The Search for Colour

  Although far more people could now take photographs, for most of  the first half of the twentieth century photography really meant pictures in black and white. Everyone now expects to have colour prints from their holiday a few hours after returning home, but 60 years ago a skilled photographer would take several days, at great expense, to get one colour image on to paper.  Reaching today’s position called for tremendous re­search – firstly to establish the best principle on which to base a system of colour photography, and secondly (even more difficult) how to put it into practice so that it was simple,  inexpensive and gave Read more

Documentation of Art Work

  Documentation is not the work. You need to plan your photo shot in away that it records a sense of your artwork. This may mean you need to do a number of different things. A general installation shot to give an idea of scale and contextualising the work within the space. A cropped shot of a piece to display it clearly. A close shot to show materials and texture. A clear and straightforward recording of  the work is what you should be after. Decide which material you wish to record your work in,  i.e. colour  slide  film (transparencies), colour prints, black & white or digital. … Read more

Film

Types and Technical Data It makes good sense to work with a limited range of well-chosen films. You get to know their performance  intimately – what each can contribute to your particular style of picture,  its response to different subject situations and, when  necessary, just how far you can abuse the film before results become unacceptable. … PDF: Films – types and technical data   Understanding Film …The Basics Film is, very simply, a light-sensitive emulsion on a plastic base. An easy way to think of film is to compare it with bread and butter. Think of the bread as the base, the butter as the emulsion. When you Read more