than enough.