studio
For my studio project I plan on doing silhouette. To create the silhouette effect I plan on having a studio light behind my person of interest. I also would like to work with different light techniques.
fishy sky
For my fishy sky my theme was blue under the sea.
scary landscape
Photo essay (King Fire)
For my photo essay I did the King fire that is by Pollock Pines, in the El Dorado National Forest. My dad lives in Placerville, where the fire base was located, so I was able to get some close pictures of fire trucks and things for the fire. I was also able to meet a few people that were working on the fire. Most of the firefighters were not from California. I talked to someone from Idaho, Minnesota, North Carolina, Nebraska. For most of the people that were from out of state working on this fire said that this was the biggest and hardest fire that they have ever worked on. This fire has effected thousands of people in that area, not including the firefighters. The fire has burned 97,717 acres. There was 12 homes and 68 other structures destroyed. Our barn is part of a fire rescue area so we take in as many horses as necessary during the fire, so they have a safe place to be. For this fire we had 15 horses come into the barn. Star and dust came from the same place, where they are best friends. Star is a therapeutic miniature pony, that goes around to different homes and places to visit people that may have disabilities. And dust is a pure 18 hand thoroughbred race house. It is kind of crazy to think that not only humans but animals were also effected by the fire. The fire started September 19, 2014 at 4:49, they believe it was arson. Half way through the fire it was named a federal fire and people from all around the country came and helped with the fire, there was over 5,000 people working of the fire , that includes support staff, firefighters, red cross people, police man and other helpers. The conditions and the location of the fire also made it very difficult. The terrain was a lot of rocks and it was very steep so it was hard to work on the fire. The conditions of the area were also very bad, it is very dry and hot so it made the fire hotter and able to move quicker. The fire was also near an old water way, that was wood, so they had to have some fire people stand by the water place to try and protect it from having the water gate damaged or broken. I found it very interesting that I was so close to the fire but yet so far away. The air quality was not very good and I rained ash a few times.
It crazy how everything is affected by the fire. They used a lot of different techniques to start working on the fire. One of the pictures that I took should be a VERY large bucket looking thing, and someone explained to my stepmom and I that those buckets were for fire retardant. They take a truck of water and a truck of fire retardant gel and mix it together and fill that bucket with it after is connected to a helicopter. The buckets that are connected to the helicopter can hold anywhere for 70 to 2,600 gallons, and they can weigh anywhere from 15,000 pounds to 300,000 pounds. Another picture I have in there is one of a place that is burned. This picture is not of the fire exactly but where they did a controlled burn to create a fire line so the fire does not spread, in this case, over to the other side of the freeway. They do this so that when and if the fire gets to that location it doesn’t not do further damage. This is a very important in having the fire not further spread. They also just walk around protecting the homes that are at a higher risk of catching on fire. Today the fire is at 98% contained. Sixty-six fire engines, forty-six fire crews, and 5 helicopters are still fighting the fire today.
cyanotypes
Process Overview
1. Mix two chemicals to create photo
sensitive solution of ‘sensitizer’.
2. Brush, smear, or soak the sensitizer
into cotton-based watercolor paper.
3. Create a negative image on a
transperency with a laser/inkjet printer or copy machine.
4. Place the
negative over the dried, sensitized paper.
5. Expose to UV light.
6. Wash
the image in water to develop.
7. Hang to dry, and enjoy!
http://www.instructables.com/id/Cyanotypes—super-easy-photo-prints-at-home./?ALLSTEPS
an cyanotype is a photographic blue print.
liquid light how
Step 1: Preparing the Surface
Before using Liquid Light emulsion, you must first figure out what you’re going to print it on and prepare the surface with a pre-coat. In my particular case, I chose a light wood, watercolor paper, and of course a butcher knife (just for fun).
Generally, paper and fabric do not need a pre-coat because they are porous enough to allow the emulsion to stick properly, (be sure to wash your fabric and if you’re printing onto raw artists’ canvas, it should be washed and dried as well before applying emulsion). For other materials, such as wood and metal, an oil-based pre-coat, like polyurethane varnish, should be used for good adhesion as well as to prevent discoloration.
Do not use water based coatings, acrylic gesso, aerosol sprays, satin or matte varnishes, oil paints, damar varnish lacquer, or shellac, as they may be softened by the chemicals used in the darkroom.
For Glass and glazed ceramics, polyurethane can also be used, but for better results, a gelatin pre-coat or traditional photographic “subbing” solution will help fuse the Liquid Light to the surface.
The wood and butcher knife I used were both coated with a glossy polyurethane varnish, but as you can see on the butcher knife, some of it was chipped off before the printing process. To prevent this from happening, apply the coating in an enclosed area away from wind and allow it to dry completely before applying the emulsion. (I had a cover for the knife and made the mistake of putting it back on before the varnish had dried). 🙁
Generally, paper and fabric do not need a pre-coat because they are porous enough to allow the emulsion to stick properly, (be sure to wash your fabric and if you’re printing onto raw artists’ canvas, it should be washed and dried as well before applying emulsion). For other materials, such as wood and metal, an oil-based pre-coat, like polyurethane varnish, should be used for good adhesion as well as to prevent discoloration.
Do not use water based coatings, acrylic gesso, aerosol sprays, satin or matte varnishes, oil paints, damar varnish lacquer, or shellac, as they may be softened by the chemicals used in the darkroom.
For Glass and glazed ceramics, polyurethane can also be used, but for better results, a gelatin pre-coat or traditional photographic “subbing” solution will help fuse the Liquid Light to the surface.
The wood and butcher knife I used were both coated with a glossy polyurethane varnish, but as you can see on the butcher knife, some of it was chipped off before the printing process. To prevent this from happening, apply the coating in an enclosed area away from wind and allow it to dry completely before applying the emulsion. (I had a cover for the knife and made the mistake of putting it back on before the varnish had dried). 🙁
Step 2: Applying Liquid Light
Once your pre-coat has dried, you are ready to apply the Liquid Light to your object.
Because Liquid Light Emulsion is the same exposure speed as photographic paper, it can be exposed in darkroom settings, meaning a medium amber, dark yellow, or light red safelight.
The rest of this instructible must be done in a safelight setting!
At room temperature, Liquid Light is actually a solid gel, so before you can paint it onto your object, place the bottle into a container of hot water until it becomes liquid. Microwaves can be used in this case as long as it is not overheated. 20 – 30 seconds on high should do. If you’re only using a little bit of the emulsion, you don’t need to wait for the whole bottle to liquify, you can use whatever is available to you.
Do not shake the bottle! This will create bubbles.
Apply the emulsion to your pre-coated object using a sponge, brush, spray, pouring….well, however you want it on there, just get it on there! Larger areas might require more than one coat, but be aware that however you put it on your object is how the print will turn out, so if you have brush strokes or big globs of it, you will see it in the print. You can also dilute the emulsion with warm water if you need to. If you feel the need to create test strips, just apply some of the emulsion to an index card or two.
Once your emulsion is applied, you’ll need to set it before exposing your photo. You can either wait or use a fan, but cool air tends to help the most. When dry, the emulsion will feel sticky to the touch. At this point, you can put it into a dark storage space, or expose and develop it.
Because Liquid Light Emulsion is the same exposure speed as photographic paper, it can be exposed in darkroom settings, meaning a medium amber, dark yellow, or light red safelight.
The rest of this instructible must be done in a safelight setting!
At room temperature, Liquid Light is actually a solid gel, so before you can paint it onto your object, place the bottle into a container of hot water until it becomes liquid. Microwaves can be used in this case as long as it is not overheated. 20 – 30 seconds on high should do. If you’re only using a little bit of the emulsion, you don’t need to wait for the whole bottle to liquify, you can use whatever is available to you.
Do not shake the bottle! This will create bubbles.
Apply the emulsion to your pre-coated object using a sponge, brush, spray, pouring….well, however you want it on there, just get it on there! Larger areas might require more than one coat, but be aware that however you put it on your object is how the print will turn out, so if you have brush strokes or big globs of it, you will see it in the print. You can also dilute the emulsion with warm water if you need to. If you feel the need to create test strips, just apply some of the emulsion to an index card or two.
Once your emulsion is applied, you’ll need to set it before exposing your photo. You can either wait or use a fan, but cool air tends to help the most. When dry, the emulsion will feel sticky to the touch. At this point, you can put it into a dark storage space, or expose and develop it.
Step 3: Exposing
Before exposing your paper, be sure to have all of your chemicals set and ready!
test strip
For objects that cannot fit under an enlarger, such as a wall, a projector can be used to expose the image. This will also require you to paint the developing chemicals onto the exposed surface rather than soak them in a bath.
When the enlarger is on, you will see the area that the light covers and can mark where you want your object or paper to sit, as you will need to place it while the enlarger is off.
With the enlarger off, place a test strip where you would like your photograph to be and expose the paper to the light in different time intervals while covering the rest of the area with thick paper or cardboard. I usually do my test strips by 10 second intervals, so the first strip would be at 10 seconds, the second at 20 and so on. When done, it should look like the second image above.
When you’ve decided which exposure looks the best to you, you can place your object or paper in the correct spot under the enlarger and expose it by your chosen time.
Now to move on to developing!
When the enlarger is on, you will see the area that the light covers and can mark where you want your object or paper to sit, as you will need to place it while the enlarger is off.
With the enlarger off, place a test strip where you would like your photograph to be and expose the paper to the light in different time intervals while covering the rest of the area with thick paper or cardboard. I usually do my test strips by 10 second intervals, so the first strip would be at 10 seconds, the second at 20 and so on. When done, it should look like the second image above.
When you’ve decided which exposure looks the best to you, you can place your object or paper in the correct spot under the enlarger and expose it by your chosen time.
Now to move on to developing!
Step 4: Developing
The key word to developing is “Agitation.” For each chemical, keep the liquid moving over your object or paper, don’t just let it sit there.
Since you have your chemicals poured and ready, you should be able to just stick your object or paper in the developer. (If you’ve used a large object, as stated before, you will need to paint on your chemicals. You may also need to wet these surfaces with water first to even out the development. This may take more than one coat to develop properly).
If you’ve used a small object, however, as the image is soaking, you can see it developing right in front of your eyes! (As dorky as this may sound, for most photographers, it’s the coolest part of the proccess). There are a lot of photographers and books that say a set time in the bath will develop your photograph perfectly, but because you can see the proccess, you can take it out whenever you feel your photograph looks the way you want it to.
Normally, for regular photographic paper proccessing, the next step is to soak your photo in a stop bath to prevent it from developing further, (if you were to leave your exposed paper in the developing chemicals too long, it could expose your photo until it turns solid black.) For Liquid Light however, the chemicals used for an acid shortstop or stopbath will soften the emulsion. Instead, you can use a small amount of fixer for a few seconds to neutralize the developer. Used or discarded fixer in this case, would be ok.
As stated in the step before, the best fixer to use would be a powdered hardning fixer. (For my projects, I used a rapid fixer, and though my images turned out just fine, there is some discoloration on the image printed on watercolor paper as a result). Keep your object or paper in the fixer until the white areas of the emulsion have turned transparent and it becomes stiff to the touch. This is usually around 10 minutes.
Once finished, wash your final result under cool running water for 10 minutes. If you’d like, a hypo clearing agent can be used during this proccess, but it is not really necessary.
Let your final object dry off. If you used a thick paper that has wrinkled or warped, you can flatten it by pressing on it with a flatiron or a dry-mount press on a low setting.
Since you have your chemicals poured and ready, you should be able to just stick your object or paper in the developer. (If you’ve used a large object, as stated before, you will need to paint on your chemicals. You may also need to wet these surfaces with water first to even out the development. This may take more than one coat to develop properly).
If you’ve used a small object, however, as the image is soaking, you can see it developing right in front of your eyes! (As dorky as this may sound, for most photographers, it’s the coolest part of the proccess). There are a lot of photographers and books that say a set time in the bath will develop your photograph perfectly, but because you can see the proccess, you can take it out whenever you feel your photograph looks the way you want it to.
Normally, for regular photographic paper proccessing, the next step is to soak your photo in a stop bath to prevent it from developing further, (if you were to leave your exposed paper in the developing chemicals too long, it could expose your photo until it turns solid black.) For Liquid Light however, the chemicals used for an acid shortstop or stopbath will soften the emulsion. Instead, you can use a small amount of fixer for a few seconds to neutralize the developer. Used or discarded fixer in this case, would be ok.
As stated in the step before, the best fixer to use would be a powdered hardning fixer. (For my projects, I used a rapid fixer, and though my images turned out just fine, there is some discoloration on the image printed on watercolor paper as a result). Keep your object or paper in the fixer until the white areas of the emulsion have turned transparent and it becomes stiff to the touch. This is usually around 10 minutes.
Once finished, wash your final result under cool running water for 10 minutes. If you’d like, a hypo clearing agent can be used during this proccess, but it is not really necessary.
Let your final object dry off. If you used a thick paper that has wrinkled or warped, you can flatten it by pressing on it with a flatiron or a dry-mount press on a low setting.
scary
SCARY SELFIE ( PORTRAIT)
SCARY TEACHER
Dance blur
Maggie Taylor
Maggie Taylor is a surrealist photographer. She scans a lot of her pictures from ones she finds in antique shops. I’m not very good at photoshopping so I found this assignment very difficult. but I do like the way it turned out. It is not exactly like Maggie Taylor’s work but I am not Maggi Taylo