Darkroom Double Exposures

One of the final areas I wanted to experiment in was creating double exposures in the darkroom. Instead of producing new imagery for this I decided to use the two negatives that i had from the medium format, low light shoot and which I had also used in a photoshop layering test.

Below is a double exposure from the low light shoot and also the two images which I used the negatives from. Although I like the original double exposure I feel that the facial expression does not suit the feel of the image I was working towards. I've decided to use two single images from the same shoot to experiment with, in the hope of producing something of a similar nature to the original.

Double Exposure

Images from the negatives used in the darkroom to create the 'Double Exposure'

Images Below are photographs of the original darkroom prints which have also been added to a folder ready for submission.

Here is one of the test strips for this image, as the negatives were underexposed I used a high contrast setting on the enlarger and exposed it for 1.5 seconds. After developing I wanted to slightly rearrange the composition so that the ears where not overlapping.

Test Print

Final Image

I would of liked to of used this image as one of my final prints but due to time constrains i was unable to work on the image to produce a quality standard print.

Crosby Beach

A double exposure taken on the Mamiyia, which was also the inspiration behind a digital image of a similar appearance. When editing in Photoshop i've notice that a lot of the images once layers have been added have a look of solarization, which i wanted to experiment with also.

Test Print

Test - Solarization

The initial test print was overexposed so with the second I change exposure times and then developed, whilst in the developer i switched the light on for a second and this image is the result of that test, i did try to create a final image but struggled to get an exposure which did not completely over exposed during the solarization process. Again this is something which i would like to continue experimenting with

Darkroom - Creating Textures

After adding textures to my images via photoshop and double exposures I also wanted to explore this method in the darkroom. Below are the images which I created and the material that were used as textures.

The images used were taken on large format film and developed by myself.

Original images, scanned:

All images below are photographs of the original darkroom prints which have also been included in a folder ready for submission.

Test strips, to gage the correct exposure need for the images.

Hessian material used for both image 1 & 2.

Image 1

Image 2

Material used for images 3, 4 & 5.

Image 3

Image 4

Image 5

Cotton wool used for texture on image 6 & 7.

Image 6

Image 7

When in the darkroom I wanted to experiment with placing the material over part of the face and what effects this had on the image, I also wanted to make the texture more prominent in others (see image 4) which required the use of dodging and burning.

It would appear that this is a technique which is much more accessible via digital post production but if I was to expand on this experiment I would invest in some finer material as i feel what I used was a little to thick, I'd also see if there where other options available in regards to placing the texture on image, as I place the negative and material in the holder together for all of the above.

Linking Image and Texture

After working on the digital images from Crosby Beach and using detail from the landscape I was photographing as a texture I decided that it would be interesting to link this with portraits and create textures related to the subject developing links within the image.

With this in mind I arranged to photograph my niece and her friend who both love to dress up, I also thought that the details on the dresses may make interesting textures. Below are individual images and a contact sheet, including a few of the edited images with textures applied.

Contact Sheet

Images with layered textures from dress details

More Contact Sheets

Layering in Photoshop

Continuing working with layers in Photoshop I thought about also adding some images which have been created with a more commercial approach in mind. These images are very different from the rest of the work I have produced for this assignment but they show the versatility of layering. I'm also aware that there is a market for this type of work, the top image is a commissioned piece I created after the client saw some of my work on display in Debenhams cafe at the Blackburn outlet.

Commissioned Image - 8ft x 2.5ft

Displayed in Debenhams

Displayed in Debenhams

Film & Digital

After taking images on both film and digital I thought it would be appropriate to compare both of these methods and how visually they create images which are unique in there own right despite using similar techniques (in camera or post production). I also wanted to do this as I feel that when using film my photography seems to become more creative. When I went to Crosby my intention was to create double exposures with the Mamiya I had taken but due to quite adverse weather this was not possible and the only image I took was the one below. The digital images which I also took whist there were mainly for record purposes to use on my blog.

Double Exposure taken on Mamiya

Inspiration for the digital images edited in photoshop

Digital - Image 1

Digital - Image 2

Final Image

This final image experiments with the use of texture and details within an image. The initial image is taken (landscape) and the second image (detail) is used to create a 'texture' which is individual to that one image.

Contact Sheets from Crosby Beach

Overall i'm really pleased with the outcome and the effect which has been created when editing in this way. Compared to the film image the digital seems more captivating as the various perspectives and slight look of solarization really add to the image.

Through experimenting I have now narrowed down the area I wish to work on for this assignment.

Layering Negatives

When scanning the negatives I initially started off overlaying the images in various arrangements (see image 1) but found that this effected the contrast within the image with sections becoming very white or black, so i decided that the rest of the scans would be done by layering each image directly on top of another. When doing the scans in this way the same problem was still visible but not to the same extent.

Scanning was a fairly restrictive technique for the various reasons mentioned above and I also feel the images would of worked better together had they been created solely for this purpose but i do like that various areas within the image are extenuated as they are in a double exposure.

Image 1

Image 2

Image 3

Image 4

Image 5

Image 6

Image 7

Image 8

Image 9