Journal Entry #11 EV (exposure Value), Brackets, Taking Notes while Shooting

While taking pictures it is wise to take notes for each photo, in order to know what EV was for the photo, the F stop/aperture, shutter speed, etc. EV or exposure level is essential to discover the proper lighting and contrast for your photo by manipulating the aperture and the F Stop.

Exposure value can be shown for one image in different stages to show a bracket, for example EV -1, EV 0 and EV +1 are generally a good bracket to start out with as it shows the aspect of both below the photo exposure scale and above.

The aperture is the hole in the camera that can be manipulated to allow a certain amount of light through the lens. The higher the number the less light is allowed to pass through the lens.

All these factors are important to note when taking picture in your film roll, to calculate the best ways to print your developed image.

Journal #10 The Colonized World “26:36-29:25” The Genius of Photography

It is here that the film begins to pick up what society sought to do with photography. After it was introduced some people began to wonder how they could get money from this practice. By the 1850s photography begins to become a commercial business, a great example that they showed was CARTE DE VISITE, which was a camera with eight lens taking 8 photos in rapid succession. Millions of these cards exist and I found that mind blowing, that there are millions of photo cards were made during that time and age.

That just showed me just how popular photography was back than, and just how much it effected society and their communication.

Journal #9 Modern Perception “21:45=23:25” The Genius of Photography

Here they discuss how the introduction of new technologies began to change how people perceive their world and life. Things were starting to go faster with the invention of the train, and thanks to the telegram people would not need wait months for letters. Society was changing and through the help of these inventions including photography, the perception of art and how people understood the world was beginning to change.

I can see this as a huge aid to the change of perception in a society, the ideas of these inventions were the first of their age where humanity was just beginning to plunge into. From photography technology through its line flourished, from motion picture to projection, film, and eventually digital.

Journal #8 Look at this, this is special “17:12-21:10” The Genius of Photography

In this segment they begin to discuss the introduction of the photography processes and their results to the general population and how it eased its way into society. At first everyone thought it was a thing of wonder and impossibility. I think the example I liked the most was a gentlemen who said, “..How could you possibly draw a city scale in 10 minutes.” Such a simple thing to us now, but back then must have been astounding.

And as photography became more popular the idea of it only grew, they explain in the video about how taking an image and copping it out of its world is making it special or in a sense “Look at this” particular image, “this is special” this image that I am showing you through this frame is something I want to share, making it special. This idea of photography, in my opinion into the full fledged art it is today.

Journal #7 1888 George Eastman

George Eastman defined as the inventor who created Kodak, and lead the way for photography to hit the mainstream. What he created was the Roll Film, this particularly simple invention that most thing is outdated now was a design that helped really mobilize the way of photography.

His invention and drive to make it a popularity set the steps in motion for photography not only to mainstream but expand as film rolls helped create even the concept of motion picture rolls. I never knew that he was inventor of the film roll, it played one of the biggest roles (no pun intended) in the process of photography development and created one of the largest companies dedicated to the business of photography.

Though his company in no where near the wealth it use to be, since they are one of the few companies that still aid in the photo development process where most companies have headed digital.

Journal #6 Pro/Cons Talbot vs. Daguerre Processes

In 1839 two ways of processing images was created, one was Talbot’s Mouse trap and paper prints. Daguerre’s process was a little more complicated since it did not use paper but printing plates which were much like a mirror. Talbot’s images was a fast growing process since it was the only process of the two that could be used to duplicate an image, Daguerre’s process could not do this.

Talbots process however, when capturing his images they would always come out negative and needed to be further processed to have the images show the proper tones and directions. Daguerre’s process did not have this issue, when he captured his images they seemed almost life like in a way. I have never seen anything quite like the finished images of Daguerre plates.

However since Daguerre’s process was vastly more complicated then Talbot and that Talbot process could reproduce a single image Talbot’s process would see to becoming the foundation of the modern process and system of photography.

Journal #5 Daguerre 11:32-17:12 “The Genius of Photography”

Within the same year (1839) that Talbot was creating his own process of photography, a French painter named Louis Daguerre. He uses silver grains that absorb light being being deeply coated onto a plate, which is basically a mirror. The photos that Daguerre created are not only visually attractive, but the process itself is an interesting concept in its own that I would think make the photography become extremely attached to the project.

Coating the plate, setting the shot, waiting for light, waiting for capture, setting the plate again, blow torching. The end of the process resides with a beautiful image that I’ve would have never even thought possible considering the time, but there it is. However, this process as complicated as it is would never surpass Talbots process through paper prints. Daguerre’s was just too complicated and not only that, his images captured could not be replicated.

Journal #4 Talbot 6:54-11:32 “The Genius of Photography”

Throughout the beginning of photography it was around the 1800s when the knowledge of certain chemicals reacted to light, these being silver salt, silver chloride, and silver nitrate. It was through these chemicals that there were many people experimenting with these chemicals, but it was not until 1839 that a process was created to actually create and hold images. Talbot used paper coated with silver salts, by using his “Mouse Traps” a small box as a camera that were used to capture the images acting as a miniature Camera obscura.

This process, though ironically not the first one at the time, I found to be definitely more related to that process of our modern devices. How the print would come out as a negative and have to reprocessed, the use of the camera obscura to capture images. It seems to me that this was truly the foundation for all modern photography technology. I will definitely try this myself one day with my own “Mouse Trap”.

Journal Entry #3 First Lab

Today I spent time in the lab, learning how to extract film from the cartridges and place them into a “tank” which after some chemical processes leads to developed film. The film is cycled around a reel which holds the film in place while inside a light tight container. Then from cleverly placed openings chemicals are able to get into this container without letting light in and process the film. After a lot of time, cycling chemicals and rinsing with water the film was finally placed into a dryer. I remembered how the process went from some previous experience, though there were some added cogs to the system that I found to be particularly useful, the most being the dryers as when I use to dry film we just left them out to dry up.

Once we got into the dark room, I was shown how to use the easel, how many “ticks” you need to set the lighting for a test strip (4) and how to set up a test strip. After I cut a thin piece from my glossy photo paper, I set it under the light and placed a film strip of 5 photos above it. It was then that I placed a card (a paper card to block the incoming light) over the majority of the film and after 5 seconds I would lower the card to reveal more of the film, exposing the paper to the film and light more each time. After 25 seconds of exposure I developed the paper in chemicals and went back to reveal my photos in 5 different light exposures. The result left me somewhat puzzled as many of the photos exposure resulted in different tones. It was later that I confirmed that it was from when I had taken the photos, over exposing the film to light and taking photos at different exposures that lead to the test strip to show different tones from the 5 second exposures.

It was definitely an eye opening lesson in photography, how light effects everything about the process and the more light the better is never the case. I will have to record my exposures for my photos in order to get the proper timing for light exposure for my glossy paper.

Journal Entry #2 The Genius of Photography “0:00-2:50”

This is the intro into the movie, showing the story of one photographer, Andre’ Kertesz, what it means to take a photo that puzzles our interest. He took an seemly ordinary place into a place, a moment of wonder. An image he shows us to question what the image is showing, asking us what we are to take away from the image from what it is showing us. A few people moving in the background, and a man holding a package and looks to be going somewhere.

This has taught me that photography may have begun as simple photos, to create images (much like that of our memories) into a reality moment that we can forever look at. But Kertesz begins the journey that will make photography as an artistic medium that will twist all sorts of questions and feelings when those right photos are taken at those precious moments.