Visual Communication: Studio Brief 3 - Photograms

Reflection

Despite not being able to visit the Leeds Discovery Centre in time and photographing their collection of mushrooms and coral in the Biology centre, I feel my improvisation and problem solving has paid off. By simply buying a box of grapes and using the branches, a head of cabbage and a selection of mushrooms I was able to uncover my own interesting discoveries!

Advantages

• Old method that is slowly dying out so very useful to learn these skills.

• A new skill for me as I've never made Photograms before.

• A great alternative viewpoint to objects and a different approach to creating images.

• Pushing myself way out of my comfort zone as photography isn't something I am particularly good at!

Disadvantages

• Lots and lots of trial and error making test pieces.

• Long process of developing the images in different chemical baths and cleaning the image

• Very time consuming; I spent 4 hours altogether making my photograms!

• Limitations in terms of the objects you can use and the effects that will be given.
• Thick objects with lots of depth will not show throw any information; I tried to cut a mushroom in half t be able to read some of the underneath fibres - but ultimately it didn't work.
• Difficult when using green leaves as it can block out the light more; not showing the main interest of the vein system.

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Scans

What would happen if I scanned my objects? How would the results differ from photograms? Would they be more detailed? How much more information would be conveyed? Would it be as interesting to look at or too representational?

Scanning was able to capture much more information than the photograms, but aren't as visually interesting. The charm of photograms is that the image is developed by you using a process of exposing and then aggravating in chemicals, a sense of 'by hand' and craft, whereas technology does all the work when scanning. There is something much more immediate and less magical about the scanned vegetables.

Throughout this whole process I kept asking myself, "What would happen if I put all of these cabbage leaves together and overlaid them? With the photograms too? What results would I get if I change the layer opacities and properties?"

These results are interesting and almost look like brain scans! I very well may use them in my final pieces. Collage? Overlays? Faded backgrounds? On the stamps and postcards perhaps? I will have to further my experimentation when it comes to crafting the final pieces...