At the start of the year, we spent time making analog photographs in a very typical way--using cameras, making negatives, and enlarging them onto photographic paper. And last year you had quite a bit of experience using the digital darkroom to make images using a digital camera, toning images in the computer, and printing them using a printer. Of course there are plenty of ways to create a photographic image that use a combination of the two or no darkroom at all. This is our chance to try some things out that might combine the two and that will help you consider some of your personal aesthetics more closely!
On the next few slides you'll see over 50 of the most popular alternative processes. I've put them into categories hoping that you'll glean some insight from your experience and consider the type of work you most enjoy doing or the type of work you're curious about trying. These processes take time and some of them take a lot more time and trial-and-error than others, so I've also given them a point value so that you each do approximately the same amount of work. You'll need to complete a total of five points of processes and master one well enough to make an Instructables online demonstration. (Details to follow.)
This is a challenging project, so you'll want to begin immediately. Familiarize yourself with the project itself so that you can ask any questions that arise early. Of course I'll be helping you throughout the entire process with all aspects of the assignment. That said, it's up to you to work through problems so that you're successful and proud of your work.
CAMERAS
If you've got a bizarre camera you'd like to try out--perhaps one that a distant relative gave you when they found out that you were interested in photography--this is the time to try it with dedicated help, a potential prize, and a grade. Here are some common camera categories people like to try:
the pinhole camera +2 (Can you even fathom choosing this right now?)
the Holga +2
If you'd like to try a unique camera, but don't already have one you can certainly purchase one, but you can easily do this project successfully for free. Continue looking at the other processes.
FILM PROCESSES
If you enjoy shooting or manipulating film more than you like printing it, this might be a good category for you. These can be tricky, but once you master them they give you results like nothing else you'll ever see in photography.
burning / melting negatives +1
under exposure combined with over development +2
reticulation +3
SHOOTING
These are techniques you'd use while you're shooting that would probably minimize time in the darkroom. They are persnickety at times, but fun if you love trying things with your camera.
panning +2
LIGHT SENSITIVITY / SOLUTIONS
This is, in my opinion, the most interesting and challenging bunch of processes. A light sensitive solution is a mixture of chemicals that responds to light, so this is the type of thing you might want to try if you'd like to move off of standard photo paper, if you've been wanting to try something a bit more painterly, or if you enjoy chemistry projects.
cyanotype +2
Ink-o-dye / Jacquard Solarfast Dye +1
anthotype +3
platinum / palladium printing +5
collodion wet-plate photography +5
Some of these processes are ones we have all of the chemistry for and that you would clearly be able to use; other processes require you to get the chemistry because it's something that needs to be fresh or perhaps because it's a cost we couldn't incur with the school budget. Regardless, I'll help you make it happen.
DARKROOM PRINTING TECHNIQUES
When I began doing photography I would do just about anything to get out of using a camera, but wanted to spend every second I could inside the darkroom. Still, I can spend days in the darkroom and don't take a camera on even the most visually stimulating adventures. So, this is the category I would have spent time working on if I had this project. There are some processes that require a camera to begin with, but some that you could do without using one at all.
darkroom masking / composite photography +2
POST PROCESSING
The last set of alternative processes are ones that you would probably do after you've already made the photograph. They're great for anyone who might want to explore ways to combine photograph with other art media.
bleaching +1
Polaroid emulsion lift / transfer +2
As you can imagine, these processes take a lot of experimentation. Sometimes things just don't work as you'd planned or they're just harder than you thought, so give yourself more time than you imagine the whole process taking. It would be so much more enjoyable to have too much time at the end of the project rather than having to worry that you'll get it finished by the deadline.
Because this is a challenging technical project, the subject matter is wide open. It's sometimes hard to do something creative when you're so focused on technique, but give portraiture your best shot. We looked at so many artists last year who do incredibly revealing and purposefully unique work with portraits, so if you don't have ideas in mind take a look at their work again to get your creative juices flowing. Here are some that you may remember:
ALEC SOTH ALESSANDRO SANGUINETTI GREGORY CREWDSON KYLE THOMPSON ANGELIKA RINNHOFER MIKE BRODIE LORETTA LUX SHIRIN NESHAT STEVE MCCURRY LAUREN GREENFIELD BRUCE DAVIDSON SCOTT RHEA JILL GREENBERG DUANE MICHALS ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE SANDY SKOGLUND RICHARD RENALDI DOROTHEA LANGE JOEL-PETER WITKIN BEIKE DEPOORTER CINDY SHERMAN ERWIN OLAF ZOE STRAUSS PARTICK DEMARCHELIER BRYAN DERBALLA IRINA WERNING ERIC FISCHL SUZANNE OPTON MARY ELLEN MARK JEFF WALL MATEJ PELHAN RICHARD AVEDON ANNIE LEIBOVITZ NICHOLAS NIXON MARTIN SCHOELLER
GOALS
Choose the processes you'd like to work on. Be sure the points for those processes add up to five or more.
Decide what you want to reveal using portraiture and these alternative processes. Plan the photograph before you take it and plan how you'll use the techniques to creatively manipulate the image.
Get good enough to do each of the processes you're focusing on and master one. Spend enough time learning it and mastering it that you can teach others to do it.
Create an Instructables digital demo once you've mastered the process. I was so excited to see that Instructables is hosting a contest right now for Anything Goes which I'd like you to enter. I've just recently been turned on to the Instructables website and it seems pretty interesting because there are so many Instructables to learn from and so many contests to submit work to and so many prizes to win! Generally there are about 120-150 people who enter the contests and, in this case, 20 winners, so you might actually win something like a Wacom Tablet or an Amazon Gift Card for doing a great job on this project! The Instructables demo is due on January 5--the same day the contest ends.
The five points of alternative processes are due on January 12, but we have a lot more planned for our studio time during the last few weeks of the project, so please do not wait for the last few weeks to get good at these processes. Master them early so you feel confident doing them inside and outside of studio time.
Remember that I've done all of these processes and can help you along the way. We have studio days planned into the schedule, so we'll be working together a lot, but you'll also need to consider if there are other ways I could help you to be sure you're successful.
GRADING
Since each person is making something that's so different from the next person, it's important that you come to class each day ready to work with your particular materials and your particular agenda. I will be helping you, of course, but you'll get a grade each class for how you use your time on the journey toward making the final product.
Your final project grade will be based on the quality of work you produce. To receive a 100 pts. you'll need to create portraits that display your command of light, are purposefully creative, and that show a mastery of the alternative process skills. Don't be afraid to do things that are completely different than anything you've seen or anything anyone else is doing in the class. Make big art! Make tiny art!
Your Instructables grade will be based on the clarity of your instructions, the quality of the photography, and creativity of the demonstration itself. Spelling and grammar count. And if your demo is featured or wins a prize you get an automatic 50/50 or 100% on the Instructables portion of the project!