Exposing ISO 400 film at ISO 160 // Developing time @3.5mins
The results are mostly low in contrast. Although the photos do look finer, but they are a tad too flat and murky.
Exposing ISO 400 film at ISO 1600 // Developing time @11mins
Greater amount of contrast can be seen compared to the set of photos above. Also, there is a significant increase in grain. Overall it helps to add a bag of atmosphere!
The artist in reference for this assignment is Matthew Pillsbury. Pillsbury is known for his magical long exposures which make viewers face the fleeting nature of time as opposed to asserting presence. In his Screen Lives series, he captures domestic scenes such as someone watching tv, working on computers, using electronic devices etc to address the role of technology in our modern existence today.
I was looking for a way to combine still photography as well as videography without them having to fit into either of the categories. Therefore, I feel that long exposure photography is the key to achieve that – a still image that indicate movement but it stays just that; there is this continued suspension/tension of what’s next? Also, I love that long exposure photography largely depends on trial and error which is similar as film photography where the results are surprising; sometimes I get goosebumps from capturing subjects whose head getting “chopped off”, legs separated etc.
I chose this image because I love how it presents the subject of its desire to be in place – the subject is semi-present at that place looking out to another world as if she is standing in between an abstract space and the real world. (I edited the image in such way to convey the narrative) Just like Pillsbury’s images that are always “shimmering with the ghostly passage of time and enhanced by a spirit of transience”.
The more I practice, I kinda get a sense of what I can expect out of each setting and I think the most important thing is to first have a feel of the location you are shooting – is it an active area where things are moving fast? Are the light sources too harsh for long exposure? An interesting learning point is that I can get an extremely clean area by having a very long shoot as it automatically wipes out all the moving objects! Challenge-wise is to find a location that have a nice range of color palette (unless if you are shooting b&w) and substantial human motion because the colors can be all over the place which is highly disturbing or the subjects walking towards the wrong directions thus ruining your composition.. In this assignment, I used an ND filter to block off unnecessary light source as well as letting me to work on longer exposure. The filter helps to isolate harsh light making them even stronger which is pretty amazing!
Below are some photos which I feel that the traces of human represent the dialogue between subjects, their activity and the environment.
When I was composing my photos in the first series, I found that my subjects were lined up on the ledge, very much organized which I feel that the photo was looking dull/static. Hence I decided to look for something that may give the whole photo an interesting foreground, thus changing the viewer’s perspective – instead of introducing everyone that “my subjects are the tortoises”. By adding the grass as my foreground, it adds a sense of depth. Besides, by moving my camera slightly higher and lower, the photos give an illusion that I was actually moving/approaching the subjects. In the second series, I used both a 24mm lens as well as 200mm telephoto lens. It is interesting to see the difference in the scale!
The experience of shooting color reversal film blew me away – not to forget the insanely long processing time, which includes all the worries if I will ever get my film back or are they lost in the mail?? It was such a revelation putting the slides on the light table or even holding them up to the sunlight. They felt a lot more immersive as opposed to looking at normal photos. Also, I hardly ever revisit my film strips once I have digitized them, but slides are the opposite – they just took things to another level. I am reasonably pleased with how most of the photos turned out (a few mishaps.. because I left my tripod at home). Even though working with ISO50 has been quite a challenge, I would love to shoot slides again but this time with 120 film!
Analogous Colors
Complimentary Colors
In this assignment, we are tasked to recreate an old photograph which is at least 10 years old! After rummaging through boxes of photo albums, I have picked up a few that I thought interesting and doable (hopefully) with the resources I have.
The first photograph selected above seems relatively manageable, except the fact that we don’t really get beautiful white clouds against blue sky in Singapore. Also, I figure this photo was taken at some beach resort where the folding chaise lounge were placed right in the middle of the beach. While here in Singapore, the lounge chairs are placed close to each other (as shown below). I used point-and-shoot film camera with a 31mm lens to achieve the wider angle. Another thing that I forgot to take into consideration is the shadow, which explains the rather “off” long shadows on the beach.. when I should have taken it during the mid-day.
Outtakes taken with SLR 35mm:
Sequel to the first photograph, I used the same point-and-shoot camera for the photo below. I realised that the photos which I have scanned actually look A LOT older than the “Old Photographs” I am recreating from! Or maybe it’s just me and the histogram clipping?
This is my favourite photograph among all! And it turned out to be the most challenging one. I love how the photo has a mysterious touch to it. At first glance, it doesn’t seem like there was a flash being used, but possibly a wall lamp which shines downward, however the light on the subject’s hair kind of clued me in on there might be a flash and the photographer was standing quite a distance away. It is interesting to see how the reflection in the mirror is dark, not affected by the flash at all. The photo below is taken using SLR 35mm f/5.6, 1/60s with external flash. Due to the different setting especially the small mirror used, I couldn’t place the camera further away from the subject, resulting in the extreme brightness as below.
Outtakes without external flash:
