Printing

Finally, I've a print that I'm happy with!!

split grade printing

The salt part of the salt n pepper duo on a checked table cloth (in case your wondering).  Lots of techniques applied.  I shot with ISO 3200 film and developed as appropriate, which gave the super grainy texture.  Using the split grade printing technique, the enlarger aperture was set to  F/8,  I started with a filter grade 0 for a 6 second exposure, followed by filter grade 5 and a further 18 second exposure and then I burnt in the two top corners for 6 seconds at filter grade to draw the eye down.   I like it, but what do you think?

Dissappointment on the Brownie Front

After taking all eight exposures, I embarked on the little task of retrieving the film from the camera and getting it onto the spool, in the dark bag - a challenge on its own.   After much flustering I managed it and developed it according to guide lines I found online.  To my utmost dissappointment, the film came back blank. 

I'm not sure if you can see, but the strange little track mark on the left hand side was probably me, trying to put it on the reel - as there was no feeder whole (like on the side of 35mm film) - its hard to get onto the reel. 

I'm not sure what has gone wrong. 

1. The film definitely loaded.
2. The film wound on (you put it on a spool on one side and take it off the other).
3. I checked the shutter and it appears to be working.
4. Problems with the developing?

Any thoughts? 

My Pinhole Camera

So, I spent (almost) the entire day in college today, trying to get some success from the pinhole camera.   Let me tell you - its not as easy as it looks. 

My darling pinhole camera!!

After, spending about the guts of an hour narrowing my times down between 90 seconds and 2 minutes, the sun came out!!  My times suddenly reduced drastically - of course, then the sun went in - and I was back to square one!! Arghhh, there were times when I felt like throwing the pinhole camera through the closest window - oh course its a light cardboard box and I was already outdoors... so that would have been none too successful.  Eventually, I got a negative to work with.  I know, its not pin sharp - I am a little disappointed in that but it was a two and a half minute exposure, so considering that - its not too bad and its certainly recognisably me!!

Paper Negative - 2.5 minute exposure

Paper Positive - F/8 for 8 seconds

Environmental Portraits

Image by Sukanto Debnath

 For our practical photography course we have to put together a visual communication project of our choice.  The advice given was to photograph something in your locality, in an area no larger than 1 mile.  I've decided to attempt an environmental portrait sequence of the local people who live and work in Glasthule.   I've decided to undertake this as my project as I love to photograph people, but I am inherently shy.  I would normally balk at the idea of approaching a stranger and asking if I may take their portrait.  I thought that this alone would be a great learning experience.  

An environmental portrait is a photograph of a person in the place they live, work or play.  The location of the portrait says something about who they are and what they do.   Together, I hope that my proposed set of images will tell a little about the people of Glasthule and the type of suburban village in South County Dublin that it is.

Photo by Kevin Cruff on http://www.photographyserved.com/gallery/Environmental-Portraits/1039137

Photo by Kevin Cruff on http://www.photographyserved.com/gallery/Environmental-Portraits/1039137

 I hope the kind people of the Glasthule shops and businesses will make this project a nice, easy and rewarding experience. 

the other

Photographing "the other" and how we feel about it?

I spent December and January of last year travelling through Southern India.  I got a sample of both sides of this debate there.   I was intrigued by Indians and wanted to take their photographs.   I was engulfed in new places, new cultures, new landscapes and new people and I wanted to photograph it all.

But did I feel guilty? - sometimes yes sometimes no!!  I don't like to intrude onto people's privacy, but I do love to photograph people.  Its a catch 22!

Indians are not aware of personal space - with a sub-continent of more than 1 billion, there is not much room for that.  To my mind, they had no problem, just sitting and staring at us or taking photographs of us.  In fact they would come right up to you for a proper good look.  I had a couple of encounters of seeing an Indian (normally male) pointing the camera in my direction, thinking he was trying to photograph the scene behind me, I would stand to one side - but the camera followed me, I side stepped again and again the camera followed me!  There was no mistaking what he was trying to do.   To them, we were "the other" and they had no qualms in photographing us - no matter what we thought.

But I chose my situations when to photograph - I had to feel comfortable in my surroundings and feel that I wasn't intruding.  Here's some of the shots I took from the first couple of weeks of the trip!!

Cricket in a Mumbai Park on a Sunday afternoon

Street Sellers in Panjim

Beach Sellers in Candolim

Sunset in Candolim

Good News ...

... it is still possible to get film for the Brownie 127 - YAY!!  I went into Gunn's yesterday, with my fingers crossed, in the hope that they would have some film suitable and to my delight they did.  The Rollei Retro 80S made by Agfa is just the thing.  

A little advice was given and gladly accepted:- Take all the photo in the same lighting conditions an then develop accordingly.   There is no adjustments on the camera, no aperture, shutterspeed or ISO selection - so all the work to get balanced exposures will be done in the processing stage.

Now, if only it would stop raining!! 

Roll of Rollei Retro 80S 127 Film and the Kodak Brownie 127 in the background

Read the Bottle !!

Well, it has to be said I made a real boo boo here!! As mentioned in a previous post, I've bought all the ingredients for an at home film developing kit.  I thought I had successfully developed my first roll, but when I took it to the darkroom to print up a contact sheet, I noticed a mottling affect all over the contact sheet and a print.  Each and every image on the contact sheet had the same effect.  I had a look at the negatives and its on them too. 

I took the roll of negatives and prints into Gunn's to get an expert opinion on the matter and they seemed to think that the mottling was ON the negatives as opposed to be IN which suggested that perhaps I cut and put them into the negative sleeves too early?  On reflective, this could be the case, though I thought they were dry.

So, a little skeptical and nervous to say the least, I went ahead and developed my second roll of film and as I was working my way through the fixing stage, I had another look online at the Ilford Rapid Fixer Fact sheet - I realised that 1+9 ratio versus 1+4 ratio is not a choice I could make - it was in fact - the paper versus film ratio for fixing and I'd chosen the wrong one.  So, my mottled images could have been a combination of both - not fixed properly and / or not dried properly.  Unfortunately, I realised this too late for the second roll of film.  So, I decided to fix the images for a little longer to make sure.  I'm not sure if this was the right approach - but its was the approach that I took - the images look alright, but I won't know for sure until the printing stage. 

I'm off not for a third attempt - third time lucky - right!! And its all a learning experience, I now know to read the bottle and in my case, read it twice (at least) :)

http://www.ilfordphoto.com/thumb.asp?a=fit&w=150&h=180&d=webimages&f=200613016573118.jpg

Glasthule / Dun Laoghaire / Sandycove

What with the beautiful weather we've been having these last few days, I decided to take a wander around my local area of Glasthule / Dun Laoghaire / Sandycove.  Here's a couple of the shots that I took!

Strange little mushrooms in the carpark outside my house

Church in Dun Laoghaire

Looking towards Sandycove from Dun Laoghaire Harbour

Kodak Brownie 127

To my utmost delight, I get a call from my mother the other day to say that she just found her Kodak Brownie 127.  Its one of the second models, so was in production from April 1959-1963.  We think its still working - so I'm off to buy some film tomorrow to test it out.  What a treat?

At Home Film Developing

There just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day, at least there doesn't seem to be enough time allocated for both film and printing for me.  Living in Dun Laoghaire and working random hours, I began to feel I wasn't getting the time to both print and develop in college.  I think my time would be better spent printing in college.  So, I decided to set myself up to develop film at home.  I've just managed my first roll successfully and it now drying in the bathroom.

Luckily I'd access to a developing tank, so I picked up the chemicals, thermometer, changing bag, and beakers up, relatively cheaply and took the bull by the horns :)  This will save me time, but I think also the at home experience will be invaluable I think.

Of course, a big thank you to my aunt for the developing tank and Gunn's cameras for their friendly helpful tips.

My At Home Developing Kit- Above Changing Bg

Left: Canister, Jugs Right: Chemicals, Exhausted Chemicals, Thermometer Center: Negatives Drying