H I S T O R Y O F P H O T O G R A P H Y
C A M E R A OB S C U R A
Camera Obscura
Camera obscura means “dark room” in Latin. The camera works by creating an inverted image that is
formed by light rays passing through a pinhole in a darkened room or area. The light hits the inside surface,where it is reproduced and rotated 180 degrees.
Camera obscura means “dark room” in Latin. The camera works by creating an inverted image that is
formed by light rays passing through a pinhole in a darkened room or area. The light hits the inside surface,where it is reproduced and rotated 180 degrees.
A smaller hole will produce a sharper and dimmer image while a larger hole will produce a less focused, brighter picture. This happens because light has to travel in a straight line, so when it passes through the hole it crosses instead of scattering to reform an upside down image of the object.
This is my camera obscura, it was made by using a box, a small hole was cut into the top of the box, and a magnifying glass was taped down on the outside of the box.
Once all sides of the box are sealed you can look into the hole and see that the image you are looking at is upside down, the small you make the hole the sharper the image is.
T H E D A R K R O O M
The Darkroom Rules:
- No food or drink in the darkroom
- Keep the work area clean
- Always separate the wet and dry areas
- Always segregate the chemicals
- Always wash your hands after working with the chemicals
During exposure, values in the image can be adjusted by reducing the amount of light to a specific area of animage by blocking light to it either all or part of the exposure time. After the exposure the photographic paper still appears blank but is ready to be processed. It’s put in photographic developer, an alkaline which makes the print visible, a stop bath (acid), fixed in photographic fixer which stabilises the image by removing unexposed silver halide remaining on the paper, washed and then dried.
D S L R
The DSLR camera stands for Digital Single-Lens Reflex.
The ISO speed is a measure of the camera’s sensitivity to light, the lower the number the less sensitive, the higher the number the more sensitive it is.
Photos taken with the slower ISO speed will have forced the camera to use a slower shutter speed and vice versa for the higher ISO speed.
Being able to use a faster shutter speed means that you can freeze motion and avoid camera shake in poorer light than you could with a slower one but the photos taken with the slower ISO will have less noise.
Aperture priority mode: The size of the diaphragm is expressed as a ratio of focal length to aperture size, the smaller the number the larger the aperture and the larger the number the smaller the aperture.
If you want to make a subject stand out from the background you would use a larger aperture to blur the background.
The smaller aperture lets out less light onto the sensor than the larger one which forces the camera to compensate for this by using a slower shutter speed.
You can either have an open aperture which will give you less focus and more light onto the sensor or a smaller one which will do the opposite.
Faster shutter speeds = darker pictures.
The ISO speed is a measure of the camera’s sensitivity to light, the lower the number the less sensitive, the higher the number the more sensitive it is.
Photos taken with the slower ISO speed will have forced the camera to use a slower shutter speed and vice versa for the higher ISO speed.
Being able to use a faster shutter speed means that you can freeze motion and avoid camera shake in poorer light than you could with a slower one but the photos taken with the slower ISO will have less noise.
Aperture priority mode: The size of the diaphragm is expressed as a ratio of focal length to aperture size, the smaller the number the larger the aperture and the larger the number the smaller the aperture.
If you want to make a subject stand out from the background you would use a larger aperture to blur the background.
The smaller aperture lets out less light onto the sensor than the larger one which forces the camera to compensate for this by using a slower shutter speed.
You can either have an open aperture which will give you less focus and more light onto the sensor or a smaller one which will do the opposite.
Faster shutter speeds = darker pictures.
P H O T O G R A M S
This image was done by using a piece of material and changing the position 3 times, sometimes it overlapped when exposing the light which caused the white colour.
These photograms were made by placing different objects onto white paper, different exposure times were set and the objects were used to create different shades of colours depending on how long the exposure time was.
The image below was made by using tape from a cassette, and moving it around each time the exposure was set, which caused layers of various colours and patterns.
Man Ray
Man Ray (1890-1976) was an American visual artist, he was mostly known for his photography, which included both Dada and Surrealism movements. His experiments with photography allowed him to rediscover how to make "camera-less" pictures, which he called 'rayographs'. He was the very first artist whosd images were more valuable to collectors than his artistic work. He therefore made a significant contribution to the evaluation of photography as a form of art.
These are 6 of Man Ray's photograms, or Rayograms.
Man Ray (1890-1976) was an American visual artist, he was mostly known for his photography, which included both Dada and Surrealism movements. His experiments with photography allowed him to rediscover how to make "camera-less" pictures, which he called 'rayographs'. He was the very first artist whosd images were more valuable to collectors than his artistic work. He therefore made a significant contribution to the evaluation of photography as a form of art.
These are 6 of Man Ray's photograms, or Rayograms.
S H U T T E R S P E E D & D E P T H O F F I E L D
Jumping Shots:
The first picture was taken with 1/60, the second 1/125 and the third 1/250.
Shutter speed is responsible for the blurring or freezing of an image. If the shutter speed is fast, it can help to freeze action completely
and if it's slow, it creates something called "motion blur". Shutter speeds are typically measured in fractions of a second, when they are under a second. For example 1/4 means a quarter of a second, while 1/250 means one two-hundred-and-fiftieth of a second
The first picture was taken with 1/60, the second 1/125 and the third 1/250.
Shutter speed is responsible for the blurring or freezing of an image. If the shutter speed is fast, it can help to freeze action completely
and if it's slow, it creates something called "motion blur". Shutter speeds are typically measured in fractions of a second, when they are under a second. For example 1/4 means a quarter of a second, while 1/250 means one two-hundred-and-fiftieth of a second
If you want to freeze an image you should use a faster shutter speed, and if you want to blur it use a slower one.
The aperture influences the depth of field, it's the size of the opening that effects how sharp or blurry an image is. It allows you to focus on the object as much as you want, the aperture controls how much light reaches the film and it's measured using f-stops.
From left to right these images have been shot at f/2.8, f/8.0 and f/6.0
From left to right these images have been shot at f/2.8, f/8.0 and f/6.0
P H I L I P H A L S M A N - A R T I S T R E S E A R C H
Halsman was an American portrait photographer.
Halsman commented, "When you ask a person to jump, his attention is mostly directed toward the act of jumping and the mask falls so that the real person appears." The photographer developed a philosophy of jump photography, which he called jumpology.
To make an ordinary and uninteresting subject interesting and unusual, his second rule lists a variety of photographic techniques, including unusual lighting, unusual angle, unusual composition, etc
Halsman commented, "When you ask a person to jump, his attention is mostly directed toward the act of jumping and the mask falls so that the real person appears." The photographer developed a philosophy of jump photography, which he called jumpology.
To make an ordinary and uninteresting subject interesting and unusual, his second rule lists a variety of photographic techniques, including unusual lighting, unusual angle, unusual composition, etc
P H O T O S H O P
Adding image layers and changing colours:
This photoshop edit was done by firstly selecting the first flower with the selection tool.
I then changed the brightness settings so that it had a low contrast and high brightness level.
Then I chose a cat to paste onto the picture, I selected the cat and copied and pasted it so I only had the head, because the flower was set at that contrast it was see-through, so I pasted half of the cat face over the flower and this was my result.
This photoshop edit was done by firstly selecting the first flower with the selection tool.
I then changed the brightness settings so that it had a low contrast and high brightness level.
Then I chose a cat to paste onto the picture, I selected the cat and copied and pasted it so I only had the head, because the flower was set at that contrast it was see-through, so I pasted half of the cat face over the flower and this was my result.