Shutter Speed / Drawing with light

Shutter Speed

Shutter Speed is the length of time that the shutter is left open, the time is measured in fractions of a second. Every time the shutter closes it represents a ‘stop’ of light which then creates the image.  The speed in which the shutter is set at will determine how movement in the image is recorded. A clear image depends on shutter speed as well as other factors.

 To get the best quality image, it is recommended that when the shutter speed is below 1/30 of a second – a tripod is used. When the shutter speed is 1/30 of a second it depends on the individual whether their hand is steady enough to stay still when the image is taken. When the shutter speed is 1/60 of a second or higher, the image should be clear when the camera is hand held as the image is taken fast enough so hand movement does not affect the outcome. 

The faster the moving object, the time that the shutter closes will need to be much shorter to freeze the motion and capture a clear image. This speed could be used for images like moving cars or animals.  Slow shutter speed can create different effects as it usually blurs movement. The slow shutter speed can create an image that is focused on a non moving object, then the moving object is slightly blurred. 

Fast Shutter Speed (ViewBugBlog)

Slow Shutter Speed (Trav Buddy)

Picasso - 1949

                               Painting with Light

Using a slow shutter speed allows us to draw images with light. For this to take place, a dark room with no light is needed. In a dark room the light will be the source that is picked up onto the image, the slow shutter speed allows the movement of the light to be captured which creates the shape.

Artists - Painting with Light

Toby Keller - Dance, 2006

Picasso was born in Spain, 1881. He was a painter, sculptor, print maker and ceramicist. He was an artist who experimented with light painting. His light paintings included flowers in a vase, figures, animals and other abstract pieces.

Another artist who creates paints with light is Toby Keller. Unlike Picasso, Toby paints light into a landscape scenery. The majority of his work takes place on a beach around rocks, with light on the main subject of the image. The light is usually straight lines, curves and dotted lines to make circles,


When making our own photograph, we also used basic lines and shapes to create an image.
The aperture was set to F 11 and the shutter speed was set to 15 - 25 seconds. The speed of the shutter allowed the motion of light to be captured which created a clear image. We used different light sources to create different line thickness and colour. For example, and large torch created the thick golden line, and a light                                                                                    on our phones created a thin pale blue line.

As this was a practice, we had no specific image we wanted to create so we drew two random shapes. I think it worked well because the shapes drawn with the light came out clear, which means the shutter speed was set correctly.   

Photograms

                Photograms


What is a Photogram?

A Photogram is an image created by objects with full or near contact to a piece of light sensitive photographic paper. An enlarger is then used to release light onto the arrange objects for a specific amount of time, then the paper is soaked in chemicals which allows the image to show. The objects directly onto the paper will become white as the light has not reached the paper, unless the object allows light to pass through then there will be tones of grey. The space that has no objects blocking light will turn black.

Process of making a Photogram
1) The enlarger must be prepared before the light being exposed. Tasks that must be completed before:
- The height of the enlarger head must be high enough so that the light fully covers the printing area.
- The filter needs to be set to 0.
- The aperture should be set to f/8
- The time should be set to 3 seconds. (This will be changed after the test strip)

2) A thin strip of photographic paper is then placed under the enlarger, shiny side up. Place objects along the length of the paper, and have a piece of card that will be used to block out light.

3) Allow the light to expose to the paper in 3 second intervals while covering with the card.

4) The test strip then needs to be processed in the chemicals in this order:

- DEVELOPER: Continuous agitation for 2 minutes (Emulsion side up)
- STOP BATH: 30 seconds (Emulsion side down)
- FIXER: 5 minutes (Emulsion side down)
- WASH: 10 minutes in cold running water.

When assessing the strip, each change in colour represents 3 seconds. Add the seconds up until the test strip is black. This is how you find the final exposure time.

5) Return the test strip to the fixer and set the enlarger to the final exposure time.

6) Expose the final image and process using the same method (without the card). Then dry the test strips and prints.

Test Strip

Photograms

This same method can be used to make Chemigrams. However, instead of placing the exposed image into the developer, it is painted on. This allows you to choose which part of the image you would like fully exposed and other parts can be left blank. The techniques that you can use to add the developer onto the image can create new interesting, abstract images. After the developer is added, the method continues in the same way as processing a Photogram.

Chemigrams

                                                                     

                                                                         Sun Prints

A sun print is the same as a photogram as it uses direct contact of materials onto paper which is then exposed to light. Instead of using artificial light to expose the composition of materials on the paper, sun light is used.

Process of making a Sun Print

1) In a dark room, come up with a composition of materials (such as plants, seeds or feathers) and lay it onto the shiny side of the photographic paper.

2) Place a piece of card over the prepared image so that the paper can not pick up light and start developing when moving from the dark room to outside. 

3) When outside, place the prepared image in direct sunlight and remove the card that is protecting the light sensitive paper.
- Depending on the strength of UV light, it could take 8 minutes to 60 minutes.
- The average time is from 15 - 25 minutes/ 

4) After the exposure time, use the protective piece of card to cover the image until returning into the dark room. If the image is dirty, cold water can be used to rinse the paper clean.

5) The image needs to stay in the Fix for 5-7 minutes so that the image can be made permanent. The image then needs to washed and dried. 

Sun Print

                                                               

                                                                    Health and Safety 

In the dark room, there are a variety of health and safety procedures as there are chemicals that need to be handled carefully.

1) Do not place hands in the chemicals. Gloves can be provided if needed. (Use tongs to move the image from tray to tray)
- If chemicals come into contact with skin, wash the contacted area with warm water.

2)  When moving images around, carry them in trays to avoid chemicals getting on the floor. If a spillage is made, clean it up to avoid accidents.

3) Keep equipment used with chemicals away from the enlargers.

4) If there are any faults with the equipment, it needs to be reported.

Cindy Sherman

Cindy Sherman from AdelePG

Film Processing / Day Light Developing Tank / Cleaning Film Strips

Day Light Developing Tank

After a film has been exposed to light in a camera; it needs to be processed to be able to work with the negatives. The Day Light Developing Tank allows a roll of film to be placed into a reel, and then placed in a container that does not allow light to enter.Process:

1) All items must be ready in the change bag, or this can be done in a pitch black room.2) If the film has retracted into the cassette, use the film retriever to bring it back out. You could also do this in the change bag by using the bottle opener to open the cassette.

3) Use the scissors to cut the end of the film, you should cut the film just after the film begins to wider. Cut close to the end or you may damage the first image.

4) Pull the film out of the cassette, ready to go onto the reel.

5) The reel has 2x small notches and 2x larger notches. Twist the reel so that the 2 larger notches are opposite each other and feed the film through, until it passes 2 small balls (one on each side of the reel). Once it has past, you can gently twist the reel and the film will feed through the reel. When the film reaches the end and is fully loaded, cut it to release it from the cassette.

6) Place the reel filled with film onto the center column. Then place the second (possibly empty) reel on top of the first reel. The reel containing film must be at the bottom. Once the column is filled, place it into the tank. 

7)The next part to go in is the Light tight funnel lid, this will allow chemicals to be added without light getting into the container. Finally, the plastic cap can be added. The tank can now be removed from the bag.


 Adding Chemicals:

1) Developer:

When using 1 reel use 150ml of water and 150ml of developer. (The developer should be at 20C). If the temperature is slightly higher, the temperature of the water needs to be slightly cooler.

Times:
PAN F (50 ISO) – 8-9 Minutes
FP4 (125 ISO) – 12 Minutes
HP5 (400 ISO) – 14 Minutes

Agitate the tank for 30 seconds. Then 5 seconds every minute until the developing time has finished.

2) Stop Bath:

Use 300ml for 30 seconds.

3) Fix:

Use 300ml for 5 – 7 minutes.
Agitate 5 seconds for every 30 seconds.

4) Wash:

Keep cool  water running into the tank for 10 minutes.
(ADD 2 DROPS OF WETTING AGENT SO THE FILM DOES NOT HAVE WATER MARKS
WHEN DRIED)

Remove the film from the reel and use a squeegee to remove excess water.

5) Dry:
Hang the film strips in the dryer for around 15 minutes. After it has dried, cut the strips into 5 images a strip and store in a neg bag.

Health and Safety
- When using scissors in the change bag, be patient and slow so that you know where to cut and do not cut yourself as you will not be able to see what you are doing.

-When using chemicals, clear up any spillages and wash out measuring cylinders well. 


Cleaning Film Strips

As the film can get slightly dirty, it is best to clean it before enlarging it to get the best print possible. To clean the dust from the negative, you can use a brush that has an air pocket to blow and remove the dust from the negative. If there is a smear on the negative, then using cleaning solution and tissue - gently rub over the smeared areas to remove the dirt.  

Sandwich Printing

Sandwich printing

Sandwich printing uses the same method as photograms. However, instead of exposing light to objects over light sensitive paper, we use film to filter light to allow the image from the film to appear onto the light sensitive paper.

Method:
1) The Enlarger must be prepared before the light being exposed. Tasks that must be completed before:
- The height of the enlarger head must be high enough so that the light covers the same size as the chosen piece of light sensitive paper.- The aperture should be set to f/8.- The time should be set to 3 seconds for the test strip.
- The Magenta setting should be set to 40.

 2) Take out the film carrier and place two or more chosen negatives into the correct place. Then put the carrier back into the enlarger head.

 3) Use a measuring board and set it to the size of the light sensitive paper.

 (Do not have  the paper nearby yet)

 4) Turn the enlarger head on so you can focus the image using the focus knob. Once it is in focus, turn the enlarger head off.

 5) First, you need to do a test strip. Find a thin piece of light sensitive paper and place it shiny side up on the base board. Make sure that the space where the paper is will be crowded, so you can see how much time is needed easier.

 6) Expose the test strip for 3 seconds. Then repeat this using a board to create intervals along the paper.

 7) ) The test strip then needs to be processed in the chemicals in this order:- DEVELOPER: Continuous agitation for 2 minutes (Emulsion side up)- STOP BATH: 30 seconds (Emulsion side down)- FIXER: 5 minutes (Emulsion side down)- WASH: 10 minutes in cold running water. When assessing the strip, each change in colour represents 3 seconds. Add the seconds up until the test strip is black. This is how you find the final exposure time. 
8) Using a full piece of light sensitive paper, and the chosen exposure time you can now create a finalsandwich print.

Photoshop Adjustments - Levels

Using the histogram on Photoshop, I have changed the levels so that the image is correctly exposed with a full tonal range.  Adjusting the levels will brighten or darken the blacks and the whites of the image.

Before

After

Photoshop Adjustments - Cropping

Cropping an image allows you to keep the main proportions, you do this by typing in the ratio/measurements at the top of the screen. For example, the ratio I used was 6:9. 

Before

After

Surrealism

Image Trace - Adobe Illustrator - Vector Graphics

Image Trace

To use image tracer on Adobe Illustrator,I began by hand drawing possible logo ideas using simple shapes then transferring the design onto black sugar paper and cutting them out.

After cutting them out, I scanned them into Photoshop using the scanner using 3 different layouts.

After saving the scans in Photoshop and opened them in Adobe Illustrator, you can use the image trace selection to adjust the anchor points to alter the shapes.

Before

 To help make the shapes even I used the ruler tool as guidelines to straighten the edges as I found it hard to line the shapes by hand.

After

Health and Safety:
Whilst using a scalpel, cut away from yourself to avoid accidents.
Use a cutting mat whilst cutting the paper.

Photoshop - Filters

Using my own photograph, I used photoshop to experiment using different filters. This can be seen on the contact sheet (made using Bridge).

Photography Adjustments - Contrasts

Using one of my own photo's, I practised using the contrast tool on Photoshop. As you can see from the original image and the edited images, the contrast has been altered slightly to bring out more colours in the image so there are less tones.

Original

First Change

First Change

Second Change

Second Change

Photography Adjustments - Black and White

ISO

What is ISO?

On a film camera, ISO is the 'speed'of the film. The higher the ISO, the better the image will be if the lighting is low. 

On a digital camera, the ISO shows the sensitivity to light. The higher the number, the less light is needed to take a photo. 
When using ISO 50 or ISO 100,it is ideal that there is a lot of bright light. When there is a low light, shutter speed can be made slower to allow more light into the lens, however the images can be blurry. So increasing the ISO will allow the shutter speed to be at a chosen speed depending on what the subject is. 


Which ISO speed to use?

Using the Auto ISO setting will allow the camera to determine the setting suitable for the light conditions.

Manual ISO allows you to choose your own ISO number:

ISO 50-100 > Suitable for bright days

ISO 200   > Suitable for cloudy days

ISO 400-800 > When the lighting is low but not dark

ISO 1600+  > For indoor shooting or night shots,this can also be used for 'action shots'.

Aperture

Aperture

Aperture works with focus, choosing the right aperture setting allows certain areas in the photo to be in focus and blur out other areas. The aperture is controlled by a hole which light passes through, the hole gets bigger to allow more light in, then smaller for less light. This effects the depth of field, which is the amount focus that is visible in a photograph.

The aperture is measured on an internationally agreed scale. It is measured in F - Stops.
The full sequence of the measurements are:

f/2.8   f/4  f/5.6  f/8  f/11  f/16  f/22  f/32



Large Aperture is f/numbers f/2 and f/4, this allows a shallow depth so that the foreground is in focus and the background is out of focus.

Small Aperture is f/11 and f/16, this allows a large depth so that everything in the image is in sharp focus.

Creating Graphic Image